A review by seclement
Tall Man: The Death of Doomadgee by Chloe Hooper

4.0

I read this book a few years ago, not too long after I first moved to Australia, but was only reminded of it recently when a documentary was played on SBS of the same name (which included an interview with the author). This is a moving and relatively unbiased account of the actions leading to Doomadgee's death and what happened soon thereafter. It also gives you a taste of the career and character of Chris Hurley and of what life is like in remote communities such as Palm Island. To be honest, I was still rather conflicted about the whole thing (in the sense that I don't think we'll ever know exactly what happened) after reading it, which I think is a testament to Hooper's handling of the story. One thing I did feel pretty strongly after reading it was a sense of despair, as there is a big part of me that suspects this was a breakdown of an officer who spent too long in these remote communities. Not many officers would want to dedicate two decades of their life to working in remote Aboriginal communities, and I do think that his heart was in the right place. But what if he had a breakdown? What if that could happen again, to another officer? Reading this book, one gets the sense that many people do not believe this was an overt act of racism, even if Hurley did cause Doomadgee's death. Rather, given his dedication to these communities, and the heartbreak he inevitably experienced over the years, it's quite possible that he just snapped. What can we do to stop this happening in the future? This story is tragic, and it would be even more tragic if we let it happen again. At any rate, I highly recommend this book - just don't expect to leave it feeling like you've got it all figured out.

Note: I read an earlier version of this book. The more recent version may be worth getting, as it might have the most recent developments in the legal cases.