Blue Heelers star Tasma Walton admits white lie her Aboriginal family would use when her ethnicity was questioned: ‘Māori blood’

Australian actress Tasma Walton says penning her second book has been one of the most ‘challenging and rewarding’ projects of her life. 

The Blue Heelers star, 51, told Stellar she would often leave her Gold Logie winner husband Rove McManus, for days at a time to write the deeply personal historical fiction. 

Rove, 51, took charge of parenting the couple’s 11-year-old daughter, Ruby, while Tasma worked on telling the story of her Aboriginal ancestor. 

In I Am Nannertgarrook, a pregnant woman is ripped from her husband and young children and taken to the other side of Australia. 

‘I did always think I was [First Nations] because I had experiences at school where I was called names that had that implication,’ Tasma told the publication. 

‘And my nanna also told me a lot of really interesting stories that felt different and unusual and interesting to me.

‘What became the family protective device was to say that we think we have Māori blood.’ 

Acclaimed Australian actress Tasma Walton did not grow up connected to her Aboriginal roots and has revealed the ‘protective’ white lie her family would use to disguise her ethnicity when she was growing up 

In Tasma’s novel I Am Nannertgarrook, a pregnant woman is ripped from her husband and young children and taken to the other side of Australia

The Blue Heelers star, 51, is releasing a historical fiction novel that tells the stories of her ancestors on April 2, a book that only her husband Rove McManus has read 

The acclaimed actress, who found out about her Indigenous heritage after moving to Melbourne in 1996 while filming Blue Heelers, said she suspects her family wanted to protect her from the painful truth. 

Tasma starred as Dash McKinley in the iconic police drama for four seasons.  

She grew up in social housing in Geraldton, Western Australia in the 1970s and 80s, with her single mother and two sisters. 

In 2018, Tasma said a blood test showed she was 93 per cent British, but her family dug deeper and found she has Aboriginal heritage on her mother’s side.  

The TV star suspects her mum wanted to shelter her from the past, involving the forced removal of her ancestors from their Victorian homeland. 

‘I have always had this feeling of my ancestor needing resolution, in a sense,’ she said. 

‘In many ways, this is my attempt at providing that and reclaiming her identity and her story and her voice to give her some peace, and in doing so, it kind of gives me peace as well, because I feel like I’ve honoured her in the best way I can.’ 

Tasma Walton (pictured, centre right) identifies herself as a Boonwurrung/Bunurong woman

Tasma identifies herself as a Boonwurrung/Bunurong woman and has written her new book in first-person in the hopes it will reach a wider audience.

She said that her husband of 15 years was the only person that she showed her first drafts to. 

‘He’s always very supportive and encouraging,’ she said, giving a small and rare insight into the couple’s marriage. 

‘Due for release on April 2, telling this story of my ancestor, and the women around her, has been an emotional ride – exhilarating, heartbreaking, passionate and hopeful,’ she added on social media.

The actress has been widely acclaimed for her work in iconic Australian television series including Blue Heelers, Rake, Mystery Road, and The Twelve.

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