Nin's Brother (ATOM Study Guide)

Nin's Brother (Mary Munro, 2010, 26 minutes) is a story of a search for the truth about a family tragedy.

In 1960, Agnes Coe (Nin) learned of the death of her brother Milton in a mine in Andamooka, South Australia, but the story has always been based on scant facts and unanswered questions.

As Agnes tells the story, Milton left the family home in Cowra, New South Wales in 1958 to make his living working in the mines near Port Augusta. His family received letters from him telling of his life there, including his relationship with a white girl. They are, however, uncertain of the details.

As this was the late 1950s/early 1960s, relationships between white women and black men were rare and if they occurred they were frowned upon. According to reports from one of Milton's workmates, it was friction between the girl's parents and Milton that caused the tragedy.

This story has been passed on from generation to generation, and in 2009 Milton's great-niece, Mary Munro, makes the journey to South Australia in search of answers and to bring Milton's body home from Port Augusta to Cowra to rest with his father and grandfather in the family plot.

The family believes that bringing Milton home will mark the beginning of the healing of the wounds that continue to be passed on with the story to each generation of the Wedge/Coe family. As Mary researches in South Australia the story unfolds, and it is more complicated than the family ever imagined. Newspapers from the time tell a very different tale of Milton's death, one in which he murdered his girlfriend and then shot himself. All are shocked. Reports of the events are not consistent with the gentle and generous young man they know Milton to have been.

The newspaper reports, however, are contradictory, and due to missing police reports, coroner's reports and hospital records, there are more questions than answers. Local people in Andamooka still remember the story; one of them is the girl's older sister. With their help, a more complete picture of the circumstances surrounding the deaths can be painted.

Whatever the outcome of these investigations, the family remain steadfast in their goal of bringing Milton home to rest with his family in his own country, Wiradjuri. Mary believes that the journey to Port Augusta to bring Milton home will allow closure for the family, and she believes that it is her generation that has the strength and resources to lead such journeys. Mary has always felt an intense love for and connection with the uncle she has never met, and feels it is her role to see him find peace. It is love for her family both past and present that continues to drive her on this journey into the unknown.

Mary, her mother and Nin's brother, Archie, all make the journey to South Australia to piece together the life and death of their loved brother and uncle and to bring him home.

Curriculum Applicability

Nin's Brother can be used in middle- to senior-level secondary classes in:

• History
• English
• Indigenous Studies
• SOSE/HSIE