CILKA ŽAGAR

Cilka was born in 1939 in Dolenjska region of Slovenia. In 1960 she completed the Teachers College in Celje.  In 1963 she came to Australia and in years 1965 to 2000 has taught in Australian schools. She taught adult as well, mainly migrants. She completed Bachelor of Education Degree at the Perth University. She specialised in cultural bonds and has dedicated her work to the indigenous people, the Australian Aborigines. When her husband decided to take up opal mining in Lightning Ridge, NSW, she agreed to move to the bush. In 1968 she began teaching Aboriginal students from Lightning Ridge and Walgett and her involvement with Aboriginal families and communities stemmed from her role in education, then grew into her involvement in the compiling, editing and publication of Aboriginal narratives. She collected and published their legends and some poems. She wrote of their culture and traditions. Cilka prepared a dictionary of Aboriginal words. At the same university she later completed the Bachelor of Arts Degree in Criminology.

Her book Growing up Walgett tells us of the life of Aborigines and of her students, was selected for a compulsory reading for Australian High Schools.

Cilka wrote many stories, many of them the stories of Slovenian migrants, and two published books of poems in English language. The Historical Society has published two of her books dealing with life’s of the black opal the miners.

I search for a hiding place 
A timeless space 
Where I love you 
Sounds perfectly 
Reasonably 
Sane 
Where 
Our hearts could see 
What they want to see 
With eyes shut

by Cilka Žagar

Poems in English – read more here

Cilka’s books:

GROWING UP WALGETT, documentary prose, 1990
BARBARA, novel, Mohorjeva družba, Celje 1995
MAGDALENA, Mladinska knjiga, Ljubljana 2000
GOODBYE RIVERBANK, documentary prose dealing with Aborigenes, 2000
AVSTRALSKI SLOVENCI, 40 Slovenians talk of their migration experiences

SPOMINČICE

LIGHTNING RIDGE GEMS

LOST IN A BUNCH OF WEEDS

WHAT IS YOUR NAME, GOD

MY JOURNEY WITH DEMENTIA

THE ROAD TO FREEDOM

YOUR FEET TAKE YOU WHERE YOUR HEART IS

THE WAGES OF SIN

Web pages:

National Library of Austtralia – Trove

Goodbye Riverbank

 

Growing up Walgett

 

Australian Slovenians

 

Lightning Ridge Gems

Locutio – Slovenian On-Line Magazine

Our Journey with Dementia

 

Lost in a Bunch of Weed

 

Looking Back

 

Ljubezen je edini znak življenja

 

Tina

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