Gladys Milroy – May 31 2020

National Reconciliation Week – May 27-June 6

This year’s theme, “In this together”, is now resonating in ways we could not have foreseen when we announced it last year, but it reminds us whether in a crisis or in reconciliation we are all in this together. – Reconciliation Australia

Glayds is from the Pilbara region in Western Australia. She was born in Perth in 1927 and grew up at the Parkerville Children’s Home. Her people’s country is the Palkyu country in the eastern Pilbara. Gladys’s daughter, Professor Jill Milroy, OAM, is the Dean of School of Indigenous Studies at the University of Western Australia. Their other joint book is Eagle, Crow and Emu, three fantastic stories for young readers told in the tradition of teaching stories collected here in one volume. Gladys’s other book illustrated by Sally Morgan and Tracey Gibbs is Emu and the Water Tree, the tale of a curious emu who lost the power of flight to a crafty serpent, but discovered his ability to run. It is also part of the Waarda series, an exciting children’s series by Indigenous authors designed to support the literacy needs of Indigenous children in primary school and introduce non-Indigenous children to the richness and depth of Aboriginal storytelling, ‘Waarda’ being Nyungar for talking and sharing stories and information.

The Great Cold – Illustrated by Sally Morgan and Tracey Gibbs Fremantle Press, 2009; ISBN 9781921361586
Waarda series for young readers
The great cold is coming. It’s tickling the toes of the animals and chasing the tail feathers of the birds. It’s creeping into their hideaway and making even the strongest shiver. Alone, the blind goanna and the flightless crow are weak, but when they work together the power of their friendship will save the day.
An exciting story told in the traditional style.

Dingo’s Tree – Written & illustrated by Gladys Milroy & Jill Milroy
Magabala Books, 2012; ISBN 9781921248436
Lower Primary
The story of Dingo and his friends Moon, Magpie, Wombat and Little Tree (who becomes Walking Tree) presents an engaging and colourful environmental story for kids. It’s about the effect of mining on the landscape; where poles replace trees, where mining cuts scars so deep into Country they will never heal, where raindrops are tears and where the living creatures have to work together to survive.