DATES, VENUES, TICKETS 2007

Feb 28 - Mar 3

Sydney Glen Street Theatre

Sept 26	South Australia Port Pirie, Keith Michell Theatre Bookings: (08) 8844 0400 www.countryarts.org.au
Sept 29	South Australia Whyalla, Middleback Theatre Bookings: (08) 8844 0400 www.countryarts.org.au
Oct 3	South Australia Renmark, Chaffey Theatre Bookings: (08) 8844 0400 www.countryarts.org.au
Oct 6	South Australia Mt Gambier, Sir Robert Helpmann Theatre Bookings: (08) 8844 0400 www.countryarts.org.au
Oct 12, 13	Tasmania Launceston, Princess Theatre Bookings: (03) 6323 3666 www.theatrenorth.com.au
Oct 18, 19	Victoria Shepparton, Shepparton Theatre Bookings: (03) 5832 9865 WestSide Theatre
Oct 23	Victoria Dandenong, Dandenong Theatre Bookings: (03) 9771 6666 Drum Theatre
Oct 26	Victoria Sale, ESSO BHP Billiton Wellington Entertainment Centre Bookings: (03) 5143 3200 ESSO BHP Billiton Wellington Entertainment Centre
Oct 30	Victoria Warragul, The Arts Centre Bookings: (03) 5624 2456 www.wgac.org.au
Nov 2, 3	New South Wales Albury, Albury Performing Arts Centre Bookings: (02) 6051 3030 AlburyCity Performing Arts Centre
Nov 7	New South Wales Wagga Wagga, Wagga Wagga Civic Theatre Bookings: (02) 6926 9100 Wagga Wagga Civic Theatre
Nov 10	New South Wales Orange, Orange Civic Theatre Bookings: (02) 6393 8111 Orange Civic Theatre

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ABOUT CLAN 2007

Bangarra Dance Theatre presents Clan - a spectacular double bill featuring the company's exciting blend of physical artistry and breathtaking visuals. Crafted by award winning choreographer Frances Rings, Clan is dance theatre at its most captivating.

Unaipon (pronounced You-nigh-pon) is inspired by the extraordinary passion and genius of Aboriginal inventor, writer and philosopher David Unaipon who is featured on our $50 note. Rations explores mission life in colonial Australia and a remarkable history of struggle and survival. This is the first time these two stunning works have been performed together.

Bangarra has performed sell-out shows from New York to Beijing and is internationally renowned for creating inspirational dance works that fuse traditional Indigenous culture and contemporary dance.
NB: Unaipon was first performed as part of Bangarra's 2004 production Clan. Rations was first performed as part of Bangarra's 2002 production Walkabout.

Choreography Music Set Design Lighting Design Costumes

Frances Rings David Page (Unaipon), Steve Francis (Rations) Peter England Nick Schlieper, Trudy Dalgleish Jennifer Irwin

Dancer: Patrick Thaiday Photo: Greg Barrett

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About David Unaipon

David Unaipon, photographer unknown, c.1925. Courtesy of State Library of NSW.

David Unaipon (1872-1967) was a Ngarrindjeri man from Raukkan (Point McLeay) Mission in South Australia. He is renowned as the first Aboriginal person to have become a published author.

In 1885, at the age of 13, Unaipon moved to Adelaide, where his interest in literature, philosophy, science and music was encouraged. Returning to Raukkan five years later, he continued to read books and journals sent to the Mission, and began to study mechanics. He also began to conduct experiments in perpetual motion, ballistics and polarised light.

Unaipon had many influential supporters who financed his works. One of these was his friend Herbert Basedow, a former Protector of Aborigines for South Australia. They exchanged many letters, which are now contained in the State Library of NSW's Basedow Collection. Unaipon sent a handwritten patent diagram of his modified handpiece for shearing to Basedow in 1914, as a supporting document for financing its development. The handpiece was originally patented in 1909.

Between 1909 and 1944, Unaipon made patent applications for nine other inventions, including a centrifugal motor and a mechanical propulsion device, but all his patents lapsed due to lack of funds. Many of his ideas were picked up and improved upon by other scientists, however, and are still in use today.

During 1924-1925, as he journeyed through southern Australia, Unaipon compiled a book-length manuscript that he called Legendary Tales of the Australian Aborigines. While on this odyssey, he travelled on foot and relied upon the kindness of strangers for food and lodgings. He frequently slept under the stars and had no money in his pockets. This led to him being arrested for vagrancy during this time.

Unaipon's stories describe religious and spiritual similarities between Aboriginal and European cultures, with a focus on Creation stories. Over time, he submitted this material section by section to Sydney publishers Angus and Robertson, who paid him a sum of £150. The sections were then edited and joined into a book. A typescript copy was made, and Unaipon even submitted a grand photograph of himself for the frontispiece and wrote a foreword, but the book was not published in his name at that time.

The copyright for Unaipon's work was sold to anthropologist and Chief Medical Officer of South Australia, William Ramsay Smith, who edited the work slightly and published it under his own name in London in 1930, under the title Myths and Legends of the Australian Aboriginals. It is not known why Angus and Robertson decided to sell the copyright for the manuscript rather than publish with Unaipon as principal author. It is also not known if Unaipon knew about the sale of his work. There is no record of him having anything to do with Angus and Robertson or Ramsay Smith after 1925. No acknowledgment of Unaipon's work on the manuscript was made. The book was finally published in Unaipon's name, using his original title, in 2001.

Unaipon married in 1902, and he and his wife had one son. In 1995, when the
new $50 note was issued, the image of David Unaipon was included on one side of the note. Earlier, in 1988, the national David Unaipon award for Aboriginal writers was established, in recognition of Unaipon's outstanding achievements.

Melissa Jackson, Indigenous Services Librarian, State Library NSW

Useful Resources

• "Legendary Tales of The Australian Aborigines" by David Unaipon, Edited and Introduced by Stephen Muecke and Adam Shoemaker, Melbourne University Press 2001
• "Conquest of the Ngarrindjeri" by Graham Jenkin, Raukkan Publishers 1985
• Indigenous Unit, State Library of NSW
• South Australian Museum
• David Unaipon and the Australian $50 note - Reserve Bank website

For more information about David Unaipon and the Australian $50 note please visit the Reserve Bank of Australia website

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Reviews

Unaipon was first performed as part of Bangarra's 2004 production Clan. Rations was first performed as part of Bangarra's 2002 production Walkabout.

Clan 2004 reviews

Walkabout 2002 reviews

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Education

Downloadable Study Kit
The Bangarra Study Kit is another useful resource for teachers to use with students. It contains study questions tailored for both primary and secondary students. It gives a greater understanding of the company and our work.
You can download the study kit here.

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this page updated March 18, 2008