Ed,

May I seek a right of reply to the letter by Ursula Tunks of the Gumbaynggirr Nation in South Grafton (CVI 19/10/22) who has taken political and possible racial exception to my mentioning the two simple historic words of “British Empire” in a light-hearted article I wrote on a man who spent his working life in isolation in Africa.

Sadly, these two words, have been construed by Ursula to mean “British Colonialism,” a description never mentioned in my article published in this newspaper.

Secondly, I must also correct the writer in that I am not a descendent of anyone remotely British or, as she claims, “the epitome of Colonialism.” I am an Australian citizen with strong ties to Yamba since 1969 and the son of parents of Danish origin.

My article of three weeks ago drew no fee as alluded to and did not include a shred of historic political hatred of which Ursula writes, causing her to accuse me of “utterances” requiring immediate censorship, all because of those two well-known words describing an era in world history.

May I also respectfully remind my apparent detractor that far greater writing minds than mine have reached a general consensus over the years that cries for censorship can only reflect society’s lack of confidence in itself.

As a retired life-long journalist, I sincerely trust that people not prepared to accept history will never cause non-emotive words to be used as an excuse for condemning others.

 Oscar Tamsen, Yamba