"Munday, let me give you a piece of advice: sugar catches more flies than vinegar."
Neville says this to Jimmy when Jimmy complains to him about not getting train fare to return home after being in jail. Neville suggests that if Jimmy were a little nicer and more polite in asking for help, Neville would be more prone to help him.
"Shut up you bloody idiot, or I'll charge you with contempt of court."
Jimmy is addressed by the Justice of the Peace in court with derogatory and informal language. He treats Jimmy poorly and has no interest in hearing him plead his case.
"Too late to adopt the Tasmanian solution."
By poisoning Aboriginal flour rations, white officials managed to eradicate the entire native population of Tasmania. Carrol refers to this genocide casually, suggesting that he believes that that would be the best way to deal with the Aborigines in Australia, but that it's too late to use that method.
"We never shifted out, we was booted out."
Joe references the forced removal of his family from their home in Northam, correcting Carrol's assessment that it was the Aborigines' choice to move. Joe speaks truth to power, insisting that the Aborigines have had no choice in their fate.
"In the same proclamation, all male persons between the ages of fifteen and fifty were required to enroll in the militia, to secure the safety of the territory from invasion and from the attacks of hostile native tribes as might be necessary."
Neville, the Chief Protector of Aborigines, explains the early white colonies preparing to protect their land from invasion from Aboriginal natives, when in fact it was the Aboriginals who were invaded by the white population in 1788. Their land, culture, and history were completely wiped out, but Neville refers to the Aborigines as the "hostile" party.
"We are getting married when I get out. If the Aborigines Department give us permission."
Joe writes a letter to Mary from prison, saying that he plans to marry her when he gets out. That is, if he can get permission from the white authorities—just another example of the ways that white Australians impose their authority on the Aborigines.
"Today we are gathered here to celebrate the birth of this nation of Australia one hundred and forty-six years ago at Sydney Cove in the Eastern States."
In his speech on the holiday, Neville references Australia Day as the "birth of Australia," which is a false statement considering that Aboriginals had lived on the country for over forty thousand years prior.
"Don't be stupid, woman, I can handle a mob of unruly niggers."
When Matron suggests to her husband that he cannot control his Aborigine charges at the Reserve, he fires back at her with an insistence on his own supremacy. This quote shows what a hateful, racist, and insecure leader Neal is.
"That your country. You back sit down that place."
Although Billy is a black tracker, seen as an enemy of the Aboriginals and an ally to the white officials, his advice to Joe when he leaves the Moore River Settlement is strong and insightful. As Joe frets about his warning not to return to Northam, Billy assures him that Northam is his land, that he has ownership over it, and for that reason, he should return to it.
"Go to hell! Fuck youse!"
When Neal tries to force Mary to work at the hospital, which she knows will only lead to her raping her, she fires back at him. She curses at the leader, defiantly fighting back against her oppressor.
