The three words Tasma Walton would love to hear on her deathbed

Each week, Benjamin Law asks public figures to discuss the subjects we’re told to keep private by getting them to roll a die. The numbers they land on are the topics they’re given. This week, he talks to Tasma Walton. The actor and writer, 52, is best known for her roles in Blue Heelers and Mystery Road. She’s also the author of I Am Nannertgarrook, which was joint winner of the ARA Historical Novel Prize in 2025.

POLITICS

You’re Boonwurrung on your mother’s side, which is something you discovered later in life. How did your awareness of your Aboriginality change how you saw things? I don’t think it really changed. I grew up in a housing commission suburb in Geraldton [WA]; my neighbours were predominantly Aboriginal. I learnt fairly quickly, as a kid, that the social structures that we have in place – put there by our colonial government, judicial and policing systems – benefit a majority of the population but can work against other marginalised groups. That was always clear to me.

Your novel, I Am Nannertgarrook, is based on a true story of your ancestor who was enslaved. Writing it, did you have a mission statement? First and foremost, it was about trying to be as true as possible to what I believe her experience was. I have people say to me, “I really hoped that such-and-such would happen at the end,” and I say, “Well, so did I.” So did Nannertgarrook. But life doesn’t work that way, particularly under the circumstances that she faced. For me, it was about truth-telling and helping as many people as possible to walk in the shoes of Nannertgarrook and those of all the other women caught in that terrible enterprise.

There’s so much ignorance – or denial – about the Indigenous slavery that happened on this continent. Were you scared about bringing it to light? I think I was more scared to not bring her story to light. It was clear that it wasn’t going to be an easy thing to do. So I put it off and I put it off and then got to a point where [I could do it] with a lot of support from an incredible group of women – particularly [author and publisher] Anita Heiss. So I was more scared that I wouldn’t be able to do the story justice. That, for me, would’ve been a terrible disappointment and failure.

DEATH

OK, we’re talking about death. Oh, god … [laughs and groans]

You don’t like talking about death? There’s so much to unpack with death. As a chronic asthmatic in my younger years, I’ve come close to it. There have been two distinct times where I’ve thought, “I have a choice to make: whether I stay or whether I surrender.”

Wow. Tell me about them. The first instance was when I was in year 12. I had this sort of epiphany that if I died in that moment, it would destroy my mum. I could see that it wasn’t about me, it was about those left behind and what the consequences are for them. How could I do that to my beautiful mum? It’d absolutely break her heart and devastate the rest  of her life …

That’s a huge consideration when you’re a teenager. Yeah. The other time was when I was in my early 20s. I’d gotten pneumonia and my asthma was spiralling out of control. On Friday, I was like, “Ooh, I feel really sick”; on Saturday night, I was in intensive care.

Far out. That’s intense. I’d gotten to the point where I hadn’t slept for 48 hours, I was in a lot of physical pain and struggling to breathe. I said, in my mind, to my grandfather who’d passed a few years before, “Poppy, if I’m meant to still be  here, I need your help.” And he provided. Literally, for an hour after that, I felt no pain. I felt like I could breathe just fine. To feel his presence next to me in that moment was so extraordinary. It really affirmed to me that we’re not just our bodies and our physical world; it’s so much greater.

What do you think happens after we die? I absolutely believe that we come back.

As in reincarnation? That’s the most apt word for it in English. There are lots of concepts from multiple different belief systems that talk about the spirit being eternal. Certainly, there are Aboriginal beliefs around the cyclical  nature of that.

How would you like to die – ideally? As a content old woman in a lovely, comfy bed with all of her loved ones around her, singing songs, holding hands and saying, “You did good.”

If you were to die today, what would you be really stoked about? I’d be very, very happy that I wrote the book. I feel that this was definitely a task I was assigned by my ancestors.

SEX

When do you feel your sexiest? Always in summer. I love the heat: there’s vitamin D and I’m in the ocean. It’s when I feel most connected to nature and the environment. I’m just feeling relaxed.

What attracted you to your husband [Rove McManus] initially? Oh, I can’t say just one thing.

Tell me multiple things, then. He’s incredibly compassionate and highly empathetic. He has a beautiful intelligence that’s not just academic-smart but intuitively smart. He’s also very funny and perceives the world through a lens that I don’t have: from a joyful perspective. Because of how I grew up, I see the injustice and the sadness; I gravitate towards that glass-half-empty perspective, whereas he’s this incredible optimist. That was incredibly attractive to me and a real balm. He’s also really cute – and very disciplined when it comes to working out. He’s keeping himself in very fine form.

It really helps, right? [Laughs] It helps!

And if I asked Rove, “What attracted you to Tasma?” what do you think he’d say? My god, I don’t know. It feels weird to try and answer that question …

OK, answer this one then: what are the ingredients for good sex? Time. Energy. And creating a beautiful space where intimacy can flourish.