jane harrison

The tragedy of the "stolen generation"
Stolen, directed by Wesley Enoch, written by Jane Harrison
By Gabriela Notaras
25 July 2000
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Stolen is an honest and compassionate work that traces the lives of five Aboriginal children removed from their families in the 1960s under official Australian government policy. Written by Jane Harrison, the play dramatises the fear, persecution and desolation felt by the children and their families, and demonstrates the ongoing physical and psychological impact of this policy on generations of Aboriginal people. Harrison and all the cast are of Aboriginal descent. Pauline Whyman, one of the actresses, is the last of 11 children who were stolen from her family of 15.
Following Britain's colonisation of Australia in 1788, Aborigines were hunted like animals from their tribal lands and by the early part of the 20th century reduced to desperate poverty. Considered to be a race that served no useful purpose, the government sough...