*He Speaks Our Language* is the biography of Wilfrid Henry Douglas, a veteran linguist and missionary to Aboriginal people in Australia for more than 60 years. Wilf is the father of the author, Rob Douglas. The book is based on memoirs written by Wilf prior to his death in March...
*He Speaks Our Language* is the biography of Wilfrid Henry Douglas, a veteran linguist and missionary to Aboriginal people in Australia for more than 60 years. Wilf is the father of the author, Rob Douglas. The book is based on memoirs written by Wilf prior to his death in March 2004. The book traces the journey of Wilf from his childhood in Belfast, Northern Ireland and his transportation to a children's home, Fairbridge, in rural Western Australia as a 12-year-old, never to see his parents again. Experiences at Fairbridge affected Wilf later in life when he was responsible for closing down Aboriginal children's homes at Sunday Island in the far north of Western Australia and at Warburton Ranges in the desert. Exciting stories are told of Wilf and his Aboriginal colleague paddling across dangerous whirlpools in a dinghy in huge tides in the saltwater country in the north of Western Australia, to weeks stranded in the central Australian desert waiting for repairs to a broken down truck. The biography belongs as much of the many Aboriginal people who contributed to Wilf's life as it his own story. People like the sinewy Bardi man who accompanied him on his whirlpool nightmare, the fox-hunter who taught Wilf his first Aboriginal word on a dusty road in the West Australian wheatbelt, and the desert man who sat with him for many hours sharing his language and culture. It also includes more well known people such as Ernie Dingo and Albert Namatjira. Wilf contributed significantly to the knowledge of Aboriginal languages across Australia, and to the translation of the Bible into a number of Aboriginal languages. But the story traces the way in which he faced the odds in learning Aboriginal languages when missions didn't think this was necessary, listening to the stories of Aboriginal people when others wanted to evangelise without listening. It is a story of courage and hope.
He Speaks Our Language is the biography of Wilfrid Henry Douglas, a veteran linguist and missionary to Aboriginal people in Australia for more than 60 years. Wilf is the father of the author, Rob Douglas. The book is based on memoirs written by Wilf prior to his death in March 2004. The book traces the journey of Wilf from his childhood in Belfast, Northern Ireland and his transportation to a children's home, Fairbridge, in rural Western Australia as a 12-year-old, never to see his parents again. Experiences at Fairbridge affected Wilf later in life when he was responsible for closing down Aboriginal children's homes at Sunday Island in the far north of Western Australia and at Warburton Ranges in the desert. Exciting stories are told of Wilf and his Aboriginal colleague paddling across dangerous whirlpools in a dinghy in huge tides in the saltwater country in the north of Western Australia, to weeks stranded in the central Australian desert waiting for repairs to a broken down truck. The biography belongs as much of the many Aboriginal people who contributed to Wilf's life as it his own story. People like the sinewy Bardi man who accompanied him on his whirlpool nightmare, the fox-hunter who taught Wilf his first Aboriginal word on a dusty road in the West Australian wheatbelt, and the desert man who sat with him for many hours sharing his language and culture. It also includes more well known people such as Ernie Dingo and Albert Namatjira. Wilf contributed significantly to the knowledge of Aboriginal languages across Australia, and to the translation of the Bible into a number of Aboriginal languages. But the story traces the way in which he faced the odds in learning Aboriginal languages when missions didn't think this was necessary, listening to the stories of Aboriginal people when others wanted to evangelise without listening. It is a story of courage and hope.
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*He Speaks Our Language* is the biography of Wilfrid Henry Douglas, a veteran linguist and missionary to Aboriginal people in Australia for more than 60 years. Wilf is the father of the author, Rob Douglas. The book is based on memoirs written by Wilf prior to his death in March...
