The remarkable true story of three young girls who cross the harsh Australian desert on foot to return to their
home.
Following an Australian government edict in 1931, black aboriginal children and children of mixed marriages were
gathered up by whites and taken to settlements to be assimilated. In Rabbit-Proof Fence, award-winning author Doris
Pilkington traces the captivating story of her mother, Molly, one of three young girls uprooted from her community
in Southwestern Australia and taken to the Moore River Native Settlement. At the settlement, Milly and her relatives
Gracie and Daisy were forbidden to speak their native language, forced to abandon their aboriginal heritage, and
taught to be culturally white. After regular stays in solitary confinement, the three girls--scared and homesick--planned
and executed a daring escape from the grim camp, with its harsh life of padlocks, barred windows, and hard cold
beds.
The girls headed for the nearby rabbit-proof fence that stretched over 1,000 miles through the desert toward their
home. Their journey lasted over a month, and the survived on everything from emus to feral cats, while narrowly
avoiding the police, professional trackers, and hostile white settlers. Their story is a truly moving tale of defiance
and resilience.