Two Sisters, a true Story by Ngarta Jinny Bent

After many years on the station, Jukuna began to translate the Bible into Walmajarri and to teach the language to children. Jukuna tells of her mother and father’s early history and how she left her family in the desert to go with her husband and work on Cherrabun station where she saw her first ‘kartiya’ (white person). My grandmother took my hands and held them under the coolamon. I was taught to use a coolamon for separating seed from the sand and bits of grass. In contrast, Jukuna’s story is told in first person with a greater sense of immediacy: “I ’ll tell you some more about when I was a child. After living on her own for a year, Ngarta went to work on a cattle station and eventually met up with her older sister, Jukuna. The chapter tells of migrating across the land with her extended family and how a band of killers kept them hostage until Ngarta finally escaped.

‘My grandmother cried for me: first time I killed a fox. Her grandmother was there, waiting for her. Ngarta’s chapter is told in third-person with direct quotations: “Tired out after her long chase, Ngarta climbed up the slope to the shade tree where her family had their camp. One only needs to listen, to appreciate how significant these voices are.Īlthough their experiences were quite different, both Ngarta and Jukuna show undeniable strength in the face of violence, hardship, and loss. That’s why Two Sisters is such an important book it gives a truly honest voice to those who have been silenced. It’s easy to forget that every person has a story to tell. It’s easy to forget how truly isolated some communities were (and still are).

“No one in the desert had heard of Adolf Hitler … It would be much later before they first heard the word ‘Australia ’ and learned that they were not only Walmajarri, but also Australians. Two Sisters begins by reminding the reader of the cultural gulf between native Australians and the white history so avidly imposed on us through school and mainstream media.

Published by Magabala Books, Two Sisters hails as the first printed autobiography containing text in the Walmajarri language. Two Sisters tells the stories of Ngarta and Jukuna, two women who were raised in the desert of Western Australia.

Two Sisters, a true Story by Ngarta Jinny Bent