Hollywood, Amarroo - a literary novel
Available as an e-book from Amazon.com
On the fourth of February 2007 the Hon Kate Ellis, Federal Member for the seat of Adelaide launched my book Hollywood, Amarroo at the SA Writers' Centre in Adelaide. The book chronicles the lives and times of Aborigines living in Hollywood a reserve bordering Amarroo a country town in the heart of Queensland. The novel is based on a true story that unfolded in the late sixties.
The Story
When two young lovers ignore the prejudices of the day to
defend an Aboriginal mother accused of manslaughter, they blaze a trail to
reconciliation.

In September 1968 the police arrested Rosalie after the
death of her baby in Hollywood, a reserve bordering Amarroo. While the charge of
manslaughter was based on criminal neglect, there were suspicious circumstances
- the baby had bruises all over her body.
Peter Russell an idealistic,
out- of- town lawyer decides to defend Rosalie while his lover Allison Gray
discovers Dr Parker, who disagrees with the claims of the Amarroo doctor. Peter,
Ally and Dr Parker stand by Rosalie knowing the deep-seated prejudices of the
Amarroo folk and the plight of Rosalie's lot who live in lamentable poverty.
The Endorsement
"You think outback Australia is racist?
Try this novel of a Queensland outback town set in the 70s. A rich and complex
novel of deep north racism as violent as Palm Island today, with a historical
consciousness worthy of Judith Wright or Thea Astley."
Professor Peter
Read of the National Centre for Indigenous Studies
Hollywood,
Amarroo, is the author’s first novel after a distinguished career in
Science. The book is founded on his conviction that our compassion should not be
confined to relatives and friends. If one suffers, we all suffer; if one is
killed we mourn because our humanity is diminished. His book is timely because
today more than ever we need to extend our compassion to those we don’t know:
the Aborigines, the refugees, the famished and the downtrodden.
Availability
"Hollywood, Amarroo" had a limited distribution in Adelaide. This book is no longer available, but an e-version of the book is available from Amazon.com.