>> A Mail from Byron Golby [ Reply ]
Dear Yuki,
My name is Byron Golby, i'm a student of Australian History and Aboriginal Studies at the University of Newcastle (Australia). I am writing to tell you of the profound influence that your brother's work has had on me.
I first read 'Globalising Aboriginal Reconciliation' and 'Anti-minorities history' this year as part of my research into contact between Aboriginal people and Asian migrants, I was amazed by Minoru's approach to history and I find it ironic that it took a Japanese historian to show us Australians a better way to understand ourselves.
I was also impressed by the respectful way that Minoru approached Gurindji oral traditions and saw this approach to history as compatible with Academic research, again, your brother understood this better than the majority of Australian historians have ever done.
Minoru's writing presented ideas that Australia was not ready for, and in many ways is still only just beginning to consider, and will probably never understand in the way that your brother did. Your brother was a genius and while it is terribly sad that he died so young i am so thankful that he left behind such wonderful work, your brother was a brilliant academic but so much more, he was a philosopher and a muse that has changed the way i look at the history of my country.
I am preparing to begin my Honours thesis next year, which will involve studying my home town of Forster, NSW as a 'site of convergence' as Minoru described, i see my project as a continuation or expansion of the work that he began with the Gurindji and based in the theories he described in the articles i mentioned.
I have not yet bought a copy of Gurindj Journey as i am a struggling student but i hope to buy one soon. Maybe one day if i continue beyond Honours I will apply for the Hokari Scholarship at ANU. One thing is certain, Minoru will continue to inform my research and I will continue to reference his work as much as possible. I would love to travel to Japan and tell the people how important Minoru's work was.
Kindest Regards,
Byron Golby.