rainbow's end quotes

nan dear white gloves

gloves? don’t need white gloves to pick beans

nan dear going back to the murray

born there and by crikey, I’m gunna go back and die there

gladys on the hessian

stop the likes of her seeing our humpies

gladys band aid over a sore

but hessian! like a band-aid over a sore

nan dear on the queen

she’s not my queen

announcer, boomerang

we showed them how to throw a boomerang

dolly, pick-a-box

you should go on pick-a-box, mum, you’re ace

nan dear on aboriginals in the encyclopaedia

ask him what it says in that there encyclops about the aborigines eh?

nan dear hiding that gladys can’t write

neglected to tell you, love. I stood on ‘em. earlier. all smashed.

dolly buying linoleum

[posh] why yars, I’m after new linoleum

salesman ‘shopping at daisch’s’

thank you for shopping at daisch’s once more

nan on the goomies

they might be drinkers, but they’re still our people

errol, making something out of nothing

you people can make something out of nothing

dolly, you people

[bitter] you people

errol, a girl like you

a girl like you…you could do anything you want

dolly, wanting to be a nurse

it’s silly, but I’d kind of like to be a nurse

nan, setting a place for papa dear

you haven’t set a spot for papa dear…just do it

gladys, address stopping dolly

why should her address stop her in life?

errol, cup of coffee

actually, I’d love a cup of coffee if you’ve got one

convo btw. errol + dolly, why they live at the flats

why do you live out here? where else would we live? in town?

dolly going into the dance with errol

do you have any idea what’ll happen if you walk into that dance with me?

errol, its dolly that matters

what matters is you. not your address

nan dear, telling errol to walk past the cork trees

time for you to move on. take the short cut, past the cork trees

inspector, unpleasant in summer

it must be quite unpleasant here in summer?

gladys, children all grown up

my children are all grown up, off working —

gladys + nan dear, bookeeper in the laundry

-as a bookkeeper-in the laundry-

inspectors, whites so white

I don’t know how you do it. Your whites are so white!

inspector, aboriginals being absorbed

the aborigine needs to be absorbed into the community. but how can he be absorbed until he learns to live like us?

radio announcer, ajax ad

because ajax contains bleach, you’ll stop paying the elbow tax

dolly, ester’s boys taken

but is it cos’ they tool her boys?

nan dear, sink or swin

at least here we sink or swim on our own

gladys, what any mother wants

I want what any mother, black, white or brindle, wants for her daughter. that’s all.

dolly, normal life + getting flooded

why don’t we have a normal life?…getting flooded all the time

nan dear, fighting against how things are

you’re the one who’s fighting. you are your mother. fighting against the way things are.

nan dear, don’t get your hopes up

don’t get your hopes up. it’s not the house of biba, you know

gladys, encylopaedias being wonderful

you do think they’re wonderful, though? you’re ‘expanding your possibilities’?

dolly, shame you

have you, mum? have you learnt not to be shamed by them?

bank manager, don’t think so

I don’t think so…

gladys, she’d fit in fine + stage direction

[steely] she’d fit in fine

bank manager, reliability

reliability is important…

bank manager, rapport

—sorry, rapport means—

bank manager, pennines up to a pound

put your pennies in here when they add up to a pound

gladys, offer dolly a break

are you going to be the one to offer her that break, sir?

nancy, fabric at the tip

but, you know, I thought we took them to the tip

errol, flour bag

though you could’ve worn a flour and and you would’ve still been the prettiest girl in the room

errol, pressies under the tree

I can’t imagine how many pressies you have under the tree

errol, dad calling him sir

my dad expects me to call him ‘sir’

errol, mum getting a job

my dad thinks they’re funny ideas…she wants to get a job

errol, another country

your mum chops wood! with an axe and all! it’s like your family’s from another country or something

errol, new flat

new-fangled kelvinator and water on tap…that’d have to be better than the river

dolly, I’d have to leave

I’d have to leave the river…I’d have to leave my family…you want me to leave here, forever?

errol, real home

you could live in a real home, for the first time

dolly, a real home

a real home is where there are people looking out for each other. [beat.] do they do that in your home, in your family, errol?

errol, humpy by the river

are you saying you’d rather live in a humpy by the river? when I’m promising you the world?

gladys, cannot replace the encyclopedias

not this, it can’t [to herself] not on a picker’s wage

dolly, fix your own house

why don’t you fix your own house?

nan dear, white skin powder

‘guaranteed to turn your skin white’

nan dear, reading in front of gladys

I can’t in front of her

gladys, not welcome in the townships

us aboriginals are not welcome in the townships

chairman, interloper

eject this interloper

gladys, interloper

I’m not an interloper — I belong here — this is my land

nan dear, pride in gladys

I didn’t think you had it in you, daught

errol + gladys, write this letter

we still need to write this letter…we?

errol, you people

it’s made out of a can!…you people can make something out of nothing

gladys, continuing with the inspector’s report

no. we’ll continue with this

errol’s descriptions of dolly

she’s a living doll…sharp as a tack…modest

errol, snooty goggles

I even like her snooty goggles

errol, realising he was wrong

I realise I was wrong…where you belong, and your family is important. to you and to me

errol, nurse dolly

good on you. nurse dolly [beat]

gladys, humble for too long

why humbly? we’ve been humble too long

gladys, second class citizens

we’re second class citizens in our own country. no, we’re not even citizens

gladys, educating white people

they need to be educated about us, and our ways

gladys, reading any part at the end of her speech

if you want me to read any part to you…I can

gladys + dolly, it’ll be alright

gladys: it’ll be alright

dolly: you always say that

this is reversed at the end