‘A rifle lying across her arm’: the suspicious death of 13-year-old ‘half-caste’ Cissy Brennan

Article


Chalk, Tonia. 2024. "‘A rifle lying across her arm’: the suspicious death of 13-year-old ‘half-caste’ Cissy Brennan." History Australia. https://doi.org/10.1080/14490854.2024.2379034
Article Title

‘A rifle lying across her arm’: the suspicious death of 13-year-old ‘half-caste’ Cissy Brennan

ERA Journal ID7212
Article CategoryArticle
AuthorsChalk, Tonia
Journal TitleHistory Australia
Year2024
PublisherTaylor & Francis
Place of PublicationAustralia
ISSN1449-0854
1833-4881
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1080/14490854.2024.2379034
Web Address (URL)https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14490854.2024.2379034
Abstract

This article explores the death of 13-year-old ‘half-caste’ Cissy Brennan in far north Queensland in 1910. The entangled accounts of police constables, the Government Medical Officer, family and community members, and news reports, reveal how these narratives are buried deep within the coronial structures and colonial discourses of the inquest file. The article argues that the witness testimonies in the magisterial inquiry, including the findings of the police constables, and Government Medical Officer, became the dominant narrative in writing about Aboriginal female bodies within coronial law, creating a flawed and fragmentary historical account.

Keywordshalf-caste; suicide; colonial history; inquest; Aboriginal children
Contains Sensitive ContentContains sensitive content
Sensitive Handling NoteContains images, voices, and/or names of deceased persons
Contains traumatic content
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020390406. Gender, sexuality and education
Byline AffiliationsSchool of Education
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https://research.usq.edu.au/item/z8zw9/-a-rifle-lying-across-her-arm-the-suspicious-death-of-13-year-old-half-caste-cissy-brennan

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