Through Silent Country

A story of exile and escape. The people in this story were from a part of Western Australia that is practically on the edge of the Great Victoria Desert. On the whim of the government authorities of the day, nineteen Wongutha people were exiled away from their Country and their people, sent a thousand kilometres away, almost to Perth. They were seemingly powerless. They were locked up, trucked off, given inmate numbers in a government compound - their fate was sealed. And then they escaped. It was perhaps the largest escape bid in the history of that place of exile. They escaped, and walked home to their Country ...'

In 2020, 'closed' archival documents- hidden away from sight for nearly one hundred years - were declared 'open' by the state. And compelling new evidence came into the light, revealing that the 1921 deportation was not, in fact, a 'whim' but a coolly devised forced removal, centrally masterminded in the office of Western Australia's Chief Protector of Aborigines.

Through Silent Country is a journey of discovery and testimony which began when Carolyn Wadley Dowley stumbled upon a small reference to a remarkable escape story. Although at first it seemed faint, she set out to follow the trace of the narrative back to its origins, in the remote area around Laverton, north-east of Kalgoorlie - Wongutha Country. There, the people she met not only confirmed details of the story, but revealed how it was a part of the many stories which are their history.

The stories of the Wongutha people, and careful archival research, enabled Carolyn Wadley Dowley to traverse the historical silence and piece together a remarkable story of injustice, survival and triumph.

'The compassionate and wise Dowley ... in her ingenious structure allows all the voices to speak, which not only allows the reader to see the historian at work with her sources, probabilities, and ambiguities, but privileges the voices of those who endured or still talk about these experiences ... a notable achievement.' Professor Peter Read, ANU

'Loved loved loved this book' Anne Dahl, Finland

WESTERN AUSTRALIAN PREMIER'S BOOK AWARDS FELLOWSHIP, SHORTLISTED 2023

WINNER, NSW PREMIER'S HISTORY AWARD 2001

PACIFIC RIM LITERATURE PRIZE 2001, SHORTLISTED

MARGARET MEDCALF AWARD 2022, SHORTLISTED