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Ern
A soldier notable for writing a series of letters home to his Auntie May, which track his increasing sense of alienation and shock throughout the war. In the closing scene of the play’s first act, Archie kills a German soldier who, in his dying breath, calls Archie a “Black Devil.” He grows more disillusioned still after the war, when he is refused access to a bar while wearing his medals on Anzac Day because he is black and then returns to the cattle station Bertha Downs to find that conditions have actually worsened for Indigenous workers. When he mentions that the workers are being mistreated, the manager threatens his family and another worker chastises him for his attitude. Archie’s letters to Auntie May reveal the ripple effect of World War One soldiers’ trauma on their families and gestures to the primary source material (letters) that remains Australia’s only memory of its Indigenous Anzac soldiers. His struggles upon his return show the enormous disconnect between the atmosphere of the Australian military and Australia itself: not only were Indigenous soldiers’ contributions seldom recognized (while white soldiers’ were valorized), but Indigenous people also remained second-class citizens despite their contributions to Australia.
Archie Quotes in Black Diggers
The Black Diggers quotes below are all either spoken by Archie or refer to Archie. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Act One
Quotes
Seriously, this has gone for years and it could go for years. We lose a few mates, they lose a few, the whistle blows, we gain another cricket pitch worth of Belgium, the horn blows, they chase us out. But most of the time we sit here and we sing our songs. And they sit over there and sing theirs. And everyone, everyone hates the whole bloody stunt.
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And the worst of it is that Ollie is still alive, he’s in the hospital and he hasn’t got a face but he’s alive Aunty May. But he hasn’t got a face Aunty May, he hasn’t got a face.
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Schwarzer teufel. Schwarzer teufel mit weiße Augen. Schwarzer teufel. Schwarzer … letzte, was ich sehe.
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Act Two
Quotes
You listen to me and you listen to me nice and close. I don’t give a rat’s arse where you’ve been and what you’ve done. I don’t give a fuck what happened on the other side of the world. I don’t care for your airs and graces. As far as I’m concerned you’re still the boy who used to shut his lip and do as he was told. Ever since you came home you’ve been the worst kind of black, an uppity one. I suggest you get on with the job at hand and stop being a troublemaker. Or things might get tough for people you care about. Jesus, now you’ve gone and got me angry. Who put these bloody ideas in your head?
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Archie Quotes in Black Diggers
The Black Diggers quotes below are all either spoken by Archie or refer to Archie. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Act One
Quotes
Seriously, this has gone for years and it could go for years. We lose a few mates, they lose a few, the whistle blows, we gain another cricket pitch worth of Belgium, the horn blows, they chase us out. But most of the time we sit here and we sing our songs. And they sit over there and sing theirs. And everyone, everyone hates the whole bloody stunt.
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And the worst of it is that Ollie is still alive, he’s in the hospital and he hasn’t got a face but he’s alive Aunty May. But he hasn’t got a face Aunty May, he hasn’t got a face.
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Schwarzer teufel. Schwarzer teufel mit weiße Augen. Schwarzer teufel. Schwarzer … letzte, was ich sehe.
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Act Two
Quotes
You listen to me and you listen to me nice and close. I don’t give a rat’s arse where you’ve been and what you’ve done. I don’t give a fuck what happened on the other side of the world. I don’t care for your airs and graces. As far as I’m concerned you’re still the boy who used to shut his lip and do as he was told. Ever since you came home you’ve been the worst kind of black, an uppity one. I suggest you get on with the job at hand and stop being a troublemaker. Or things might get tough for people you care about. Jesus, now you’ve gone and got me angry. Who put these bloody ideas in your head?
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