"Dark Emu" By Bruce Pascoe
Young Dark Emu - A Truer History
‘Dark Emu injects a profound authenticity into the conversation about how we Australians understand our continent ... [It is] essential reading for anyone who wants to understand what Australia once was, or what it might yet be if we heed the lessons of long and sophisticated human occupation.’ Judges for 2016 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards
Dark Emu puts forward an argument for a reconsideration of the hunter-gatherer tag for pre-colonial Aboriginal Australians. The evidence insists that Aboriginal people right across the continent were using domesticated plants, sowing, harvesting, irrigating, and storing — behaviours inconsistent with the hunter-gatherer tag. Gerritsen and Gammage in their latest books support this premise but Pascoe takes this further and challenges the hunter-gatherer tag as a convenient lie. Almost all the evidence in Dark Emu comes from the records and diaries of the Australian explorers, impeccable sources.
Bruce’s comments on his book compared to Gammage’s: “ My book is about food production, housing construction and clothing, whereas Gammage was interested in the appearance of the country at contact. [Gammage] doesn’t contest hunter gatherer labels either, whereas that is at the centre of my argument.”
Winner – Book of the Year in the 2016 NSW Premier's Literary Awards
Winner – Indigenous Writer's Prize in the 2016 NSW Premier's Literary Awards
Shortlisted – History Book Award in the 2014 Queensland Literary Awards
Shortlisted – 2014 Victorian Premier's Award for Indigenous Writing
- ISBN: 9781921248016
- ISBN-10: 1921248017
- Audience: General
- Format: Paperback
- Language: English
- Number Of Pages: 278
- Published: 1st June 2018
- Publisher: Magabala Books
- Country of Publication: AU
- Dimensions (cm): 18.5 x 13.5 x 2.5
- Weight (kg): 0.31
More About The Artist
More About The Artist


About Bruce Pascoe
About Bruce Pascoe
Bruce Pascoe is a highly acclaimed Yuin, Bunurong and Tasmanian author whose work has reshaped the landscape of Australian literature. Celebrated for both adult and young adult titles, Bruce brings history, culture and truth-telling to the forefront of his storytelling.
His groundbreaking book Dark Emu (Magabala Books, 2014) won the NSW Premier’s Book of the Year and sparked national conversation around Aboriginal agricultural history. Its young readers’ edition, Young Dark Emu, received the CBCA Eve Pownall Award in 2020. Bruce also received the Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Young Adult Fiction for Fog a Dox (2012), and in 2018 was honoured with the Australia Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature.
A passionate advocate for truth-telling, Bruce draws from his diverse life experiences—teacher, farmer, language researcher, editor—to create works that challenge and inspire. He lives on his farm in Gippsland, Victoria, continuing to write stories that illuminate and empower.
Bruce Pascoe is a highly acclaimed Yuin, Bunurong and Tasmanian author whose work has reshaped the landscape of Australian literature. Celebrated for both adult and young adult titles, Bruce brings history, culture and truth-telling to the forefront of his storytelling.
His groundbreaking book Dark Emu (Magabala Books, 2014) won the NSW Premier’s Book of the Year and sparked national conversation around Aboriginal agricultural history. Its young readers’ edition, Young Dark Emu, received the CBCA Eve Pownall Award in 2020. Bruce also received the Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Young Adult Fiction for Fog a Dox (2012), and in 2018 was honoured with the Australia Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature.
A passionate advocate for truth-telling, Bruce draws from his diverse life experiences—teacher, farmer, language researcher, editor—to create works that challenge and inspire. He lives on his farm in Gippsland, Victoria, continuing to write stories that illuminate and empower.