‘Ruby Moonlight’ is a verse novel set in 1880 in a bush area of South Australia. An Aboriginal Ngadjuri family group go about their daily lives when suddenly they are set upon and massacred. Only a 16-year-old girl survives. She is clearly traumatised. The succinct poetic form captures her emotions and reactions as well as her connection with the environment and her culture. She comes across Miner Jack, an Irishman, who lives alone, collecting and selling animal pelts for a living. Although lacking language to communicate, the two soon live and love together, giving each other comfort. An Aboriginal tracker is attracted to Ruby Moonlight creating further tragedy.
Readers are immersed in a haunting tragedy that is revealed in lyrical language and deeply felt emotion through a third person present tense point of view. To capture the full intent of this novel a few reads are recommended and reading it aloud offers greater understanding. Readers will be rewarded by learning about the author’s own life experiences thereby gaining a greater understanding of these times.
Ali Cobby Eckermann is an Australian poet of Aboriginal Australian ancestry. She is a Yankunytjatjara / Kokatha woman born on Kaurna land in South Australia.
Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander Resource
