Big Life

In 2014, George Huitker decided to merge his love of music and service education, and convinced his band, Junk Sculpture, to undertake a life-changing tour of north-western New South Wales. This was the very region where his service learning program was introducing his urban-based students to rural communities, to gain a better understanding of life in rural Australia, particularly for Indigenous children and their families. With Midnight Oil's influential album Diesel and Dust on heavy rotation, Huitker emulated this band's ground-breaking Blackfella/Whitefella tour and hit the dusty, straight, corrugated roads heading northward on a journey of discovery… On the way, the travellers discovered some hard truths about themselves, their preconceptions and their country's history, and how best to serve its disempowered and disadvantaged people with greater authenticity. In an honest, heartfelt and at times heart-breaking memoir, George Huitker shares this journey while tracing his own songlines and how they instilled his passion for singing and serving others.