Title: Ronnie : Tasmanian songman /
Authors: Summers, Ronnie, 1944-; Gee, Helen.
Publisher: Magabala Books,
Year: 2009
Subjects: Summers, Ronnie,; Music Australia Tasmania Cape Barren Island.; Aboriginal Australians Australia Tasmania Cape Barren Island Biography.; Musicians Australia Tasmania Biography.; Aboriginal Tasmanians.; Cape Barren Island (Tas.) Songs and music.
Abstract: Ronnie: Tasmanian Songman is the story of musician, storyteller and craftsman, Ronnie Summers as he recalls the freedom of growing up Cape Barren Island and how the music passed on by his uncles and the island?s old fellas has shaped his life. He draws on a childhood working the mutton-bird islands, a ?kangaroo court? prison term as a bewildered teenager, and then turning to alcohol after the death of his baby son. It wasn?t until later in life that he discovered he was part of the Tasmanian Aboriginal community. At last, guided by the power of his ancestry, he was able to turn his life around. Born an ?Islander??not Aboriginal, not white?he had been without race. This story documents his struggle for a place in his own country, and echoes and amplifies that of the Tasmanian Aboriginal community.