"The fish that slipped through the net does not know how lucky it is. It has no inkling of how close it came to landing on someone s dinner plate. Melrose Desmond Donley sees himself as the fish that got away. At each fork in the river of his life he avoided being caught in the fisherman's net. Des has fair skin and had no idea of his aboriginality until he was in his 60s. Slipped Through the Net is a rollicking yarn of Des's life from his early years in orphanages to government servitude to empowering himself and those around him through the early days of trade unionism. It is an Australian story of identity and what it is to be a man, whether black or white. Author Elly Inta met Des Donley at a funeral in 2005 and their friendship led to her helping Des tell his life story. Their friendship and the differences in their backgrounds serve as metaphors for reconciliation, tolerance and understanding"--Back cover.