Rabbit Proof Fence: Home

This is an extraordinary story of courage and faith. It is based on the actual experiences of three girls who fled from the repressive life of Moore River Native Settlement, following along the rabbit-proof fence back to their homelands. Assimilationist policy deemed these girls were taken from their kin and their land in order to be made white. Never having seen the ocean before, the three girls’ experience of transportation by boat to the settlement was tormenting. But their torment was just beginning. Settlement life was unbearable with its chains and padlocks, barred windows, hard cold beds and horrible food. Solitary confinement was doled out as regular punishment. They were not even allowed to speak their language. Of all the journeys made since white people set foot on Australian soil, the 1931 journey made by these girls born of Aboriginal mothers and white fathers speaks something to us all.

Reading Australia/UQP

This is a true story - story of my sister Daisy, my cousin Gracie and me when we were little. Our people, the Jigalong mob, we were desert people then, walking all over our land. My mum told me about how the white people came to our country. They made a storehouse here at Jigalong - brought clothes and other things - flour, tobacco, tea. Gave them to us on ration day. We came there, made a camp nearby. They were building a long fence.

"Half-caste children have been gathered up and brought here to give them the benefit of everything our culture has to offer. For if we are to fit and train such children for the future, they cannot be left as they are, and in spite of himself, the native must be helped."

photo: Gage Skidmore

Phillip Noyce (born 29 April 1950) is an Australian director, producer, and screenwriter of film and television. Since 1977, he has directed over 19 feature films in various genres, including historical drama (Newsfront, Rabbit-Proof Fence, The Quiet American), thrillers (Dead Calm, Sliver, The Bone Collector), and action films (Blind Fury, The Saint, Salt). He has also directed the Jack Ryan adaptations Patriot Games (1992) and Clear and Present Danger (1994) and the 2014 adaptation of Lois Lowry's The Giver.

He has worked with such actors as Harrison Ford, Denzel Washington, Michael Caine, Angelina Jolie, Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep, and Rutger Hauer. He has also directed, written, and executive-produced television programmes in both Australia and North America, including The Cowra Breakout, Vietnam, Revenge, Roots, and most-recently Netflix's What/If.

Noyce's work has won him several accolades, including AACTA Awards for Best Film, Best Director, and a special Longford Lyell lifetime achievement award.

Wikipedia

Daisy Kadibil, left, with her sister Molly, right, and actors Laura Monaghan and Everlyn Sampi at the 2002 premiere of Rabbit Proof Fence. Picture: Jackson Flindell

ADVICE

Teachers are advised that exploration of the experience of the Stolen Generations may produce strong emotional responses in both students and members of their wider community. Care should be taken in considering this text and the important issues it explores, particularly where such exploration includes students from an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander heritage.