Back on the Block
Bill Simon, Des Montgomerie, Jo Tuscano
Authors: Bill Simon, Des Montgomerie, Jo Tuscano.
Published: Aboriginal Studies Press - May 1, 2009.
Stolen, beaten, deprived of his liberty and used as child labour, Bill Simon was locked up in the notorious Kinchela Boys Home for eight years where he was told his mother didn’t want him, and that he was ‘the scum of the earth.’ His experiences there would shape his life forever.
Bill Simon got angry, something which poisoned his life for the next two decades. A life of self abuse and crime finally saw him imprisoned.
But Bill Simon has turned his life around, and these days he works on the other side of the bars, helping other members of the Stolen Generations find a voice and their place; finally putting their pain to rest.
He works on the streets, in jails, in churches, and his home in Redfern is a drop-in centre for anyone in need. From the Block in Sydney’s Redfern, one of the most contentious and misunderstood places in Australia, Bill Simon tells the truth about life in one of Australia’s most terrible juvenile institutions, where thousands of boys were warehoused and abused.
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Endorsements
“Bill said to me once, ‘when we came out of Kinchela, the white people didn’t want us and our own people didn’t know us. We are the forgotten ones.’ I hope this book will reveal the great pain and suffering caused to all Stolen Generation men and women and helps us all to heal together.”
“This is a frank ‘insider’s’ story of a stolen child who becomes an angry addicted young man and then through a life-changing conversion, the compassionate pastor of his people on The Block, Redfern. Bill Simon tells his story with humanity and hope. It needs to be widely read by Australians as a window into the challenges faced by our indigenous men. I commend Bill for his courage and honesty.”
“Bill Simon has a heart of gold and a passion to see his people’s lives turned around. He speaks with an openness and a passion that touches the lives of others deeply, simply by telling his own story. Read it and be inspired. ”
“The first insider’s view of Kinchela Aboriginal Boys Home, and important insight into the brutality of the New South Wales governments’ policy of assimilation.”
Listen to the ABC Conversations Podcast.
Listen online here or play and download the audio below.
Broadcast date: Monday 18th May 2009
Bill Simon is an Aboriginal Pastor who lives and works on the block in Redfern in Sydney. As a boy taken from his family when he was just 10 years old, Bill Simon has known many people in his life who have done terrible things to him.
But his story is less about rage and anger than forgiveness - and how liberating forgiveness can be. Bill's book is called Back on the Block.
text from http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2009/05/18/2573885.htm?site=brisbane
In the Media
Sydney Morning Herald
The hourly struggle for survival on The Block.
Bill Simon | June 2009.
Life's fairly tough on The Block - poverty, despair, lives without much hope. But it does not deserve the reputation it has; most permanent residents are good people. There are always new faces around, some scared, most penniless, many with an addiction and others who are just plain lonely, all trying to fit into a very small, very harsh environment. Crime is rampant and quite often the people responsible are the visitors who use The Block as a lawless refuge.
Full article here
Sydney Anglicans
Back on the block: Bill Simon’s story.
Cathy Krimmer | August 2009
How to break a young boy's spirit:
Step 1: tear him away from his family
Step 2: replace any source of comfort with cruelty
Step 3: tell him he is "the scum of the earth"
This method was employed by the Australian government for much of the twentieth century, according to Back on the Block: Bill Simon's story.
Full review here
The South Sydney Herald
Grieving and celebration: Bill Simon’s Back on the Block.
Dorothy McRae-McMahon | July 2009.
It was standing room only in the Redfern Community Centre. After the welcome to country by Uncle Max, Michael Mundine chaired the occasion of the formal launching of Bill Simon’s book, Back on the Block. The band, Mirror Child, gave a moving entry into what followed… Therese Rein, who was launching the book, was introduced. She acknowledged the Indigenous owners of the land, and then began, with genuine emotion, to recall the day of the National Apology.
Full article here
Eureka Street
Surviving institutional abuse.
Georgina Gartland | 6 June 2009
Bill Simon is a pastor working in the heart of Redfern. Back on the Block is the story of his life, simply told.
It begins with a happy childhood on an uncongenial mission, and some years spent with his family evading the attention of the Aborigines Welfare Board. The heart of the book, which for him explains all else, began when he was seized with his brothers and consigned to Kinchela Boys Home. He was then ten years old, and spent the next seven years in the home subject to the daily regime of assault and contempt that Kinchela provided for its clients.
Full review here
I STAY (Ngaya ngalawa)
8 Chiefly Square, Sydney.
This video shows an installation by artist Jenny Holzer. Entitled I STAY (Ngaya ngalawa), Holzer was commissioned to create a permanent artwork for Sydney. It was built in 2014.
Bill, Des and I were very honoured to have Back on the Block chosen as one of the texts that are displayed on the installation.
Holzer is a globally recognised artist whose work focuses on history and place. The installation displays songs, poems and stories that celebrate the resilience and achievements of Indigenous Australians, and are written by Indigenous writers. There are 300 works on the installation. Their words are featured on a LED display fitted to a four-sided, 19 metre steel column. The artwork can be seen from all directions from a distance.
Indigenous curator Hetti Perkins was the consultant on the project. The installation is built on Gadigal land. At night, it is easier to read the words and it looks quite stunning.
Click here to see Jenny’s gallery of the work.
“You might have driven or walked past this and assumed it was a news or financial tickertape – something to do with business. Perhaps this is part of the charm of the piece: staring into the middle distance as you wait on the corner crossing, the words scrolling down the 19-metre steel column take you by surprise; this is poetry, hiding in plain site in the CBD. American artist Jenny Holzer won a competition for a public artwork on the site, funded by the developer. The resulting work is rooted in the history of this land and its original owners: the scrolling text is comprised of around 300 pieces of text (including songs, poems, stories and autobiography) by about 80 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers – including Sally Morgan, Anita Heiss, Oodgeroo Noonuccal and Ruby Langford Ginibi – some in English, others in original language.”