Doctor Wooreddy's Prescription for Enduring the Ending of the World explained

Doctor Wooreddy's Prescription for Enduring the Ending of the World
Author:Mudrooroo Nyoongah (Colin Johnson)
Cover Artist:Terry Yumbulul
Country:Australia
Language:English
Genre:Historical novel
Publisher:University of Queensland Press
Pub Date:1983
Media Type:Paperback
Pages:207
Isbn:978-0-947062-02-6
Dewey:823/.54 22
Congress:PR9619.3.N32 D63 1983
Oclc:26559359

Doctor Wooreddy's Prescription for Enduring the Ending of the World is an historical novel by Mudrooroo Nyoongah, first published in 1983.[1] A tragedy, the work explores the reaction of Aboriginal Tasmanians to European colonisation during the nineteenth century. It has several characters based on real-life historical figures, including Truganini, George Augustus Robinson, and Governor George Arthur.

The story is told almost exclusively from the perspective of its protagonist, Wooreddy (based on the real-life figure of Worraddy, a Nueonne man from North Bruny Island).[2] A few moments are told from the point of view of 'Mr Robinson'.[3] The novel focuses on the relationships between Wooreddy, his companions, and Robinson, a colonial official dispatched to Tasmania to act as a 'conciliator' between them and the European colonists. It also deals with Robinson's relationship with "Trugernanna" (based on the real-life Trugernanner, widely considered to be the last full-blooded Aboriginal Tasmanian). Justin MacGregor suggests that Robinson's presence "allows for a reversal of the colonial contact novel: ... here it is the Aboriginals who are depicted as human and spiritual, and the invaders, the white ghosts or num, who are treated as curiosities. ... there is little doubt that [the author] sees [Robinson] unsympathetically as a self-aggrandized co-conspirator in the colonial process who is more ridiculous than sympathetic".[4]

Throughout the narrative the violence of colonisation is documented and explored: "a clear parallel is established between the rape of the Tasmanian Aboriginal women and the metaphorical rape of their land, sacred sites and heritage."[5] David Kerr argues that the four characters – Wooreddy, Trugernanna, Ummarrah and Wayler – each represent a major stance taken by Aboriginal Tasmanians in reaction to colonisation.[6] Despite their struggles, and the deaths of many key characters, some have seen the ending as hinting "at the possibility of successful cross-cultural communication".

Characters

References

Notes and References

  1. Eva . Rask Knudsen . Mission Completed? On Mudrooroo's Contribution to the Politics of . Missions of Interdependence: A Literary Directory . 322 . . 2002 . 2009-01-22 .
  2. Book: Prentis, Malcolm D.. A Concise Companion to Aboriginal History. 2012. Rosenberg. 228. 940741557.
  3. Tompkins. Joanne. 1990. "It all depends on what story you hear": Historiographic Metafiction and Colin Johnson's Dr. Wooreddy's Prescription for Enduring the Ending of the World and Witi Ihimaera's The Matriarch. MFS Modern Fiction Studies. 36. 4. 483–498 (492). 10.1353/mfs.0.0636. 1080-658X.
  4. MacGregor. Justin. December 1992. A Margin's History: Mudrooroo Narogin's "Doctor Wooreddy's Prescription for Enduringthe Ending of the World. Antipodes. 6. 2. 113-118 (114, 118). 41958358.
  5. Book: Shoemaker , Adam . Black Words White Page: Aboriginal literature 1929-1988 . . Brisbane . 1989 . 161 . 978-0-7022-2149-1 .
  6. Book: Clark, Maureen.. Mudrooroo a likely story : identity and belonging in postcolonial Australia. 2007. P.I.E. Peter Lang. 978-90-5201-356-5. 140. 496778800.