April’s book for Minerva is the non-fiction work by the Sydney University historian, Associate Professor Mark McKenna, entitled Return to Uluru, which was published in February 2021 by Black Inc. The members present at the meeting all appreciated reading this work as many of us would not have been aware of it otherwise.
Return to Uluru is the history of a ‘cold case’ murder, the biography of a man and a history of a place which is dear to many Australians and especially beloved by First Nations’ people. The story revolves around Police Constable Bill McKinnon who worked in the Northern Territory for most of his working life (approximately 1931 to 1962). He was a meticulous recorder of his day-to-day activities, including the time he tried to capture a murderer and his involvement with the shooting of an Indigenous man. McKinnon was also known as the person who caused Paddy Uluru, the ‘number one custodian’ of the rock (ie Uluru), to exile ‘from his Country’. (page 143)
Mark McKenna quotes records he locates of the murder in McKinnon’s own papers, evidence in the court sessions when McKinnon was exonerated, as well as lots of other research he conducted.
Writing this history is a difficult balancing act; to be fair, objective and historically accurate as McKenna says:
‘to heap responsibility for what happened at Uluru in 1934 onto McKinnon’s shoulders alone is to fail to understand the moral and political complexities of the time and place in which he lived.’ (page 199).
Associate Professor McKenna was longlisted for this book for the Moran Nib Literary prize in 2021. He has won many awards for his academic publications, mainly on the subjects of Australian republican issues and Indigenous history.
First Impressions
I found it is a disturbing book. It is so sad that history has been recently repeated in the Northern Territory in the Rolfe case. It is well written and an excellent publication in terms of quality of paper and presentation by the publisher Black Inc. I will recommend it to my son-in-law for his year 11 and 12 history students as it is a book which should be widely studied.
I listened to the audio and it didn’t hit me as much but it was beautifully unfolding history. I felt it took me on a journey about place, (ie Uluru) as well as showed me the role of place in that history. The story of the policeman was a surprise. I felt that the author was very respectful of the characters of the time and treated them with dignity. It was also insightful. I felt that the characters didn’t set out to be horrible people but events overtook them. It also made me reflect on Uluru and its impact in Australian history. I thought the title had many layers to it: including the return to Uluru of McKinnon to investigate the murder with the investigation team for the legal case in court, the return to Uluru by McKinnon in 1984 before the handback and the return of Uluru by the government when it transferred ownership to the local people. (See Part 3 Uluru – especially pp 148-153).
There is also the link to the ‘Statement from the heart’ created at Uluru in May 2017 by about 1200 Indigenous people. A very worthwhile book and eye opening.
I also thought of the Rolfe case when reading this book. I felt McKenna was very respectful of McKinnon’s daughter and the memorabilia her father had created and acquired. McKinnon was a fantastic man in his daughter’s opinion. This was in juxtaposition to the stories McKenna had found and the evidence at McKinnon’s trial in 1934.
I recommend everyone watch the Youtube film, first-hand information from Joseph Donald (see page 153).
I liked the author’s way of telling history. It is traditional history with footnotes but in the second part he takes us on a journey of how to research, and think, and speak to relatives of the main subject. He conducts these interviews sensitively. I recognise that some historians hate this type of writing modern history. This is a beautifully produced book which includes an index. I also liked the title and its different meanings and all the ‘returns’ by people in the history. It was a very different book from what I imagined it was going to be. I didn’t find it shocking.
I am going to be the devil’s advocate. I enjoyed it especially the descriptions of landscape of Uluru. The country is absolutely beautiful and the story is told well and it is even-handed. McKinnon omitted details at his trial and he thought he was a hero and portrayed himself in that light. However, isn’t that what most people do when giving their side of a story? People bend stories to suit their purpose or intent. Both accounts are not the truth but the truth lies somewhere in between. Most people think they are doing the right thing. McKinnon was in favour of the Indigenous people and at times tried to help them in various ways. But the common thought in the 1930s was that the Indigenous people of Australia were a dying race and many white Australians believed this.
My main quibble with the work was McKenna’s claim that this poem was written by Bill McKinnon.
‘I’m a lean dog, a keen dog, a wild dog …’(page 73).
This was a poem quoted in a fourth-grade reader I had at school and which I can relate to you. (It was by the British poet, Irene Rutherford McLeod, 1891-1968, and it is called Lone dog.)
