Man on a Mission - From Cherbourg to Lake Gkula

Memoir of Uncle Noel Blair, who was born at Cherbourg Aboriginal Settlement in Queensland in the 1940s.

Uncle Noel Blair is a fighter. Born in the 1940s, he grew up at Cherbourg under ‘the Act’ – Queensland’s notoriously repressive legislation that controlled the daily life of Indigenous people.

Uncle Noel fought with gloves in boxing rings and tents, and without gloves or rules whenever the harassment and insults of corrupt government and police became intolerable. He also fought to better help his people through legal work and social justice campaigns that are part of the long struggle to triumph over the brutality of racism in contemporary Australia.

Uncle Noel Blair and the Jinibara people were legally recognised as the traditional owners and custodians of their Country in south-east Queensland around Woodford, opening up new pathways to justice and recognition of their culture – a journey from mission to Festival.

Uncle Noel’s story inspires, and teaches. It is Jinibara truth-telling.

Includes Forewords by Bill Hauritz (Woodford Folk Festival); Libby Harward (Munimba-ja Gallery, Maleny); Dr Hope O’Chin (formerly of Cherbourg); and Terry O’Gorman (civil liberties lawyer)