Story development Work
with MARGARET AND RHONDA DUNCAN
In 2021 and 2022, I worked with Margaret and Rhonda Duncan, from Urapunga, on the story of their late father and their epic search for answers about his identity.
Told in two languages – Kriol and English – ‘Lugubatbat stori: Our search for the truth about our dad’ is a bilingual memoir told through oral histories, archival records and Margaret and Rhonda’s distinctive painting style.
I first met Margaret in 2013 when we were both living in Katherine in the Northern Territory. In 2021, she and her sister Rhonda invited me to work with them and their friend and academic, Lillian Tait, on what would become ‘Lugubatbat stori.’
I joined Margaret, Rhonda and Lillian at a story camp on the outskirts of Darwin where we mapped memories and identified the key questions they wanted to explore in their story. During this process, it became clear that they were working on two interwoven narratives – the first their late father’s life story and the second, their quest to find out the truth about his hidden identity.
Margaret, Rhonda and Lillian worked on the story and once it was written, they invited me to provide structural feedback and a visual treatment that would allow the Kriol stories and the translations to be interwoven with key archival documents and painted elements. We then worked with graphic designer, Joanna Hunt, to develop sample pages to accompany the manuscript.
The resulting book, ‘Lugubatbat stori: Our search for the truth about our dad’ was quickly picked up by Magabala Books and is due to be published in 2026.
Credits
Written by Margaret and Rhonda Duncan with translation by Lillian Tait.
Editorial support and design treatment by Johanna Bell
Graphic design: Joanna Hunt
Publisher: Magabala Books
