Tammy Damulkurra suits the Australian Curriculum and is an excellent literacy education resource for Indigenous Studies in all schools.

A Classic Australian Story

(2nd edition 2013) with the Sunshine Girls of Maningrida.

Written by Derek Pugh and ten Burarra girls from central Arnhem Land and originally released in 1995, this second edition celebrates two decades of its use in literacy education in remote communities in Australia. It is an excellent text for all Australian schools to use in Indigenous Education programs and meets a number of key points in the Australian Curriculum.


Fifteen year old Tammy Damulkurra lives in Maningrida - a remote Aboriginal community in Arnhem Land. Tammy has friends and likes the disco and thinks at last she has her first boyfriend but he cheats on her and Tammy gets into a fight with her arch enemy, Sharon. Tammy's parents send her to the outstations for several weeks to cool off and she quickly gets used to the bush and fishing and hunting with relatives. When she returns to Maningrida her love life is a mess and it's not until she leaves again for school that she realizes that it's all going to be okay.


“a story that will strike chords with many teenagers,” with a “naive quality and adolescent voice (which) makes it instantly accessible” B Richardson

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