Somebody’s Land: Artist Talk with Adam Goodes, Ellie Laing and David Hardy

“Welcome to Our Country” is a collaboration between Adnyamathanha and Narungga man Adam Goodes (former Australian Rules footballer, Australian of the Year in 2014 and co-founder of the GO Foundation), political advisor and former journalist Ellie Laing, and Barkindji illustrator David Hardy.

The first book in the series, Somebody’s Land was be released in Australia on 2 November and introduces readers to the term ‘terra nullius’, a Latin term meaning ‘nobody’s land’ – applied to the colonisation of Australia by white settlers. The book invites children and their families to imagine themselves in Australia’s past, to feel the richness of our First Nations’ history, and to acknowledge that our country was never terra nullius.

Join Adam, Ellie and David for an exciting talk about this new book, looking at their inspirations for developing this book, their creative process and their journeys as storytellers.

If your students have a question that they would like to ask, you will have the opportunity to record it and send it in for Adam, Ellie and David to answer on the day. Questions will need to be received by Sydney Opera House no later than Wednesday 24th of November. Further instructions on how to do this will be sent to you upon booking.

Click here to purchase and learn more about Somebody’s Land.

Banner photo credit: Alex Vaughan, 2021