The first impression that any stranger must receive in a fully organised group in Eastern Arnhem land is of industry. He cannot fail to see that everybody, man or woman, works hard, and that the work is well organised and runs smoothly. And he must also be impressed by the fact that... there is no idleness . Even the younger men are engaged fully in hunting and fishing activities and work hard, in marked contrast with the conditions in similar groups close to the white settlement, where the organisation is breaking down.  Neither men nor women are idle for long and even in camp as they sit around their fires them may be seen to pick up a basket, a fish net, a spear or other weapon, and work at this as they talk, just as they did when they halted at midday to rest and to cook food. Yet there is no feeling of haste, but rather of method, of system and order.

What are the drives, the incentives which lie behind all this organisation? Why does it move so smoothly, and what induces the people to work hard, so willingly, without any apparent direction, control or authority?

Donald Thomson, 1949 cited in Bob Baker, The Spear and the Gun Japanese Attacks on Arnhem Land: A Wartime History of Milingimbi 1942-1945, Bob Baker/Avenmore Books, 2017, p28

Latest Papers

The working papers collection comprises historical papers as well as current ideas and works in progress on some of the major issues and topics of our times.

HERD Performance 2011 (released 3 March 2011)
Ever wondered at the elusive quality of Australian academics and universities, if you want to know what makes them tick you will have to join the HERD (Higher Education Research Data Collection).
» more
The New Politics (released 1 March 2011)
"For this is the new politics; history, tradition, old allegiances and overweening presumption hold no sway anymore." Miriam Lord, Irish Times, Feb 28, 2011
» more
Mad Bastards vs The Politics of Suffering (released 31 January 2011)
The must-see movie of the summer.
» more
The Brisbane Flood: The Ghost of Clem Jones, Anna Bligh and the Wisdom, Wonders and Pecadillos of Kevin Rudd (released 13 January 2011)
From big country town in 1974 to the modern metroplis of 2011 - there are lessons for Brisbane's recovery.
» more
How Australia Won the Third Ashes Test in Perth (released 23 December 2010)
The secret behind Australia's incredible come-from-behind victory in the Third Ashes Test in Perth from Dec 16-20, 2010
» more
The latest outrage from NSW Labor (released 16 December 2010)
One of the things that the voters of NSW, the last rusted-on supporters of the Labor Party in NSW and the labour movement of NSW have to calculate in the run up to the next election is: should Labor candidates be completely disregarded, and consciously ranked last, on their ballot papers? It is the only way the most morally corrupt political machine since the Rum Corps, can ever be curbed.
» more
Kingdom of Nothingness (released 14 December 2010)
There is a cycle of poverty abroad in our land that has nothing to do with material wealth. It concerns human spirit, capability and capacity, enduring knowledge, independence, self worth and well being. It is better to be materially poor than spiritually impoverished. Aboriginal Australians understand this to their core. That is why, so often, the admonitions of bureaucrats and the lures of wealth, mean nothing to them.
» more
The Attempted Assassination of Bernie Riordan (released 6 December 2010)
It was a time of wildness in thought and action...
» more
Book of the Year (released 24 November 2010)
The Bastard’s A Genius: The Robert Clifford Story by Alastair Mant, Allen and Unwin, 2010
» more
Joe for Annette... ?? (released 19 November 2010)
Today I woke up thinking if only we could trade Joe for Annette Tripodi - the creative director of WomAdelaide. But it would be so unfair on South Australia.
» more

Pages