If the test of sophistication were whether or not all were fed regardless of rank, or whether all contributed to the spiritual and cultural health of the civilisation, Aboriginal Australia might have a much higher rank than some of the nations considered the hallmark of human evolution While Dark Emu is controversial, in it Bruce’s humanism shines: In it, Bruce provides evidence from the writings of the earliest European explorers that the Aboriginal inhabitants they encountered had permanent dwellings, used sustainable farming and fire management practices, and used complex systems of law and oral history to manage their societies.

In 2020 Bruce Pascoe was appointed Enterprise Professor in Indigenous Agriculture by the University of Melbourne.ĭark Emu is a gripping, moving, and carefully researched exploration of the systematic denigration of Aboriginal Australian’s technology, agriculture and culture. He has published a collection of short stories, two novels, and three histories including Dark Emu and Young Dark Emu.īruce Pascoe has won a number of awards, including:ġ999: Fellowship of Australian Writers - Australian Literature Award for Shark, joint winner (with David Foster)Ģ013: Prime Minister's Literary Award - Young Adult Fiction.Ģ013: The Deadlys - Published book of the year.Ģ016: NSW Premier's Literary Award for Dark EmuĢ016: New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards - Indigenous Writers' Prize.Ģ018: Australia Council for the Arts - Lifetime Achievement Award.

He taught in Bairnsdale for nine years before beginning his career as an author. He attended the University of Melbourne, then transferred to Melbourne State College where he graduated with a Bachelor of Education. As he was growing up, his family did not tell him about his aboriginal heritage, but on hearing from an uncle that there may have been some indigenous ancestry he researched his family tree and discovered ancestors on both sides of his family, from the Palawa people of Tasmania, the Bunurong of Victoria (part of the Kulin nation), and the Yuin of southern New South Wales.

Bruce was born in 1947 into a working class family.

Bruce pascoe aboriginal