The Colleano Heart

Drawing on Mark’s research and the priceless home movies he has recovered, The Colleano Heart tells the story of a forgotten Australian family of Indigenous circus performers who achieved international fame 100 years ago. While touring Australia in the 1910s, the Colleano family outwitted stultifying racial prejudice by passing themselves off as ‘Hawaiians’. While touring a racist America and Fascist Germany in the 1930s, they passed themselves off as ‘Spaniards’ and left even Adolf Hitler beguiled. Here are some questions we asked Mark:

What was your role in The Colleano Heart?

Tenacity! I began researching the Colleano family history in 1983, wrote The Wizard of the Wire in 1993, initiated the documentary project in 2019, and acted as historical consultant, contributed archival film footage and other resources, and invested my modest wealth in the project.

What lessons can we learn from The Colleano Heart about our Indigenous people?

If the Colleano family concealed their Aboriginality, it was only to survive and navigate their way through the extraordinarily restrictive racism of the era, in Australia at first, but later (and especially) in South Africa, the United States and Germany.

What factors best explain the Colleano family’s extraordinary success?

Integrity! An absolute dedication to their art and absolute loyalty to each other; the ability to constantly adapt to changing fortunes and circumstances.

How important is the example of the Colleano family for future generations?

The Colleano Heart has rescued for posterity: 1. a fabulous Australian story, 2. a fabulous Indigenous story, 3. a fabulous circus story and 4. reunited a family now spread throughout the world.