Meet Wylah The Koorie Warrior, the new hero who connects children to Indigenous culture
A bestselling children’s book stars a new kind of hero — she’s a girl, she’s an Indigenous Australian, and she’s a fighter.
Guardians: Wylah the Koorie Warrior is an illustrated chapter book; a fantasy adventure set 40,000 years ago in the land of Peek Whurrong in southwest Victoria.
Australian children instantly became obsessed with Wylah, making the book one of the best-selling children’s novels of the year so far, and sending it to the top of the charts at booksellers Booktopia and Readings.
And the good news for kids who’ve read this book is that the author has mapped out a whole world of new characters and new adventures to ensure the Wylah series can run for years to come.
Authors inspired by their single mothers
Warrnambool-based co-authors Richard Pritchard and Jordan Gould said the book began with a vision for Wylah—a strong First Nations girl who would embody the kindness and courage Pritchard and Gould experienced from the women who raised them.
Pritchard grew up in New Zealand in a single parent home with three siblings,
He said he saw the sacrifices his mother made for her children.
“I’ve always admired and had great respect for women, and had a very strong wife and daughter,” he said.
Gould is a Peek Whurrong man raised in Warrnambool by a young single mother.
He attributes his success to his mother’s strength.
“My mom gave birth to me when she was 16 and she did her best to raise me, an autistic child,” Gould said.
He said he had very low functioning autism.
“He just stuck with me and did the best he could – and now I’m here.”
Pritchard says their similar childhoods have been a huge influence on their creative work together.
“Jordan grew up with very strong female role models and so did I,” she said.
“I always thought, if men don’t stand up, then women will.”
Truly Australian heroes
Guardians: Wylah the Koorie Warrior is a fast-paced action adventure about a young woman whose courage is tested by the forces of an invading dragon under the command of greedy humans in search of gold.
Wylah must connect with the knowledge and power of his matriarchal ancestors to find the strength to fight for his Peek Whurrong people, who have been captured.
The story is set among the natural landmarks of Warrnambool, such as the Hopkins River and Moyjil (Point Ritchie), where geographically specific megafauna roams.
Pritchard said he and Gould knew from the start that they wanted the book to be more than a fairy tale to entertain children, an intention Pritchard explained in his foreword.
“To all Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, may Wylah be a platform for starting conversations of love, acceptance, unity and empathy,” he wrote.
Before writing one word, Pritchard said he “wanted to match what’s in New Zealand in terms of exposure to Indigenous culture”.
“It’s so celebrated, it’s on every corner, it’s ingrained in schools, in politics, everyone speaks the language, everything is embraced,” he said.
“I’ve always wanted that for Australia because I know what they’re missing.
Pritchard, an animator who has worked with Hollywood film directors including George Miller, said he and Gould needed to create a character “that people can hold onto, that the whole of Australia can stick to”.
Wylah was inspired by the real-life Peek Whurrong women, known as warriors, as well as the women Pritchard raised in his Samoan culture.
“I know the history of Samoa, Maori people are warrior women, so immediately the picture is Indigenous women warriors,” she said.
“I’ve never seen that (here) before because I didn’t grow up in this culture (but) I definitely haven’t seen it in public.
A hero 40,000 years in the making
Gould only learned he was Native when his mother marked him as Aboriginal when she enrolled him in high school.
He was approached to join the culture program at Brauer College.
“A group called the Clontarf, it’s for Aboriginal boys, they helped me through all my schooling and got me up to grade 12,” he said.
After finishing school, Gould contacted two of Peek Whurrong Warrnambool’s elders, Uncle Robert Lowe and Uncle Locky Eccles, who taught him about its culture and language.
This book is culturally specific and borrows heavily from the language and culture of Peek Whurrong, who has lived in southwest Victoria for tens of thousands of years.
Pritchard says specificity is important, as he learns from mistakes seen in recent popular animated children’s films.
“You can’t mix up cultures and come up with a nameless culture that offends everyone,” he said.
“It’s like saying ‘You all look the same’.
He said Wylah should come from a real culture with a language so everyone could celebrate rather than blending cultures to say “here’s one princess for everyone”.
The authors say they drew heavily on the knowledge of local elders, as well as a unique book by James Dawson and his daughter Isabella, written in the 1880s, which compiles a detailed account of the language and customs of the Aboriginal people of the Western District of Victoria. .
Pritchard believes that global changes in race politics have led to Wylah’s success.
“I think a lot of things in society have changed over the last few years,” Pritchard said.
“You have the Me Too movement, the Black Lives Matter movement, Change the Date, there is still a lot of controversy and conflict today with Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.
He says it has generated a great underlying desire to reconnect with Indigenous culture.
“And Wylah did it for them, so that’s his strength,” he said.
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