Author(s): Steven Trotter (Editor, Foreword by, Afterword by)

General

The Nyangbal people had lived in harmony with the land and their neighbours for thousands of years... but all that was about to change.

Message sticks with word of the Newcomers' invasion was growing every day. It would not be long until they swept into the Nyangbal mob's lands. Amidst the new threat of the invaders came the age-old threats to the clans and the lore itself.

The Magpie and the Snake tells the story of Balagaan and Gawngan, Aboriginal heroes who feature in Bundjalung myths about forbidden love and brave feats.

Set in Bullinaa (Ballina) two hundred years ago, the story recreates the traditional lifestyle of Australia's first people on the cusp of the English invasion and celebrates the rich culture of Australia's first nation's people.