{"id":139359,"date":"2021-03-16T10:39:09","date_gmt":"2021-03-15T23:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/?p=139359"},"modified":"2021-03-16T10:39:10","modified_gmt":"2021-03-15T23:39:10","slug":"read-a-qa-with-mark-mckenna-return-to-uluru","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/2021\/03\/16\/read-a-qa-with-mark-mckenna-return-to-uluru\/","title":{"rendered":"Read a Q&A with Mark McKenna | Return to Uluru"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Mark<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Mark McKenna is one of Australia\u2019s leading historians, based at the University of Sydney. He is the author of several prize-winning books, including From the Edge: Australia\u2019s Lost Histories, Looking for Blackfellas\u2019 Point and An Eye for Eternity: The Life of Manning Clark, which won the Prime Minister\u2019s Literary Award for nonfiction and the Victorian, New South Wales, Queensland and South Australian premiers\u2019 awards.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, Mark is on the blog to answer some of our questions about Return to Uluru<\/a><\/strong>, his brand new book about a cold case that goes to the heart of the nation. Read on …<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n
\"Mark<\/a>

Mark McKenna<\/p><\/div>\n

Please tell us about your book, Return to Uluru<\/em>.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

MM:<\/strong> It tells the story of the shooting of an Aboriginal man (Yokununna) by a policeman (Bill McKinnon) at Uluru in 1934. I\u2019ve also tracked the afterlife of the story down to the present.<\/p>\n

I think I\u2019ll only come across a story like this once in my life. It\u2019s extraordinary to see how it unfolds. <\/p>\n\n\n

How did you come across the 1934 shooting at Uluru of Aboriginal man Yokunnuna by a white policeman? What made you realise that it was a story that needed to be told today?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

MM:<\/strong> I\u2019d known about it for a long time, but it was only when I started to find out more about Bill McKinnon\u2019s life that I discovered things that demanded to be told.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the significance of the shooting\u2019s location (Uluru) to the case as a whole?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

MM:<\/strong> I\u2019d like my readers to come to their own views about this question. I\u2019ve tried to tell the story without coming in over the top and telling the reader what to think. But the significance of Uluru as the location for this story is undeniable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You talked with the families of both Yokunnuna and his killer, Bill McKinnon. What was the most surprising thing you discovered when you did?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

MM:<\/strong> The biggest discoveries came when I tracked down Bill McKinnon\u2019s daughter in Brisbane. She kindly invited me to her home and look through some of her father\u2019s things that were still in the garage. There, I found all of McKinnon\u2019s journals and logbooks, one of which he kept on the morning after the shooting at Uluru in 1934 and completely overturned our understanding of what happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve also travelled to Uluru to talk to Sammy Wilson, who is one of the senior custodians of Uluru, and the grand-nephew of Yokunnuna. Sammy\u2019s detailed knowledge of the story and its importance for the Anangu is very much a part of the story I tell in the book. I couldn\u2019t have got there without him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘It\u2019s impossible to understand the society we live in without understanding the ideas and forces that have shaped it over time.’<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What do you think Return to Uluru<\/em> adds to the current dialogue around police violence and the Black Lives Matter movement?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

MM:<\/strong> It shows how long we\u2019ve been dealing with these issues. Racial inequality and injustice is deeply embedded in our society. The Black Lives Matter movement speaks directly to Australia\u2019s history of racism. I hope that my book adds to that discussion and helps us see the urgency of redressing long-standing areas of injustice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What purpose do you think the study and writing of history serves for society today?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

MM:<\/strong> Just a small question! History serves many purposes, largely depending on who\u2019s using it. But it\u2019s impossible to understand the society we live in without understanding the ideas and forces that have shaped it over time. We\u2019re storytellers and without history we\u2019re rudderless. I think I\u2019ve always written in a way that makes history speak to the present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How has writing Return to Uluru<\/em> changed your perspective or understanding of modern Australian culture?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

MM:<\/strong> Because the response of the two families involved has been so generous, it\u2019s made me more hopeful that Australia can achieve genuine reconciliation between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you hope today\u2019s readers can learn from this historical cold case?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

MM:<\/strong> I want them to read the book first, and come to their own conclusions. As you can see, I\u2019m trying to keep you in suspense!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And finally, what\u2019s up next for you?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

MM:<\/strong> First, I want to help get this book out in the world. Then I\u2019d like to write a biography. I\u2019ve written one already (An Eye for Eternity: the Life of Manning Clark<\/a><\/strong><\/em>) and I miss the immersion in another person\u2019s life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks Mark!<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Return to Uluru<\/a><\/em> by Mark McKenna (Black Inc. Books) is out now.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

‘History serves many purposes, largely depending on who\u2019s using it.’<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":139365,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[6676],"tags":[715,9297,12682,2434,12680,4383,12681],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/MarkMcKenna-Social-e1615851144958.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139359"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139359"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139359\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":139382,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139359\/revisions\/139382"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/139365"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}