Outback Teacher
Gare, Sally & Marnie, FredaFresh out of teacher training, Sally Gare's first posting in 1956 is a far cry from city life - Forrest River Mission is more than 3000 kilometres from Perth, in the far north of Western Australia. Developing strong connections with her Aboriginal students and their families, and undaunted by its remoteness and lack of resources, Sally embraces outback life.
Simply written, this is the inspirational memoir of a passionate educator and intrepid adventurer, of good intentions and cultural clashes, and an illuminating snapshot of a different time and place.
Pages
304
304
Year
2022
2022
Reviews
09-01-2025
We were interested to read of this lady's experience teaching in the Australian outback, and of the lot of the Aboriginal communities. We delved into their history and culture and found much to discuss.
02-12-2024
Interesting but a bit repetitive. The people who had lived and worked in the Northern Territory liked it. Good to read about a bit of Aboriginal life in those days. Sally sounded like a great young teacher.
27-11-2024
Most of our group enjoyed this book and totally admired this young woman. She showed great courage living and teaching in this remote location, along with a remarkable resourcefulness. Her sensitivity towards the aboriginal children and their parents was not indicative of societal attitudes in Australia at the time, and we all learned a little more of their plight at this point in Australian history. Worth reading for a little more insight into the shameful way Aboriginals have been treated, as you read between the lines of her life.
09-10-2024
We all enjoyed the book and her experiences with the Aboriginal community.
07-10-2024
Easy to read but poorly written. Really enjoyable and a fast read. Like a grandmother's story for her whanau as opposed to an author. Loved the concept of a young female in outback Australia, but the paragraphs often had no point!
25-09-2024
Very interesting story but disappointing writing.
19-08-2024
Everyone enjoyed this book as it gave an insight into Aboriginal life in the 50s. They felt that Sally Gare really 'got' the Aboriginals and taught them accordingly. Her family background and the support of her family meant she coped and fitted into this life more easily than some others such as Lisa. The notes were very good and helped to stimulate good discussion.
23-05-2024
A lot of discussion about the treatment of Australia's first people which made us realise how little we know about Aboriginal culture and way of life. Also a lot of talk about the way 'Australia' has treated these people over the last few hundred years.
13-05-2024
Created loads of discussion about the aboriginal situation in Australia. This book created comments like - easy read, memoir, not emotive, and very European oriented.
10-04-2024
The majority enjoyed the book and rated it highly. Others expressed disappointment commenting on the writing style and lack of dialogue. Members with a background in teaching admired Sally's tenacity and her inventive ways of engaging her pupils.
03-04-2024
An easy read, the information and understanding of the aboriginal situation and education was thought provoking. Sally was a remarkable young woman with the challenges of teaching in those environments so early in her career. Clever integration of life skills into the education program. Many felt they would have liked to have read her letters home which were the basis of the book. The only disappointment was that the writing style made it hard to understand as it was more of a diary. Nevertheless it was enjoyed by most. 3.5story 3.0writing
29-02-2024
The book was enjoyed by most with a good discussion taking place. One member found it 'boring'!!
07-11-2023
We all enjoyed this memoir. The teachers in the group were full of admiration for how Sally Gare as very young woman used integrated curriculum methods to teach her Aboriginal students in a 1950s mission school. She had remarkable ability to relate to the children she taught and the people in the community, especially in the period she is writing about, a time when Aboriginal people could not even vote. We had an excellent discussion of Aboriginal culture - as much of it as we know about - and 'integration' as opposed to 'assimilation'. The book is not brilliantly written but is very readable.