Cissie Millimurra Character Analysis in No Sugar

The daughter of Sam and Milly. Cissie becomes sick early in the play, and her whole family rallies around her and cares for her. Although the play takes place over the course of four years, Cissie remains a child the whole time, and is protected by her family from major events, such as when Joe and Mary elope, or when Mary has her baby.

Cissie Millimurra Quotes in No Sugar

The No Sugar quotes below are all either spoken by Cissie Millimurra or refer to Cissie Millimurra. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Racism, Discrimination, and Colonial Violence Theme Icon

). Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Currency Press edition of No Sugar published in 1998.

CISSIE: [holding her throat] Hurts, Mum, here; hurts when I cough.

MILLY: Well, no school for you today, my girl. [To SAM] You ain’t goin’ post cuttin’ today, and David, you walk to school.

DAVID: Aw, Mum!

MILLY: Don’t, ‘Aw Mum’ me. Joe, you git on that bike and go and ask Uncle Herbie for a lend of his horse and cart. We takin’ her to the doctor straight away.

[JOE takes the bike from DAVID.]

SAM: Aw Mill, can’t you and Mum take her? I only want another hundred posts and I’ll have enough boondah to pay me fine.

Related Characters: (speaker), (speaker), (speaker), (speaker),

Page Number and Citation: 37-38

Explanation and Analysis:

Cissie Millimurra Character Timeline in No Sugar

The timeline below shows where the character Cissie Millimurra appears in No Sugar. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Government, Civilization, and Religion Theme Icon

...The play begins in 1930 at Government Well, as Sam, Joe, Gran, Milly, David, and Cissie eat breakfast and prepare for the day. (full context)

Milly makes David and Cissie stop playing cricket and get ready for school. She gives them twopence each to buy... (full context)

White Australians vs. the Aboriginal Family Unit Theme Icon

...is dirty on the other side. She makes him change and then sends David and Cissie to school. Milly tells Joe and Sam they’ll have to catch meat for dinner, and... (full context)

It is evening at the Government Well Reserve. Cissie prepares a damper (a kind of bread) for dinner. Joe and David play with bottlecaps,... (full context)

...Milly and Gran follow behind. Jimmy complains about the soap rations being cut. Seeing that Cissie is also upset, Jimmy promises to go give the Sergeant “a piece of my mind,”... (full context)

Cissie is feeling sick. Milly can tell that she has a fever, and tells Cissie she... (full context)

...They didn’t collect their rations the day before because they were at the hospital with Cissie, and they want to pick them up now. Meanwhile, in Perth, Jimmy barges into Neville’s... (full context)

Milly needs blankets for Cissie, but they have not arrived yet. The Sergeant calls Milly by her first name, and... (full context)

Joe announces he’s seen the Sergeant, who told him Cissie is ready to be taken home from the hospital. Milly wonders why Joe didn’t ask... (full context)

Cissie checks David for lice as Milly and Gran sew at their home in Government Well.... (full context)

David, Joe, and Cissie collect water down by the river. Once they’ve gotten enough, they look for a place... (full context)

Joe sends Cissie and David back to camp with the water. They complain that they wanted to swim,... (full context)

...have a handful. Billy tells the Matron the family has seven, causing Joe, David, and Cissie to curse at him as he leaves. (full context)

Billy limps back to the Superintendent’s Office in Moore River. David, Cissie, and Topsy follow him and call him names. (full context)

...has been torched, and there is nothing left. Joe points out rocks where he and Cissie used to play, and finds Sam’s rabbit trap, Jimmy’s wine bottle, and the remains of... (full context)

Sister Eileen leads an outdoor Sunday School at Moore River. Cissie and Topsy sit with other Aboriginal children as Sister Eileen tells the story of the... (full context)

...shoulder. David was skipping class to go swimming, and Billy whips his legs as punishment. Cissie sees this and calls out to Sister Eileen, before getting up and running to defend... (full context)

Cissie and David enter. They have a letter from Joe, who is still in prison. Cissie... (full context)

Cissie, David, Milly, and Sam are all quietly playing games. Mary is watching over the Baby.... (full context)

...which they gave to him when he got out. He gives Gran and Sam tobacco, Cissie hair ribbons, David a knife, and Milly a needle and cotton. He gives Mary a... (full context)