The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith

Jimmie Blacksmith, of Aboriginal and white descent, is raised to adulthood by Reverend Neville and his wife Martha. They hope their influence will civilize him and open doors in early 20th century Australia. He grows up under their care, learning to navigate a society that views him through a racial lens.

Jimmie leaves his foster home and seeks work with a letter of recommendation. His first employer, Healey, nitpicks his fence-building and shortchanges his pay. Healey even refuses to write a proper reference, preferring to obscure Jimmie’s illiteracy.

Jimmie works for a local constable, Farrell, who uses him to harass other Aboriginal people. He is forced to capture a former friend who is molested and murdered while in custody, and to cover up the death. This shows how systemic brutality and complicity shape Jimmie’s world.

Jimmie finds some stability working on the Newby family farm, but they treat him similarly to other employers. The uneasy routine underscores the racism and economic exploitation he endures. He continues to yearn for independence and dignity.

Jimmie summons and marries Gilda Marshall, who arrives pregnant. She gives birth to a white child, a public embarrassment that Jimmie initially accepts with pride in parenthood. The birth complicates his social standing and personal life.

Mort, Jimmie's full-brother, and Tabidgi join his fence-building work. The Newbys use their presence as an excuse to deny Jimmie his pay, arguing the extra men were not part of the arrangement. This betrayal deepens Jimmie's sense of injustice.

Mrs. Newby and a schoolteacher friend urge Gilda to take her baby and leave for a teaching opportunity. Gilda refuses, prompting Jimmie to enlist Tabidgi to intimidate the Newby women with a plan for a ‘scare’ using hatchets. The plan backfires, turning into a deadly rampage.

The attempted scare spirals into a rampage that kills Mrs. Newby, Miss Graf, and all the Newby daughters except one infant, while the men are away. Jimmie and Mort flee the scene, but Tabidgi stays behind with Gilda and the child before they depart. The event shatters the community and sets off a nationwide manhunt.

Shortly after the massacre, Jimmie murders his former employer Healey, announcing that he has declared war, echoing the Boer War descriptions he has heard. The killings draw nationwide media attention as the press tracks his crime spree. Jimmie and Mort continue to elude capture.

Tabidgi is captured and sentenced to death as an accessory to murder. He testifies that the killings were not planned but occurred on impulse. His plea highlights the chaos surrounding Jimmie’s rampage.

Jimmie and Mort meet schoolteacher McCready, whom they initially wound but then take hostage to decide their fate. McCready provokes them with sharp comments about white influence on Aboriginal people. His perspective helps sway Jimmie's subsequent choices.

Mort is killed by a pursuing group led by Newby men and Dowie Steed, while Jimmie is shot at in a lake. He manages to tend his wounds and hides in a convent, surviving the pursuit. The brothers' bond fractures as violence escalates.

Police capture Jimmie; townspeople beat him as they escort him to jail. In the cell, Rev. Neville performs the last rites, while the town watches a hangman’s implied ceremony, foreshadowing an execution to come. The final image centers on Jimmie’s fate within the justice system.