Friday 29th July



Rabbit Proof Fence



Film Review – Rabbit Proof Fence 2002, video recording, Director Phillip Noyce

 

To begin my immersion into Indigenous culture I have decided to watch the well renowned film, Rabbit Proof Fence. It is a tragic tale of three very young indigenous girls Molly and Daisy who are sisters along with their cousin Gracie. The three girls are cruelly ripped from their mothers’ arms and taken from their home in Jigalong, to be placed in remote settlement at Moore River, which is essentially a training facility far from their home. The Moore River facility was part of the Government’s initiative to assimilate those of aboriginal background in to white society, furthermore it was an attempt to ‘breed out the black’ and train the Aborigines into the Europeans ‘white’ ways.

The three girls find themselves in a very foreign world from what are used to, far from home they are forced to concede and adopt the ‘white’ mans ways, in order to avoid being thrown into solitary confinement, in what essentially looks like an old out-house. Bravely, Molly the eldest of the three girls, decides they will attempt the impossible and attempt a daring escape to return to their mothers. They must journey over 1500 miles along the rabbit –proof fence to find the way home, across a less than forgiving terrain with nothing but their wits and determination. It is an inspiring story about the strength of the human spirit and overcoming adversity in-spite of the odds stacked against you.

What makes this tale so terribly shocking is that it is a true story, which I did not realise until the end of the film. Another fact is that this practice was only abolished in 1970, three years before a friend of mine who is of Aboriginal decent was born. Additionally, I am a mother Who has spent the last six years in Family Court fighting for the rights of my children’s safety. I cannot imagine the torment of having my children snatched away from me with no legitimate rights of my own, or recourse to fight for them and their safety.



Daisy Kadibil talks about her escape along the rabbit-proof fence, 2009

Daisy Kadibil was a small child when she was taken away from her family as part of the Stolen Generations. She and her sisters, Molly and Gracie, used the rabbit-proof fence to find their way back home to Jigalong from Moore River Native Settlement north of Perth, a journey of about 1600 kilometres. Molly’s daughter, Doris Pilkington (Nugi Garimara), wrote Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence (1996) after several years of interviewing her mother and Aunt Daisy. The book was later made into Phillip Noyce’s award-winning film Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002).

Type C print from large format Polaroid Type 665
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Parnngurr, Western Australia