White Flour, White Power: From Rations to Citizenship in Central Australia [Hardcover]

Tim Rowse (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 28, 1998 | ISBN-10: 0521624576 | ISBN-13: 978-0521624572 | Edition: 1

This book focuses on the colonial practice of rationing goods to Aboriginal people, arguing that much of the colonial experience in Central Australia can be understood by seeing rationing as a fundamental, though flexible, instrument of colonial government. Rationing was the material basis for a variety of colonial ventures: scientific, evangelical, pastoral and the postwar program of "assimilation." Combining history and anthropology in a cultural study of rationing, this book develops a new narrative of the colonization of Central Australia.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Especially useful for advanced undergraduate and graduate students and researchers interested in colonial economies and social relations." Choice

"Those readers looking for a fresh and nuanced reading of indigenous/non-indigenous relations in outback Australia in the twentieth century will find this book a welcome addition to the literature on the subject." Peggy Brock, American Historical Review

"If the examination of history is a means to grasp the present, then this book is a success." Laurent Dousset, Pacific Affairs

Book Description

This book focuses on the colonial practice of rationing goods to Aboriginal people, arguing that much of the colonial experience in Central Australia can be understood by seeing rationing as a fundamental, though flexible, instrument of colonial government. Rationing was the material basis for a variety of colonial ventures: scientific, evangelical, pastoral and the post-war program of 'assimilation'. Combining history and anthropology in a cultural study of rationing, this book develops a new narrative of the colonisation of Central Australia.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 1 edition (June 28, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521624576
• ISBN-13: 978-0521624572
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,733,431 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars First rate history, May 28, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: White Flour, White Power: From Rations to Citizenship in Central Australia (Paperback)

Rowse traces the history of Aboriginal contact with white settlers by examining the economic rewards offered to the indigenous people by pastoralists and missionaries, from the first distribution of foodstuffs through the integration of Aboriginal people into a cash economy in the last 50 years. This is a book that wil suprise you with insights and connections, make even statistics live, and demonstrate how comlicated the skein of relationships between black and white in Australia hav ebeen and continue to be. Each transaction seems to offer good and bad, and although Rowse never attempts to speak for the Aboriginal people, but only examines the voices of whitefellas through their leavings in the historical record, he manages to pressent a balanced and nuanced understanding of both sides of the frontier.