Djabugay Country: An Aboriginal History of Tropical North Queensland

'Good history is the pursuit of truth.'-Noel Pearson'. . . the Djabugay renaissance is a story for all of Australia to celebrate.'-Henry ReynoldsFrom time immemorial, a people called the Djabugay lived in the rainforests behind Cairns in Tropical Far North Queensland. Trade routes from the coast to the lush tablelands and beyond linked established settlements; outrigger canoes voyaged along the coast and out into the Great Barrier Reef.Today, 130 years after the coming of the white man, the Djabugay are a remnant-their lands taken away from them, their Storywaters partially lost. But they are a remnant determined to make their way in a transformed world.Djabugay Country is the story of this people and their struggle-what happened to them and how it happened. It takes us from first contact between the rainforest dwellers and the newcomers to the present day. Through accounts of the lives of families and individuals, it shows how out of dispossession and tragedy has come strength and hope.The story of the Djabugay, their lands and way of life, is part of the story of a nation, not only because it tells us what happened to a small group of traditional people caught up in the expansion of the white frontier, but because it is a microcosm of what happened throughout Australia. It is a story all Australians should know.Timothy Bottoms is a Cairns-based professional historian and radio producer whose many published and broadcast projects include histories of Tropical Far North Queensland based on collaboration with local people. To research and write Djabugay Country, Timothy worked closely with the Elders of the Djabugay to blend oral testimony with documentary, pictorial and other archival material into a fascinating community history.Timothy Bottoms is the author of 'Djabugay Country: An Aboriginal History of Tropical North Queensland' with ISBN 9781865080314 and ISBN 1865080314.