Great news that my colleague at Curtin University, Professor of Writing Kim Scott, has been named inaugural Western Australian of the Year. Kim, of course, is a multi-award winning author. His latest book is That Deadman Dance. But the novel of his that transformed my own thinking about Noongar people was Benang.
Kim is also very active in Indigenous communities, particularly around language recovery. His work on the Wirlomin Noongar Language and Stories project is fantastic. I had the opportunity to read Mamang, a story about a man and a singing whale – it’s a lovely book.
It’s a real pleasure to have Kim in our School at Curtin; I think he may be the first Indigenous full Professorial appointment at Curtin. Roll on diversity! At work he is modest and friendly – which might be rare for someone who is so successful.