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Background/context.

White Australia:
The White Australia policy was the unofficial name given
to the Immigration Restriction Act 1901, one of the first
pieces of legislation passed by the parliament of the
newly federated Australia. The act allowed immigration
officers to exclude people subjectively (on the basis of
race) by making them take a dictation test in a European
language of the officers choosing. This test, and the
discrimination that went along with it, was still in
operation in the 1950s.
Although the White Australia policy sanctioned
discrimination against those non-white- individuals
entering the country, rather than those already here-
the indigenous inhabitants-it is a relevant historical
context to consider, as it helped to perpetuate the idea
of white superiority and the exclusion of non-white
members of the community.
World War I, or the Great War, began in 1914 when
Britain declared war on Germany. Australia, as part of
the British Empire, was involved from the beginning.
(see pg 18)

Thousands of Australian men volunteered to fight with


the British, and during the ensuing four years they were
stationed and fought in numerous locations including
Egypt, France, Turkey, Jerusalem, Palestine, Lebanon
and Syria.

Over 1000 of these men were indigenous, and this is


considered an underestimation, as many indigenous
men had to hide their Indigenous identity, so it is
probable that many went unrecorded.
The overall human cost of WWI was great, with
Australian troops no exception: only around half
of the Australian soldiers returned alive and
without serious injury. This is reflected by the
loss of life in several scenes in Black Diggers,
and in the chock and adjustment faced by those
who did make it back home.
Research and real lives
Was intended to be performed by nine male
indigenous actors:

Although the play is fictional, it is composed of many


true stories. Wright, Enoch, Williams and other
researchers amalgamated the experiences, records
and memories of many indigenous soldiers and
compressed these into a single (though fragmented)
narrative.
Genre
Essentially a serious play- though it does have
characteristics of black comedy (comedy dealing with
situations and events that are tragic)

Use of humour also conveys a familiar Australian


characteristic, that of the larrikin personality. The word
usually describes someone cheeky, mischievous, even
irresponsible or badly behaved, but always with an
underlying tone of good-natured and warm intentions.
This description perfectly fits some of the characters in
Black Diggers, and a larrikin quality is often associated
with the national mythology of mateship and courage
Genre
The play also shares characteristics with two closely
linked theatrical forms: Documentary drama (or theatre)
and verbatim theatre. Documentary drama uses events
and sometimes words directly from real life (news
media, journalism etc.) whereas verbatim theatre takes
most or even all its dialogue directly from interviews
with real people involved in the events portrayed.

Another common element to documentary or verbatim


theatre (also used by Wright in Black Diggers) is that it
is written for a small number of actors who play various
roles. The ensures the narrative moves beyond
individual experience to capture shared social and
Structure
Does not follow a straightforward chronological
progression, but moves backwards and forwards
in time

The shellshock experience of those in the war-


fragments of story mixed with emotional
responses (p.5)

The structure of the play may serve as a


metaphor for the experience of the characters.
Language

Dialogue is predominantly in a realistic


style that aims to accurately represent
speech. Generally informal, including
contractions, slang and casual phrasing
and vocabulary.
Use of English
One of Wrights stated intentions is to tell neglected
and forgotten stories (.p.4) these stories are told in
Australian English rather than in the traditional
languages of the Indigenous characters. This reflects
the plays intended audience, and demonstrates how an
authors expectations of their audience can influence
their decision when constructing texts.

Black Diggers was written for a commercial audience,


and with the hopes of putting black faces back into all
our history (p.6)
Scene-by-scene
Act One (pp.13-65)

Scene 1 (pp.13-14)

Key Vocab:

Full Blood: A term used to describe an individual whose


heritage is solely Australian Aboriginal (as compared to mixed
and half blood. Note that this and similar terms reflect the era
in which the scene was set, and are now considered offensive.

Why do you think the play begins in darkness with sound


effects, and what do you think Wright means by the sound of
Act One (pp.13-65)

Scene 2 (pp.15-16)

Setting and characters: 1914, near the Gwydir


River, New South Wales, Harry, Harrys mates,
Retired Schoolmaster

The young Australians are completely oblivious to the war


that seems to have nothing to do with their quiet reality. The
old mans attempts to scare the boys into patriotism backfires
on him. Why?

The boys interpretations of what is meant by far distant


lands (p.15) show the scope of their world. Narrabri and
Song 1 (p.17)

The first of eight songs. (Some sourced outside


the text)

Used to transition between


scenes/times/places.

The images in the song are of patriotic Australian


ideals, illustrating the world that the schoolmaster
(previous scene) aspires to protect. The songs
simple sentiments contrast with the complexities of
Act One (pp.13-65)

Scene 3 (p. 18)

Setting and characters: 1914, somewhere in


Australia. Harry, Harrys mates.

The scene echoes the idea in the previous scene that,


while the war may be significant, it is of little
relevance to the boys lives. When Harrys mate offers
a detailed explanation of events leading up tio the
war, Harry dismisses it with a humorous reiteration of
the throw-away line no-one knows what its about
(p.18)

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