Tubowgule: A Sydney Opera House History
By Mellissa-Jane Fogarty & Dylan Finney
Reviewed by Lara Cain Gray
Tubowgule: A Sydney Opera House History is the first in a series of illustrated information books about Australian landmarks. This is Melissa-Jane Fogarty’s debut picture book, though she has a substantial professional background in writing and publishing. Illustrator Dylan Finney is best known to readers for Wurrtoo, with Tylissa Elisara. This is the well-researched and plainly written story of the location that is now known as the home of the House, but was, of course, home to many other people and properties across time.
Beginning over 60,000 years ago, people lived in and around Tubowgule, which is a Dharug word meaning ‘where the knowledge waters meet’. It was a place with significant resources – fish, kangaroos, plants – and hence a place for the Gadi people to gather and hunt. A sophisticated process of leaving the remains of bones and shells in middens for future hunters to observe and know what was available for them to eat kept the natural equilibrium, ensuring the continuation of species. Ceremonies were held there and early settlers reported dancing and singing.
The area was colonised in 1788, and then used as a cattle station, a lime processing point, a fort, and a tram shed as the city grew and the needs of the population changed. The Opera House was officially opened in 1973. “Though Tubowgale was taken from the Gadi people, it is once again a place of gathering…”
This series is an impressive contribution to bringing the histories of Australia to a new generation of young readers. Rather than a ‘before’ and ‘after’ colonisation approach, this positions one of the country’s most recognisable landmarks on a continuum of change, alongside the oldest living culture in the world, with an optimistic look towards a collaborative future. There is no denial of invasion here, but the facts are presented in a way that can open gentle conversations about justice, belonging, and the natural vs built environment. There are multiple ways to read, too, with the narrative history interspersed with fact blocks, and a more substantial annotated timeline at the end.
I would also encourage reading the ‘whole book’, including the author and illustrator acknowledgements, the warning of images of the deceased, and the reminder that languages are evolving and there are multiple spellings and pronunciations of Tubowgule. Even the title (‘A Sydney Opera House History’, not THE history) and the series name ‘Our Lands’ (whose?) are worthy of discussion with readers of any age, and potentially useful across the curriculum for teaching history but also many aspects of language (eg. points of view), art appreciation, and science.
Lothian Children’s Books, March 2025
Melissa Jane Fogarty
Dylan Finney
