I went to study at Oxford University in the 1980s on an imperial scholarship instituted by Cecil Rhodes. Richard Flanagan Read Quote
Nothing seemed to offer more striking proof to the late Victorian mind of the infernal truth of social Darwinism than the supposed demise of the Tasmanian Aborigines. Richard Flanagan Read Quote
Through the 1990s, the fracturing of Tasmanian Aboriginal politics was given impetus by the ongoing corruption of a number of black organisations started under federal government programmes, with large amounts of public money being lost. Richard Flanagan Read Quote
The number of those identifying as Aborigine in Tasmania rapidly rose in the late 20th century. Richard Flanagan Read Quote
Unlike some mainland black groups, Tasmanian Aborigines now have no traditional tribal culture left. It was taken from them with great violence and great rapidity. Richard Flanagan Read Quote
The survival of extraordinary creatures such as the giant Tasmanian freshwater crayfish – the largest in the world – is in doubt because of logging. Richard Flanagan Read Quote
Logging is an industry driven solely by greed. It prospers with government support and subsidies, and it is accelerating its rate of destruction, so that Tasmania is now the largest hardwood chip exporter in the world. Richard Flanagan Read Quote
Within white Australia, there was a growing movement for what was known as reconciliation – a movement that peaked with millions marching in 2000 to demand the government say sorry for past injustices. Richard Flanagan Read Quote
Under Howard, federal government support for black Australia slowly dried up. Services were slashed, native title restricted. Richard Flanagan Read Quote
A novel is a journey into your own soul, and you seek there to discover those things that you share with all others. Richard Flanagan Read Quote
