A Man of all Tribes: The Life of Alick Jackomos

Description

The son of Greek migrant parents, Jackomos was born in Collingwood and grew up in the Great Depression, mixing with people from a range of backgrounds. He was at different times a welfare worker and activist, a public servant in Aboriginal affairs, an historian archivist and genealogist. Loved by many, Jackomos's life was not without controversy as he was a non-Aboriginal man, with an Aboriginal family, living and moving in an Aboriginal world and working for Aboriginal causes. He maintained strong connections with his Greek heritage and the RSL, of which he was a loyal member, and visited Brunei so often that it became his second spiritual home.

Richard Broome practised history at university for thirty five years, much of that time at La Trobe University, where he taught Australian and Indigenous history. He has won teaching awards, worked with secondary school curriculum, and is the author of eight books, including the prize-winning Aboriginal Victorians: A History since 1800(2005) and Aboriginal Australians: A History since 1788(2010).

"In a fine passage Broome and Manning write that for Alick life 'was a journey to oneness' . . . "A Man of All Tribes" is a timely production that provides us with more generous perspectives for thinking about the nature of identity and what it means to be Australian." --Philip J Morrissey, "Australian Journal of Indigenous Education" "No account of race relations in Victoria could be reliable, or complete, without a focus on Alick Jackomos." --Colin Tatz, visiting fellow in political science, Australian National University "To share the life of Alick Jackomos will be a privilege for those who read this story. Celebration of one's life gives immense pleasure and provides an opportunity to acknowledge how people such as Alick shape and change attitudes from the grass roots to the top." --Joy Wandin Murphy, Senior Woman Elder of the Wurundjeri People and professor, Swinburne University