Dirrayawadha
Rise Up
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4.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $5.99
Publisher Description
Shortlisted for the 2025 Queensland Literary Awards, The Courier-Mail People's Choice Queensland Book of the Year Award
'Dirrayawadha is full of heart and hope, truth-telling and history – and shimmers with language too' Guardian
'A story from the past given vivid life for new understanding’? Kate Grenville
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Bathurst, 1820s
Miinaa was a young girl when the white ghosts first arrived. She remembers the day they raised a piece of cloth and renamed her homeland 'Bathurst'. Now she lives at Cloverdale and works for a white family who have settled there.
The Nugents are kind, but Miinaa misses her miyagan. His brother, Windradyne, is a Wiradyuri leader, and visits when he can, bringing news of unrest across their ngurambang. Miinaa hopes the violence will not come to Cloverdale.
When Irish convict Daniel O'Dwyer arrives at the settlement, Miinaa's life is transformed again. The pair are magnetically drawn to each other and begin meeting at the bila in secret. Dan understands how it feels to be displaced, but they still have a lot to learn about each other. Can their love survive their differences and the turmoil that threatens to destroy everything around them?
From the bestselling author of Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray (River of Dreams) comes another groundbreaking historical novel about resistance, resilience and love during the frontier wars.
Praise for Dirrayawadha (Rise Up):
‘Dirrayawadha is a story of the courage of the Wiradyuri nation and the love of their Country. Anita Heiss is a remarkable writer.' Tony Birch
‘To read the book is to enter a lost time, a retrieved war, and to learn much, not least Wiradyuri. With dhuluny (truth) and marrumbang (love) of story, Heiss makes something good. And that is something for which modern Australia can be grateful.’ The Age
'Historical in tone, yet absolutely contemporary in scope, Dirrayawadha is a beautiful triumph.' Mirandi Riwoe
'Dirrayawadha is a beautifully written and masterful telling of a pivotal point in our history.' Nicole Alexander
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
I share this fictionalised account of the Wiradyuri wars as part of truth-telling in Australia. I hope it helps to force the memory of this nation to engage with the truth of war on our soil: the bloodshed, the trauma and the fact that settlement was not often peaceful but devastatingly violent, brutal and inhumane. I also hope to portray through the love story of Miinaa and Dan the link between the Irish desire for autonomy and Wiradyuri sovereignty. I believe our country needs truth and courage. I think we can create a better future for all if we can be honest and brave in our storytelling, in truth-telling and in being willing to listen to what needs to be heard.
