They came into the little town
A semi-naked band subdued and silent
All that remained of their tribe.
In this section of the poem, the speaker describes the remaining members of an Aboriginal tribe. The consequences of colonialism and colonization are apparent in the detail that the band is "subdued and silent" (Line 2). To be subdued is to be quiet, inhibited, repressed, or controlled; the tribe members' voices have been stolen from them. This signals the need for a voice that the speaker will provide. However, this does not happen until later.
In the description of the poem's first three lines, the perspective is that of an outsider looking at the remaining members of an Aboriginal tribe. While the pronoun "we" will later be used, here the tribe is described as "they."
The phrase "semi-naked" gestures toward the ways in which Europeans regarded indigenous inhabitants all around the world. The different customs of clothing contributed to racist views that persist today. "Semi-naked" could also give a sense of the tribe's vulnerability. Though the poet may not be referring to the racist use of the term "semi-naked," it nonetheless exists.
They came here to the place of their old bora ground
Where now the many white men hurry about like ants.
In these lines, the speaker describes the way the land and its first inhabitants have been altered by colonization. A "bora ground" is the place where Aboriginal communities held ceremonies. Here, it is the place of their "old" bora ground, signaling that forced displacement from the land ruptures cultural connections and practices. The remaining band of the tribe returns to their old holy site, now occupied by "the many white men [who] hurry about like ants" (Line 5). The "many" white men contrast with the "[remaining]" tribal members, whose numbers were greatly reduced and continue to be affected. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics,
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are more likely than other Australians to experience various forms of disadvantage, including higher unemployment rates, poverty, isolation, trauma, discrimination, exposure to violence, trouble with the law and alcohol and substance abuse.
The consequences of colonization continue to affect Australia's first inhabitants.
That the white men "hurry about like ants" references the market capitalist economy used in Australia, a system that is very different from the community and land-based cultures that were there prior to European settlement.
The scrubs are gone, the hunting and the laughter.
The eagle is gone, the emu and the kangaroo are gone from this place.
The bora ring is gone.
The corroboree is gone.
And we are going.
One by one, the flora and fauna that the poet evokes in the mind of the reader throughout the poem are banished. They have all gone from this place, it is implied, as a result of colonization and the disruption of Aboriginal cultural practices. The absence of the landscape becomes the absence of Aboriginal culture, and vice versa. This is highlighted by the poet's repetition of the word "gone." If the plants are gone, so is "the hunting and the laughter" (Line 21). If the animals and the sacred site are gone, so are the ceremonial practices. Significantly, however, the tribe is not "gone," but rather "going" (Line 25). Though this also resonates with forced absence from a beloved place, scholar Francesca Di Blasio points out that this also could represent a movement onwards: "moving towards the future against all odds" (Di Blasio). This notion aligns with Noonuccal's tendency to write about all the aspects of Aboriginal experience (the suffering alongside the resiliency and hope).
