Publication Date: Mar 2018
RRP: $34.95
ISBN: 9781925523188
Format: Paperback
Size: 153mm x 234mm
Pages: 468
Category: Australian History, Biography, History, Indigenous Studies

A White Hot Flame

Mary Montgomerie Bennett – Author, Educator, Activist for Indigenous Justice

Sue Taffe

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‘A White Hot Flame is a testament to Taffe’s deep commitment to her subject as well as her subject’s compelling life story.’ Professor Marilyn Lake, Victorian Historical Journal vol 92:1

‘A white hot flame indeed – here is an important contribution to our national story.’ Kim Scott

‘…this is a well-crafted and compelling account of the life of a white woman who was aware of her privilege and used it to support the individual and collective struggles of Aboriginal people seeking justice.’ Australian Historical Studies, 50, 2019


Special Commendation for the Margaret Medcalf Award 2019

Mary Montgomerie Bennett (1881–1961) is an important but under-recognised figure in Australian history. A member of a successful squatting family, she became a voice for reform at a time when Aboriginal Australians had their citizens’ rights curtailed by repressive state laws.

From her late forties until her death she fought for justice on behalf of the first Australians. She was a teacher, a writer and an advocate. She vehemently opposed the separating, on racial grounds, of Aboriginal children from their families. She put the case, decades before campaigns began, for Aboriginal rights to traditional lands. And she argued for citizenship rights, including equal pay and access to old age pensions for Aboriginal people. A friend described her as ‘a white hot flame’, relentless in pursuit of a better world for the people she loved.

This first comprehensive biography seeks the sources of Mary’s inspiring energy, maintained throughout her life, in her family background and early life experiences.


Sue Taffe

Sue Taffe is a Melbourne historian who has written about the contributions of twentieth century activists to campaigns for Aboriginal rights. She is the author of Black and White Together FCAATSI: the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait...
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