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The Conversation
The Conversation
National
Michelle Smith, Senior Lecturer in Literary Studies, Monash University

How early Australian fairy tales displaced Aboriginal people with mythical creatures and fantasies of empty land

A prince flies in a carriage propelled by kingfishers in Hume Cook's Australian Fairytales. Author provided

Content warning: this article contains reference to racist depictions of Aboriginal Australians.

Most of us grew up reading fairy tales adapted from the European tradition: stories of kings, queens and princesses set in palaces and forests, such as Cinderella, Snow White, Beauty and the Beast. But what about the history of Australian fairy tales?

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