The early part of the book deals with the development of Ramahyuck Mission on the shores of Lake Wellington and the efforts of the author’s grandfather Nathaniel Pepper (the first tribal Aboriginal person to be baptised in Victoria). The mission, under the influence of the exceptional German preacher Rev. F. Hagenauer, was well-organised and self- sufficient with the practice of Christianity taken seriously by missionaries and aboriginals alike. Peace was broken by the formation of the Protectorate for Aborigines (1838) under which Aborigines of mixed blood (now a very great number) were prevented from remaining on the missions, where in most cases, they had spent their whole life. The Act set in motion a general breakdown in the family structures, which, for so long, had created a rich and culturally satisfying life for Aborigines on the missions.

The book makes clear the extent to which ‘White Officialdom’ fragmented family relationships and defused any possibility of collective Aboriginal feeling and purpose.

The latter part of the book traces the history of the Lake Tyers mission and the changes in legislation which brought people back to the mission, a much more authoritative affair than in the days of Ramahyuck, to the eventual formation of The Aboriginal Trust that it is today. Other recent events are described including the development of the Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Council (of which Mr. Pepper was a member) as well as some straight talking by the author about good and bad Aborigines along the lines of the title.

You Are What You Make Yourself To Be, with its attention to documented fact and useful setting out, should be helpful and readable historical material for libraries and schools but it also has the added charm of the anecdotal and down-to-earth narrative of its author.