Samantha Faulkner is a Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal woman, from Badu and Moa Islands in the Torres Strait and the Yadhaigana and Wuthathi peoples of Cape York Peninsula, Queensland. Her poetry and short stories have been published nationally and internationally, and she is the proud author of Life Blong Ali Drummond: A Life in the Torres Strait and editor of Pamle: Torres Strait Islanders in Canberra. She also is a member of the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Network, MARION (ACT Writers) and the treasurer of First Nations Australia Writers Network and Us Mob Writing Group. In 2023, she was the Torres Strait Islander curator for the Brisbane Writers Festival. 

Why do you think the Growing Up series in general – and Growing Up Torres Strait Islander in Australia in particular – is so important?

I think it’s really important to showcase the diversity of Torres Strait Islander stories as the ‘other’ Indigenous culture within Australia. It’s a vibrant, exciting and diverse culture, with strong connections to family, Country and the ocean, which show in our dance and our feasting. 

In this book, we hear from both people born and raised on the mainland of Australia and mob who grew up on the 17 inhabited islands of the Torres Strait. Even across those islands, each has its own identity and specific clans, so in terms of language and dialects, they’re all quite different. Everyone has their own unique story and identity but at the same time, we have this connection to one another and a flag to be united under now. The colours of the flag – green, blue, black and white – draw us all together. 

Are there any particular stories in the book that you think will surprise readers, or challenge their perceptions of life in the Torres Strait or as a Torres Strait Islander?

For me, getting to include historical excerpts from names like Koiki Mabo, Ellie Gaffney, Thomas Lowah and Ina Titasey was especially striking and interesting. That’s not at all to take away from the contributors who talked about their current or recent experiences – but having these excerpts in the book is a strong reminder that it’s not all about the here and now, that life was very hard for our elders and grandparents who grew up in the mid-1900s or so. It wasn’t that long ago that there were restrictions in terms of people’s movements, no electricity, no television. People in their 20s today have no concept of living without a mobile phone or the internet but for our elders, they had to rely on fishing for their dinner! Hopefully, reading about the struggles of Koiki Mabo for better rights, or of Ellie Gaffney to be recognised as a nurse, will be a doorway for people to learn more and read more from Torres Strait Islander people and writers. 

As the anthology’s editor, you were tasked with selecting which essays to include. What was that selection process like?

It was challenging to encourage people to commit to writing a piece.  People did respond initially and I also encouraged people to respond, but everybody is so busy, so they don’t necessarily have the time or capacity. Potentially now that we’ve done it once, there might be enough interest to make an anthology like this again. Already I’ve had a few people reach out and ask if we’re still accepting submissions and I’ve had to say ‘no, it’s about to be published!’

I was really happy that people who weren’t already writers committed to writing and sharing their experiences, and that they trusted me and Black Inc. with their story. It’s a real honour for me, and Black Inc. have treated these stories with respect and made sure to represent them as the writer intended. It was a journey to make sure that the contributors were happy with their images and stories – not just for themselves, but for their family members and generations to come. 

There’s something for everyone in this book. It’s a real gem – you’re going to get some writers who have been published or are about to be published elsewhere, and some first-time writers who I hope will be encouraged to write more. Writing is really just yarning but it’s on paper. You can read this book like you’re having a conversation with someone. 

Read the previous instalment of Behind the Book, a Q&A with author Ariane Beeston. 

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