Review Of Graeme Dixon's Poem 'Coolungar Thieves'

Good evening everyone, I'm James and today I’ll be presenting a poem on Australia's' darkest period. The poem “Coolungar Thieves” was written in 1999 by Graeme Dixon, an Indigenous Australian poet, who is a member of the Stolen Generations. This poem reflects on Indigenous Australians injustices. Dixon published his first book “Holocaust Island” in 1989, focusing on Indigenous Australians’ trauma and suffering. "Coolungar Thieves" brings attention to Indigenous Australians' struggles of the stolen generation. Acknowledging the wrongs against Indigenous communities in Australia is critical, as this poem shows.

The Stolen Generation was a dark chapter in Australia’s history that still affects Indigenous peoples today. From the late 1800s to the 1970s, thousands of Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their families by the Australian government. The policy was designed to assimilate Indigenous children into White Australian culture, and many suffered abuse and neglect. It was finally discontinued in 1970, and the Australian government has since issued a formal apology to the Aboriginal peoples affected. The Stolen Generations remains a significant part of Australia’s history. It serves as a reminder of Indigenous peoples’ ongoing struggles regarding their treatment and rights.

Dixon uses this poetic device to make abstract or unfamiliar ideas concepts more concrete and easier to understand, visualize and remember. This encourages the reader to realize that Indigenous Australians saw people like A. O. Neville, who presided with the policy to remove Aboriginal children from their families, as the devil. This device helps communicate the message by showing how much members of the Stolen Generations have suffered. This also makes the audience understand why this practice has had such a negative and ongoing impact on First Nations