I enjoyed it. I loved the way the author took us along with him in a very measured way. I was impressed by Mark McKenna in 2021 when I saw him in discussion with Bruce Pascoe. I liked the way he wove the story into the history.
Discussion
We had a number of questions — it is history but a specific type of history, very modern and told through a particular lens. There is the history of the rock, Uluru, and the biography of a family, McKinnon’s daughter Sue and her son. Sue’s son Matt is not like his grandfather. (See page 203).
It is a history of place and a history of Uluru too.
Readers were fascinated by some of the figures who appear in this history. Two names were often mentioned, Strehlow and Mountford who were familiar to some of us who worked with still and moving images in our professional lives. We were also fascinated by McKenna’s description of the Board of Enquiry into McKinnon, particularly how McKinnon actually went on the field trip with the investigators as the cook, observer and helper as well as the defendant. It was a scenario from a very different time. Figures out of history.
Uluru as a cultural symbol and spiritual centre
As an aside, it is interesting to note that in walking around the rock you now walk further than you did some years ago. The authorities are pushing the public further away from the secret and sacred areas of the rock. (One reader said she walked an extra kilometre the last time she walked it in 2015.) We also recognised that there are many historic sites which are being cordoned off by the authorities in the 21st century such as Stonehenge in England.
We discussed the role of Uluru itself as a spiritual centre for many Australians, and for many tourists who wanted to climb it as part of their ‘bucket list’. This is a difficult topic as Uluru is important for First Nations’ people as well as for Australian white history and we cherish it differently and incorporate it into our respective cultures in very different ways. There are different sorts of love and feeling from the various cultures.
We all agreed that the closure of the walk in 2017 was a good thing and attitudes have changed tremendously in our lifetimes. (See page 177). We are pleased that most Australians regard that as a good thing. Two members climbed it long ago when there was no Indigenous cultural knowledge on view there, and felt that the rock was impressive but slightly weird.
One member who did climb it fell in love with the area and she has held it special ever since. We are all pleased that the cairn has been removed too.
McKinnon
This same member couldn’t believe that McKinnon climbed the rock at 81 ‘without a hat and was well cooked’. (page 148). It showed such arrogance.
One member was astounded that he had recorded his activities scrupulously and this even included the evidence which contradicts some of his statements in the court case. He didn’t destroy the evidence. He wanted accuracy maybe? Or, he didn’t think it through completely.
After all, the material was not sent to the Archives in Darwin but left in his daughter’s garage for many years. McKinnon had a role to play and a high standing in the white community in the Northern Territory. He thought he was a good guy. He was a person of his times in that he regarded First Nation’s people differently from how we do today.
We also discussed McKinnon’s experiences prior to going to the Northern Territory when he briefly worked as a warden in St Helena and Brisbane gaols .
‘Violence and self-harm were part of daily life in the prison’. (page 33).
He also worked for about a year as a Warrant Officer in the Rabaul Town Police in New Britain. Again severe violence was used against prisoners. (pp. 33-34)
Despite McKinnon’s prejudices he relied on the black trackers to assist him in his work, especially Carbine. They also assisted him in their knowledge of country and finding water when on a long trip. But McKinnon did not seem to acknowledge their contribution to police work. Carbine was violent it seems towards Indigenous prisoners, we were not sure why that was so.
Writing
At times some readers thought the book was a little overly melodramatic. One questioned his use of the word ‘darkness’, given the context, when discussing McKinnon’s
‘experience in the centre, a region where darkness stalked the landscape…’
‘Darkness’ infers black and ‘bad’. One member was gobsmacked by his terminology. This was in direct contrast to his ethical treatment of the family.
We were impressed too that McKenna reproduced some of Mountford’s writing about his experiences in the caves in Uluru.
‘It was a strange experience sitting in that cave… it seemed as if I were surrounded by the presence of those who for untold centuries had frequented this cave …I wondered what would happen if one of the aboriginals …were to come upon me…’ (page 93).
The question of the Treaty and the Statement from the Heart were also thought about and we were all ashamed that they were so easily dismissed by the government at the time.
This is a most unusual book but very worthwhile for us to read and think about.
Present : 6 members
Minerva Reads ACT 