This is an extraordinary read. A generous sharing of stories, the beauty of living with Country and the sorrow of our shared history that needs to be acknowledged more broadly. I'm so grateful for the invitation to sit with this journey, to experience all the feelings that arise and to grow in understanding along the way.
Gudanji and Wakaja woman Debra Dank has won a swag of awards for her deeply personal tribute to family and to Country, including four awards at the 2023 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards and being shortlisted for the 2023 Stella Prize and Prime Minister's Award for non-fiction.
We Come With This Place is an unforgettable story of people and of Country.
By sharing vivid episodes of her life, Debra transports readers on a journey through the eons of time and invites us to experience the beauty, the harshness, the inspiration and the enduring strength of Gudanji Country.
Alongside the deep affection expressed for family, for the living world, for Country you are also invited to sit with what is deeply uncomfortable - the lingering pain, the anger, the violence, and the injustice that continues to impact First Nations people and indeed the entire Australian society.
Gudanji Country is on the frontlines of gas expansion in the Northern Territory and facing continued pressures from overgrazing, mining and now fracking.
In writing We Come With This Place Debra wanted to draw attention to the stories — old and new — of Gudanji Country (the country of her father and his ancestors). In an interview with the ABC she shared -
I sort of got to realise, at the end, that it was going to be necessary for me to record some of our stories, because I was not going to be able to take my grandchildren home for much longer for them to access those places that have nurtured and provided for Gudanji people for so very, very long,"
I'm deeply concerned at the sense of this country being disposable … This country is not disposable. And we need to be a little more aware, and more cognisant, of what our grandchildren are set to inherit. I don't think they're going to be terribly impressed with our passivity around environmental destruction."
The dedication Debra includes at the beginning of the book says it all -
For Gundanji
This is for you…so you know
why your feet walk the path they do
why your eyes seek the shadows
why your ears hear the stories running in the air
whispering taste into your mouth to then
nourish your body
This is for you so you will know the stories
when they walk with you
and talk in their many voices
so, listen with all of who you are and feel this story
running through your body…
taking you into country
Mankujba!
What a gift this is for us all.
Want to learn more?
Listen to Debra Dank as she talks about We Come With This Place on ABC Radio National here
Protecting Gudanji Country
Debra’s daughter Rikki alongside others is standing up and speaking up to protect Country via the inspiring Gudanji for Country movement. You can follow on Instagram and support their work here - https://www.gudanjiforcountry.com/