Bobtail's Friend

Balharda the bobtail felt pretty in her necklace of wildflowers. But the Bidi-bidi butterflies laughed and said she was ugly. Who will be bobtail’s friend? In this Aboriginal Dreaming story, follow Balharda downriver from the desert to the sea and learn how words can hurt or heal, and how making friends can open up whole new worlds.

Bobtail’s Friend is Book 2 in the Spirit of the Dreaming series. Yamatji-Noongar artist, storyteller and Stolen Generations survivor Aunty Rhonda Collard-Spratt shares vibrant images of Yamatji Country and words from the Wajarri and Nhanda languages of Western Australia as she teaches us to walk tall and proud in the skin we’re in.

About the Authors

Aunty Rhonda Collard-Spratt and Jacki Ferro first teamed up to write Aunty Rhonda's life story, Alice's Daughter: Lost mission Child (AIATSIS 2017). Through many fun adventures, they have become great friends. During the 2020 pandemic, they began writing stories based on Aboriginal teachings. Rhonda and Jacki want to give all children hope and joy, keep the Dreaming alive, and help strengthen Aboriginal children's connection to culture and Country.

Born in Carnarvon, Western Australia, Aunty Rhonda Collard-Spratt, or Aunty Curlew, is a strong Yamatji-Noongar woman, and a respected representative of the Stolen Generations. Aunty Rhonda lives by the bush in Ipswich, Queensland. When not telling yarns or singing songs, you can find Aunty in her backyard painting, or creating bush jewellery, and calling out to the magpies and kookaburras.

Jacki, or Dragonfly Girl, writes and edits life stories in her home among the trees in Brisbane. When not at her laptop, you'll find Jacki out dancing Zumba, singing with her friends, or enjoying time with her husband Vito, and their two wonderful children, Luca and Francesca.