“An Australian Son” Of Sri Lankan Descent?
Dr. Laksiri Fernando
I first came to know about this story from a new friend, Sisira Weragoda, found through Colombo Telegraph. Then of course I read it. This is a fascinating story particularly for the Sri Lankans who grapple these days quite emotionally with the questions of identity. It is a true story written by the main protagonist, Gordon Matthews, but it could easily be read as a novel without unflinching interest. At the beginning it may be little tedious, but then until the end it is a fascinating story of 229 pages.
A baby boy was adopted in 1952, named Gordon Matthew, by a well to do Melbourne family and what they knew for sure was that the young mother came from Sydney to deliver the baby and she was white. There were four different adopted children altogether in this benevolent family thereafter. Those days unlike today the only option for an unmarried woman with pregnancy was to arrange adoption if not going through the risky business of abortion. There were agencies in adoption service or business. Single mother proposition was unimaginable. This was also the period of white Australia policy.
Question of Colour
It was not clear at the beginning, but the baby Gordon was turning darker. Pop Brodrick, his mother’s father, was the first to pick it. He used to call the baby my ‘little Abo.’ “On another occasion, Mum had visited her family at their Melbourne bayside home. ‘Give my love to my little Abo,’ Pop had pronounced as my mother prepared to leave. Mum had reacted angrily.”
Mum was a gracious woman. She never really noticed. She wouldn’t have cared about colour anyway. In relation to Dad, Gordon had no idea whatsoever what he thought about his colour or racial background. Years later, Auntie Phil had asked “what do you think Gordon’s racial background is?”
“Pacific islander,” Dad had casually replied.
Gordon was conscious. During summer holidays at the beach he would be in stark contrast to his siblings. His brother and sisters turned pink while he turned dark absorbing the sun naturally. He used to examine himself in a mirror or study the family photos. This would not be the case in everyone. Some are more conscious than the others. It was not an issue among the little kids in the primary. Even if someone called him ‘Abo,’ it was like another nickname.
Things came to a crunch when the family went to England for a year. It was directly asked. He was attending secondary grammar. “One day one of my classmates mentioned that he had seen a television program about Australian Aboriginals the previous evening. ‘Are you Aboriginal, Gordon,’ he enquired out of the blue. ‘I was thinking about if after the program. They say the only coloured people in Australia are aboriginals and you’re not completely white are you? Where do your Mum and Dad come from? What nationality are they?”
