Research Institute for Literature and Cultural History news and events

Black Convicts: How Slavery Shaped Australia

Monday 19 October, 6 to 7pm
Liverpool Athenaeum

Buy tickets for Black Convicts: How Slavery Shaped Australia

Join Santilla Chingaipe, filmmaker, historian and author, for a groundbreaking history of Australia's forgotten Black convicts.

When the First Fleet arrived in Australia in 1788, it carried not only British convicts but also men, women and children of African descent. By 1840, hundreds of Black convicts had been transported across the British Empire to Australia's shores. Yet their stories have been almost entirely erased from history. Santilla Chingaipe uncovers the remarkable lives of Australia's forgotten Black convicts. Among them are David Stuurman, a South African chief exiled for resisting colonial rule; John Caesar, Australia's first bushranger; Billy Blue, the ferryman whose name lives on in Sydney's Blues Point; and William Cuffay, a leading Chartist whose influence helped shape Australia's labour movement.

There will be an audience Q&A and the opportunity to purchase signed copies of Black Convicts during the event.

In memory of Ebroje Azanuwha, LJMU MA Writing student in 2017-19

This event is brought to you by the Smithdown Litfest and the Research Institute for Literature and Cultural History at Liverpool John Moores University.

About the Author

Santilla Chingaipe is a Zambian-born filmmaker, historian and author whose work excavates the stories Australia has long chosen to forget.

Her debut book of non-fiction, Black Convicts, was shortlisted for the Stella Prize and longlisted for the prestigious Cundill History Prize, cementing her place among Australia's most important historians.

The critically acclaimed documentary inspired by the book, Our African Roots, made history as the first time an African-Australian host interrogated the nation's colonial past on Australian television.

A former SBS World News journalist, Santilla spent nearly a decade reporting across Africa, interviewing some of the continent's most prominent leaders while also covering Australia's diverse African diasporic communities.

Her influence extends well beyond Australia's borders. In 2019, she was recognised at the United Nations as one of the most influential people of African descent in the world under 40. She has delivered the annual E.W. Cole Lecture at the Wheeler Centre. She is a regular contributor to The Saturday Paper and a columnist for The Monthly.

Santilla is also a committed champion of inclusive storytelling. She is the founder of Behind The Screens, an annual VicScreen-supported program increasing representation for people historically excluded from the Australian film industry.

She hosts two monthly cultural events: the literary series First Chapter and its sister event, No Skips: A Listening Party. Because she loves reading. And dancing.

She lives and works in Melbourne.

Book releases

Two colleagues from Creative Writing have both released books recently.

Sarah Mellor, The Departed.

Sean Watkin, Black Water Rising.