WHITEWASH is a true story of breathtaking scope that follows a family's journey across several centuries, from First Peoples genocide and the transatlantic slave trade to flight and freedom in a new land, punctuated by some of the most significant conflicts in human history. It is also the story of race, identity and the whitewashing of Black and Indigenous history. George 'Bernie' Showery was born in Sydney, Australia, in the years prior to Federation. Abandoned by his African-American father when he was just three years old, an eccentric father figure would later introduce him to carefree days at Freshwater Beach. It was here, in the summer of 1914-15, that Duke Kahanamoku would demonstrate his graceful ability to walk on water, with the ocean serving as both a stage and a supreme metaphor for change. Soon after, Bernie Showery would be called away to fight for the British Empire, serving in the Middle East with the legendary Australian Light Horse and the Imperial Camel Corps. Fighting alongside Lawrence of Arabia, he would witness the great cavalry charge at Beersheba, the fall of Damascus, and the manoeuvring behind the British carve-up of Palestine.

Details

ISBN13: 9780648952701
Format: Paperback / softback
Number of Pages: 460
Edition:
Publication Date:
Publisher: Cyclops Press
Publication City, Country: Avalon, NSW, Australia
Dimensions (cm): 235(H)x150(L)
Weight (gm):

Author Biography

John Ogden is a visual artist, author, publisher, and educator based in Sydney, Australia. Ogden’s career began as a photojournalist in Southeast Asia during the early seventies, before becoming a correspondent for the infamous Tracks magazine and other counter-culture publications. In 1977 he commenced studying literature, anthropology and filmmaking at the Western Australian Institute of Technology, graduating with a major in film & television. Over the next three decades he worked as a Director of Photography in multiple genres of filmmaking, and is an accredited member of the ACS. After losing his right eye in a surfing accident in 1998, he established Cyclops Press, a boutique publishing company dedicated to promoting Australian photographers and writers. Ogden's first book, Australienation (1999), featured his own black and white humanist photography and addressed the reconciliation between Australia’s Indigenous peoples and the many other tribes that arrived later. An equally emotive record of the first Australians, Portraits from a Land Without People (2008) is acknowledged as a ground-breaking pictorial history of Aboriginal culture. The companion books Saltwater People of the Broken Bays (2011) and Saltwater People of the Fatal Shore (2012) celebrate the rich history of Sydney’s coastline, and were awarded the 2013 Frank Broeze biennial Maritime History Prize. Slightly Dangerous – The Cyclop’s Cypher (2013) offers an insight into his work, and was the inspiration for the Shibboleth trilogy. Woke (Volume One of the Shibboleth trilogy), Ogden’s debut novel, was released in 2018, and was followed up the following year with Will (Volume Two). The third volume is expected to be released in 2022. Whitewash – The Lost Story of an African Australian was launched in November 2020. This non-fiction book presents social history through biography. It is not just the story of one man, but an essay on race and identity, viewed through the lens of slavery and colonialism.

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