The histories of First Nations peoples have effectively been erased or ignored in written sources but not forgotten in memory. Indigenous authors are now being given opportunities to tell stories of invasion, enslavement, massacre and dispossession as well as portray the culture and beauty of ancestral times. Oral history plays a significant part in enabling their voices to be heard. In A Piece of Red Cloth, Leonie Norrington, in collaboration with Arnhem Land story-holders, speaks about the intrusion of the Macassans in pre-colonial times. Lenora Thaker writes about the impact of white control on Torres Strait Islanders during WW2 in The Pearl of Tagai Town, while Tasma Walton evokes a tragic and brutal story drawn from family history set in Nerrm (Port Phillip Bay) in I am Nannertgarrook. Hear these authors discuss the challenge of drawing on oral history to write their novels, and how consent and consultation is vital in ensuring a respectful re-imagining.

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