In 'Jackson's Track Revisited' Carolyn Landon returns to the story told by Daryl Tonkin in 'Jackson's Track' (Penguin, Australia, 2000), the tale of his life in the great Gippsland forest living among Aboriginal timber workers. Just as his family hoped, Tonkin's memoir has created the space for more stories. In 'Jackson's Track Revisited', the voices of Aboriginal people who lived at the Track mingle with those of the White Australians who tried to 'improve' their lives in the 1950s, the era of assimilation.

An exploration of the historical factors surrounding Tonkin's story leads to discussion of the Victorian Welfare Board, the Victorian Aborigines' Advancement League and the policy of assimilation that was so prevalent in mid-twentieth century Australia.

This concise book contains many surprises. The new stories take complex twists and turns as Landon explores the motives of all the players - including revisiting Tonkin's own memories. As Landon seeks their interpretations of events, she also analyses her own changing understandings, uncovering the prejudices she, as interviewer, researcher and historian, has brought to the project.

The testimony of one particular Aboriginal participant is particularly unforeseen and forthright. It shows us that the way the Kurnai people see themselves has escaped the constructions White Australians have placed upon them ever since invasion.

Finally, 'Jackson's Track Revisited' focuses on the friendship between Landon and Pauline Mullett, daughter of Daryl Tonkin. Mullett's identity as a Brabralung Kurnai, informs much of the thinking in this project. She leads Landon into her existing culture - a culture many White people believed no longer existed - helping Landon to find meaning in all the stories. (Back cover.)