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The legacy of Douglas Grant : a notable Aborigine in war and peace : a historical biography

Ramsland, John, 1942-2019
Book
Douglas was born to Indigenous parents and, as an infant, was the sole survivor of a cruel massacre in northern Queensland. As an adult, he was a charismatic speaker on Aboriginal rights, but spoke with a distinct Scottish burr. Why was this so? He was rescued by a kindly Scottish immigrant and brought up and well educated in the Scottish way in Sydney's leafy suburb of Annandale. Highly successful at school, he became a leading engineering draftsman at Mort's Dock Company in Balmain and, later, a woolclasser at "Belltrees" station near Scone in the Hunter Valley of NSW. With friends from "Belltrees", he joined the 1st AIF. His dangerous encounters on the Western Front and as a prisoner-of-war in Germany are pieced together by the author from many fragments. Douglas bravely faced unpleasant racism in post-war Australia, but never lost his keen sense of humour and scholary interests.
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