farewell to

And so we say farewell to yet another passing show

Thursday Island Nurse, the type of historical-autobiographical book that Elizabeth Burchill has written, typifies so many people’s attitude to the natives of the places in which they live and draw their incomes.

Apart from the photographs which illustrate the book, one could easily read it and not be made aware that there were any natural inhabitants on Thursday Island. Yes, an occasional passing mention, much as one de scribes vegetation! But none of the real interest of Thursday Island is contained in this book by a woman of experience in tropical places, an observant woman whose writing flows easily and is readable.

Instead of a book for white people about white people, surely Sister Burchill could have written something which might have helped to establish the fact that the island is populated by real people concerned about their own future, and who probably do not regard the white characters in the book quite as Sister Burchill does.

I kept asking myself, whether I was reading about Thursday Island, Port Moresby, Alice Springs, or Elizabeth Bay: the characters exist in all these places with different names. Oh, yes, very readable! But why do these nurses and missionaries who write this kind of book give the impression that they have never so much as spoken a word to a native of the place they write about? If I were a native of Thursday Island I should be offended at Sister Burchill s book, which on every page relegates the real Thursday Islanders to second There are dozens of books which do the same thing, books which it is time publishers stopped producing.

Peter Livingston.

(Thursday Island Nurse. By

Elizabeth Burchill. Rigby Ltd. $3.95).