More than a book. A testimony.

And the art started here:

A big saltwater croc jumping out of water. A dead pig nearby. And some bad photos.

But those bad photos lit something. Made me pick up a camera again. Made me start painting, designing, creating. Made me realise the stories had to come out — one way or another.  From those hunting days to the tribute rock in the Darwin Botanical Gardens — built by my family's hands. From being blocked from creating jobs on our own land to carrying our stories through art, photography and survival.

This book is the story of how it all started, what was taken and what still stands — inspired by a crocodile, a dead pig and a few bad photos.

Status: In progress — drawing from saved writings, family memory and the truth carved in stone.

For the quietly curious

This book is for those who sense there's more to this land than brochures show. It’s for the traveller who wants to understand, not just visit. For the reader hungry for stories not sanitised or sold. For the ally who listens more than they speak. And for the young Indigenous person searching for mirrors of their own strength and story. Anyone tired of the same old narrative and ready for truth told with dignity.  

The original tribes perspective

This book is shot through the eyes of someone who isn’t a visitor. It carries 30 years of trust, earned through relationship and return. My blended Indigenous and non-Indigenous heritage allows me to frame stories that honour tradition while speaking a contemporary visual language. It’s unfiltered honesty—no romanticising, just truth as it’s lived: resilient, nuanced, and alive. These aren’t stock photos; they’re moments from my family’s Country, my community’s life, my own journey of seeing and belonging. It is Original Tribes—in paper, light, and memory.