The Red House

Kumanjayi Walker and Zachary Rolfe: An Australian reckoning

Kate Wild

$34.99

Paperback

Forthcoming
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English

Allen & Unwin
26 August 2025

Biography; True crime; Social issues & processes

A young Aboriginal man and a white police officer face each other in a house in the desert. The violence that passes between them carries the pain and anger of generations of unfinished business.

This is not simply a book about the fatal shooting of Kumanjayi Walker and the murder trial of Constable Zachary Rolfe; it is an exploration of the inseparable connections between this country's past, present and future, and the chance to change that story.

In The Red House, Walkley Award-winning journalist Kate Wild exposes the potent power of race in Australia.

'Kate Wild's The Red House is an extraordinary and gutsy piece of work. This is an investigation that requires a cool head and a deep heart - and Wild has both. She is thorough and unwavering as she examines not only the killing of a young Indigenous man in an isolated desert community and the high-profile murder trial of a policeman that followed, but also traces patterns that have been in play for far too long in this nation. Deft and electric, The Red House is a must-read and Wild is a writer to trust.' Anna Krien,

journalist, author and poet

'Kate Wild has taken us to a place where the soul of this continent is calling out for parumpurru (Warlpiri justice). The truly compelling story of Kumanjayi Walker and Zachary Rolfe, of black and white Australia, is told with great compassion and insight in tragic detail. At a time when there remains a national demand for truth telling, Kate has let peoples' own words be heard and recorded what happened in real time. This book is a chronicle of the consequences that have flowed so far, and a plea from ""everywhen"" to finish this cycle.' Tony McAvoy SC

'A gripping and confronting narrative built on forensic research, The Red House is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand race relations in Australia today. With an unflinching eye for detail and human frailty, Kate Wild takes us inside one of the most tragic events in recent Australian history and reveals it as part of one long, interconnected moment. Unmissable.' Mark McKenna, historian and author

By: Kate Wild
Imprint: Allen & Unwin
Country of Publication: Australia
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 153mm,
ISBN: 9781761069291
ISBN 10: 1761069292
Pages: 384
Publication Date: 26 August 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Kate Wild is an investigative journalist whose work with distinguished teams at the ABC has been recognised with three Walkley Awards and a Logie. Her reports from Darwin, where she lived from 2010 to 2016, laid the groundwork for a Four Corners story on juvenile detention that prompted the calling of the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory. Her first book, Waiting for Elijah, was published in 2018.