A Most Peculiar Act (Marie Munkara, Magabala)

A Most Peculiar Act is a novel set in Darwin during World War II, and describes the collision between the pompous white bureaucrats of Darwin and the Aboriginal people the bureaucrats thought they should control. The book opens with the appointment of the unhygienic and unpopular Horatio Humphries as ‘chief protector of Aboriginals’. His staff are used to taking it easy, and can’t believe it when the ‘Horrid Hump’ insists on them doing their jobs and staying sober. The local people are also appalled, especially when a bunch of strangers from inland is dumped on the same land without any preparation. The novel includes all the elements of a farce, including saucy adultery, cartoonish violence and characters with no self-awareness. Each chapter focusses on particular individuals and interactions, such as the malicious renaming of Aboriginal characters with English names such as Fuel Drum and Sugar. As the story develops, though, Munkara’s wit slices through the white characters’ ignorance and self-regard, exposing the accommodations the Aboriginal people were forced into making to try to stay independent and alive.

Shane Strange is an ex-bookseller and writer who teaches writing at the University of Canberra

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Category: Reviews