In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, people of mixed Aboriginal and European ancestry – so-called “half-castes” – were commonly assumed to be morally and physically defective, unstable and degenerate. They bore the brunt of society’s contempt, and the removal of their children created Australia’s stolen generations.
“Nowhere People” is a history of beliefs about people of mixed race, both in Australia and overseas. It explores the concept of racial purity, eugenics, and the threat posed by miscegenation.
Award-winning author Henry Reynolds also tells for the first time of his own family’s search for the truth about his father’s ancestry, and gives a poignant account of the contemporary predicament facing people of mixed heritage.
