Year 08 - Digger J Jones - English: Home

One of the most significant events in the novel is 1967 referendum, which gave the Federal government the power to make laws for the benefit of Aboriginal people and allowed them to be counted in the census.

Digger's year starts badly with the news of his older brother’s death in the war in Vietnam. What can you find out about Australia's involvement in the Vietnam war?

Digger talks to his father about his totem. Can you remember the story his father told him about the crow and the snake? What animal did Darcy decide was his totem? Why did he choose that bird as his totem? Is there an animal that you feel could be your totem?

The marches that Digger went on in the lead up to the 1967 referendum were organised by the Aborigines Advancement League. Can you find out more about this organisation?

Tom mentions the freedom rides that were organised by a group of Sydney
University students in the lead up to the referendum. How important were these in
changing the attitude of Australians to discrimination against Indigenous Australians?

Tom, the bloke Digger met at the Aborigines Advancement League meeting, says that he
has been up north with the Gurindji people. What can you find out about the Gurindji
and the Wave Hill walk-off?

From Little Things Big Things Grow has become an iconic Australian protest song, paying tribute to the Gurindji people, and becoming symbolic of the broader movement for Indigenous equality and land rights in Australia.

It’s 1967 and Digger J Jones, a ten-year-old Koori boy, is keeping a diary. He’s going to be eleven next birthday, about the age boys living a traditional Aboriginal lifestyle would disappear into the bush and be taught the knowledge needed to become a man. But Digger lives in Melbourne and his initiation takes place in the rough and tumble of life in South Yarra.

Richard Frankland is a Gunditjmara man who has worked tirelessly for the Aboriginal cause. Find out more about the author here.

Darcy gave Digger a book of poetry as a present. This is the poet, Aunty Oodgeroo Noonuccal, previously known as Kath Walker. Two of her best known poems are No More Boomerang and Ballad of the Totems.