Striking resemblance between fact and fiction
FOR a fictitious, yet truthful reflection of what life is really like in an Aboriginal mission, watch Ivan Sen’s award-winning film, Toomelah.
The film reveals the challenges faced by young Gamilaroi people in the NSW Toomelah community who have been robbed of their culture by government policy, yet remain disconnected from modern Australia.
The gritty screenplay follows a 10-year-old boy, Daniel, who has been kicked out of school for trying to stab a classmate with a pencil.
His father is an alcoholic, his mother is a drug addict and his aunty has only just returned to the mission after being a victim of the Stolen Generation; so, Daniel looks to the neighbourhood gang for guidance.
Before long, Daniel is a trainee gangster; doing daily drug runs and keeping tabs on his boss’ rival, who has just been released from jail.
Tensions come to a head and the two gang leaders clash over a turf war with Daniel caught in the middle.
Set in Toomelah in North Western NSW and Queensland, where Mr Sen’s mother was also born and bred, all bar one of the cast are first-time actors from the local community.
While it may have been released eight years ago, NITV screened the 106-minute drama over the weekend, and it caught the attention of former Dubbo local Andy Mcquie.
As a former Park Ranger Mr Mcquie has worked with about 10 different Aboriginal language groups over the past three decades across the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales.
Having last taken a trip to Toomelah in 2018, Mr Mcquie urged others, who may never get to visit a remote Indigenous community, to watch the film.
“I wasn’t aware the film even existed and having worked a bit with the Toomelah mob over the past few years, I know first-hand that it’s an accurate portrayal of life and struggle in Western NSW, and other mission towns around Australia,” he said.
“I’m pretty sure (sadly) that nothing much has changed on that ‘mish’, since the film was made.
“It’s a world many Australians just don’t ever get to see, and whilst it remains hidden away, those who don’t get to see it may find it hard to understand the idea of institutionalised racism, intergenerational stress and trauma, substance abuse, child prostitution and loss of culture and identity.”
Along with initiatives such as NAIDOC week, Mr Mcquie believes seeking and sharing stories and knowledge is key in achieving justice for the traditional owners of the land.
“I think it’s important for people to see that and understand that there’s a long way to go to closing the gap,” he said.
“We can only do that by having better education, which leads to more empathy and which leads to us as voters forcing political change so that there is more community driven action and more money, time and effort spent on closing the gaps between Aboriginal and non-aboriginal Australia.
“It’s a major injustice that we are still doing to our traditional owners of the land, and things like NAIDOC week help that – but also just promoting NITV as a really important medium for getting accurate information out to mainstream Australia and the rest of the world, in fact.”
Toomelah is available to stream on SBS On Demand for the next three weeks.