Outspoken with David Marr

When David Marr set out to research the life of his great-grandmother the last thing he expected to find was a photograph of her father, dressed in the uniform of the Native Police.

‘I was,’ he writes, ‘appalled and curious. I have been writing about the politics of race all my career. I know what side I’m on. Yet that afternoon I found, in the lower branches of my family tree, Sub-Inspector Reginald Uhr, a professional killer of Aborigines… and his brother D’arcy… also in the massacre business.’

That curiosity led David to study of early New South Wales politics and the way land was apportioned to the squatters, and from there to the activities of the Native Police. Out of this has come his extraordinary new book, Killing For Country.

David is the author of several previous books, and he has written for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Saturday Paper and The Monthly, and was a reporter for Four Corners. He is also the winner of three Walkley Awards and two honorary Doctorates.

The introducing author will be Mirandi Riwoe, speaking about her new book, Sunbirds. Set in Java during the Second World War, Sunbirds depicts the intricate web of identities and loyalties created by war and imperialism, and the heartbreaking compromises that so often ensue.

David and Mirandi will be in conversation with Steven Lang on Tuesday October 24, at the Maleny Community Centre, 6 for 6.30pm. Tickets via outspokenmaleny.com