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Description of  Black, White and Exempt: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Lives Under Exemption

In 1957, Ella Simon of Purfleet mission near Taree, New South Wales, applied for and was granted a certificate of exemption. Exemption gave her legal freedoms denied to other Indigenous Australians at that time: she could travel freely, open a bank account, and live and work where she wanted. In the eyes of the law she became a non-Aboriginal, but in return she could not associate with other Aboriginal peopleeven her own family or community. It stank in my nostrilsElla Simon 1978. These personal and often painful histories uncovered in archives, family stories, and lived experiences reveal new perspectives on exemption. Read more