I'm the One That Know This Country!

Written from the perspective of an Aboriginal Australian woman, this personal memoir follows Jessie Lennon from her humble beginnings on a sheep station near Kingoonya in the 1920s. A history of Australian life and industry, this account shares stories of Jessie’s travels, employment on sheep and cattle stations, and dwellings in underground dugouts and mine dumps in Coober Pedy. Relating her family’s ordeal during the 1950s British nuclear tests at Maralinga—which contaminated the site with radioactive materials—and Jessie’s unsuccessful battle for compensation, this journey is a portrayal of a way of life and a testament to the importance of family and of “home.”