How did language and the possible confusions of translation shape interactions between missionaries and Aboriginal people? This talk traces the story of Angurugu mission, focusing on its establishment by the Church Missionary Society in 1943 and missionary attempts to engage Aboriginal people through language. This includes themes of English literacy, bilingual education and Bible translation.

Language, and the ambiguities of translation in a cross-cultural situation presented Anindilyakwa people with opportunities to avoid or reinterpret missionary messages, as well as to cooperate in creative ways. Dr Laura Rademaker has been researching Northern Territory history for almost ten years. She is the author of Found in Translation: Many Meanings on a North Australian Mission. She is currently working on a history of the Tiwi Islands mission as well as a history of Australia’s ‘deep’ human past.