*He Speaks Our Language* is the biography of Wilfrid Henry Douglas, a veteran linguist and missionary to Aboriginal people in Australia for more than 60 years. Wilf is the father of the author, Rob Douglas. The book is based on memoirs written by Wilf prior to his death in March 2004. The book traces the journey of Wilf from his childhood in Belfast, Northern Ireland and his transportation to a children's home, Fairbridge, in rural Western Australia as a 12-year-old, never to see his parents again. Experiences at Fairbridge affected Wilf later in life when he was responsible for closing down Aboriginal children's homes at Sunday Island in the far north of Western Australia and at Warburton Ranges in the desert. Exciting stories are told of Wilf and his Aboriginal colleague paddling across dangerous whirlpools in a dinghy in huge tides in the saltwater country in the north of Western Australia, to weeks stranded in the central Australian desert waiting for repairs to a broken down truck. The biography belongs as much of the many Aboriginal people who contributed to Wilf's life as it his own story. People like the sinewy Bardi man who accompanied him on his whirlpool nightmare, the fox-hunter who taught Wilf his first Aboriginal word on a dusty road in the West Australian wheatbelt, and the desert man who sat with him for many hours sharing his language and culture. It also includes more well known people such as Ernie Dingo and Albert Namatjira. Wilf contributed significantly to the knowledge of Aboriginal languages across Australia, and to the translation of the Bible into a number of Aboriginal languages. But the story traces the way in which he faced the odds in learning Aboriginal languages when missions didn't think this was necessary, listening to the stories of Aboriginal people when others wanted to evangelise without listening. It is a story of courage and hope.
He Speaks Our Language is the biography of Wilfrid Henry Douglas, a veteran linguist and missionary to Aboriginal people in Australia for more than 60 years. Wilf is the father of the author, Rob Douglas. The book is based on memoirs written by Wilf prior to his death in March 2004. The book traces the journey of Wilf from his childhood in Belfast, Northern Ireland and his transportation to a children's home, Fairbridge, in rural Western Australia as a 12-year-old, never to see his parents again. Experiences at Fairbridge affected Wilf later in life when he was responsible for closing down Aboriginal children's homes at Sunday Island in the far north of Western Australia and at Warburton Ranges in the desert. Exciting stories are told of Wilf and his Aboriginal colleague paddling across dangerous whirlpools in a dinghy in huge tides in the saltwater country in the north of Western Australia, to weeks stranded in the central Australian desert waiting for repairs to a broken down truck. The biography belongs as much of the many Aboriginal people who contributed to Wilf's life as it his own story. People like the sinewy Bardi man who accompanied him on his whirlpool nightmare, the fox-hunter who taught Wilf his first Aboriginal word on a dusty road in the West Australian wheatbelt, and the desert man who sat with him for many hours sharing his language and culture. It also includes more well known people such as Ernie Dingo and Albert Namatjira. Wilf contributed significantly to the knowledge of Aboriginal languages across Australia, and to the translation of the Bible into a number of Aboriginal languages. But the story traces the way in which he faced the odds in learning Aboriginal languages when missions didn't think this was necessary, listening to the stories of Aboriginal people when others wanted to evangelise without listening. It is a story of courage and hope.
He Speaks Our Language: The Story of An Irish Missionary in the Australian Outback$29.99
Koorong code99251
ISBN9780992519278
Pages164
PublisherArk House Press
Publication date30 June 2014
Dimensions9 x 140 x 210mm
Weight0.179kg
4.0
Rated 4.0 out of 5 stars
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He Speaks Our Language is an important story of the work of Wilfrid Henry Douglas. Wilf was ahead of his time in many ways, showing genuine interest in Aboriginal culture and partnering with Aboriginal people to translate the Bible. \\nWilfrid started out with disadvantage, having been sent by his parents from Northern Ireland to Fairbridge Farm children's home in Western Australia. His experience of living in an orphanage situation helped him empathise with Aboriginal children who had been removed from their families to live in missions. At one point, in northern Western Australia, the children were sick, so with inadequate medical resources and recognising the illnesses were caused and exacerbated by community living, he sent them all back to their parents. \\nThe book is well written, easy to read and short. In fact, I would like it to have been a bit longer and have delved more into Wilfrid's personal life. I'm particularly keen to know if he was able to re-connect with any of his Irish family. Highly recommended. \\n
