Pat (Mamanyjun) Torres – February 19 2017

International Mother Language Day – February 21 2017

Pat (Mamanyjun) is a writer, artist and storyteller. Born in Broome, Western Australia, she belongs to three Indigenous groups: the Jabirr Jabirr from the north of Broome, the Nyul Nyul from the Beagle Bay area, and the Yawuru people from Broome. She is a speaker of Yawuru, Jugun and Nyul Nyul. Pat’s career has included working as a Legal Aid Field Officer and educational Curriculum Development Officer in Tasmania; working for the federal Department of Education and Youth Affairs; and being appointed Secretary of the Kimberley Land Council at Derby, WA. She has been writer-in-residence at Batchelor College and helped set up the Jarndu Yawuru Women’s group which has recorded language, oral histories and other cultural information. Her other publications include editing and illustrating Magdalene Williams’ Ngay Janijirr Ngank: This is My Word, an account of the coming of the missionaries and the destruction of Law and culture interwoven with Nyul Nyul stories.  Pat holds a Bachelor of Arts, Diploma of Education and Master of Education (Hons). She also holds a Certificate IV in Bush and Western Herbal Medicine and runs an Indigenous Australian-owned business promoting sustainable native produce in Broome.

Jalygurr: Aussie Animal Rhymes
Magabala Books, 1987; ISBN 9780731616220
6-9 years

These very simple and rhythmic animal rhymes for children are written in English and Yawaru, the language of the traditional owners from Broome, in Western Australia’s north west. They have been adapted from Kimberley Aboriginal folk stories and children find them great fun. The rhymes include creatures such as the Gumbun, the Mangrove Man; Barni the Goanna and Marlu the Kangaroo.

The Story of Crow: A Nyul Nyul Story, co-written with Magdalene Williams
Magabala Books, 1987; ISBN 9780731673636
Picture book 2-6 years

Ever wondered why crows are black, emus don’t fly and why the world is the way it is? This traditional story with bilingual English/Nyul Nyul text features colour illustrations. It tells how the crow, who once was white and had a beautiful song, is punished for stealing the Eagle’s wife in dreamtime.