Wave Hill walk-off
17°23′13″S 131°06′59″E / 17.38698°S 131.11641°E The Wave Hill walk-off, also known as the Gurindji strike, was a walk-off and strike by 200 Gurindji
Initially interpreted as purely a strike against working and living conditions, it became apparent that these were not the only or main reasons. The primary demand was for return of some of the traditional lands of the
The event was later celebrated in the song "From Little Things Big Things Grow", written by Paul Kelly and Kev Carmody in 1991, and Freedom Day is celebrated in August of each year at Kalkarindji to commemorate the strike.
On 8 September 2020 the
Gurindji and the pastoralists
The Gurindji, an
An area of about 3,000 km2 (1,200 sq mi), which included the
The Gurindji and other
Legislation passed in 1913 required employers to provide Aboriginal workers food, clothes, tea and tobacco in exchange for their work.[5] Pastoralists were able to make use of the now landless Aboriginal people, who wanted to stay on their traditional lands, as extremely cheap manual labour. On stations across the north, Aboriginal people became the backbone of the cattle industry for the next 70 years.[2]
In 1914, Wave Hill Station was bought by Vestey Brothers, then an international meat-packing company founded and run by William and Edmund Vestey.[2] The Vesteys refused to pay their workers in wages, leading to tensions and arguments from the beginning.[5]
Conditions on the station
There had been complaints from Indigenous employees about conditions over many years. A Northern Territory government inquiry held in the 1930s said of Vesteys:[6]
It was obvious that they had been ... quite ruthless in denying their Aboriginal labour proper access to basic human rights.
However, little was done over the decades leading up to the strike. While it was illegal up until 1968 to pay Aboriginal workers more than a specified amount in goods and money, a 1945 inquiry found Vesteys was not even paying Aboriginal workers the 5
"We were treated just like dogs. We were lucky to get paid the 50 quid a month we were due, and we lived in tin humpies you had to crawl in and out on your knees. There was no running water. The food was bad – just flour, tea, sugar and bits of beef like the head or feet of a bullock. The Vesteys mob were hard men. They didn't care about black fellas."
A 1946 report by anthropologists (Catherine Berndt and Ronald Berndt[8]) exposed the conditions faced by the workers. Aboriginal children under 12 were working illegally, housing and food was inadequate, there was sexual abuse of Aboriginal women, and prostitution in exchange for rations and clothing was occurring. Sanitation was poor and there was no safe source of drinking water.[2]
Gurindji who received minimal
In 1953, the Aboriginals Ordinance 1953 amended the
In 1959, the Wards Employment Regulations[12] set out a scale of wages, rations and conditions applicable to wards of the state, at rates up to 50 per cent lower than those of non-Aboriginal people working in similar occupations. Still Samuel Vestey, 3rd Baron Vestey, known as Lord Vestey, refused to pay any wages to the company's Aboriginal workers.[2][13]
In 1965 the
By August 1966 the Gurindji had had enough of waiting for an improvement to their living and working conditions,[5] and a campaign in solidarity with their cause had stirred support across the country. Writer Frank Hardy organised a speaking tour for Daniels, and through their networks and unions in Sydney and Melbourne collected thousands of pounds for a strike fund.[15] NTCAR provided support and publicity for the strike.[14]
1966–75: Strike years
The walk-off
On 23 August 1966, led by Lingiari, about 200 workers (stockmen and
In March 1967 the Gurindji decided to move from their first camp in the dry bed of the
At the time of the move, the strikers drafted a petition to the then
"This bin [been] Gurindji country long time before them Vestey mob", Vincent Lingiari told Hardy at the time.[16]
Hardy records Pincher Manguari as saying:[17]
We want them Vestey mob all go away from here. Wave Hill Aboriginal people bin called Gurindji. We bin here long time before them Vestey mob. This is our country, all this bin Gurindji country. Wave Hill bin our country. We want this land; we strike for that.
Billy Bunter Jampijinpa was 16 years old at the time of the walk-off:
The Vesteys mob came and said they would get two killers (slaughtered beasts) and raise our wages if we came back. But old Vincent said, 'No, we're stopping here'. Then in early 1967 we walked to our new promised land, we call it Daguragu (Wattie Creek), back to our sacred places and our country, our new homeland.
The Gurindji stayed on at Daguragu from 1967 until 1974, although under
The strike started having an impact on nearby stations; some had increased their Aboriginal workers' pay, fearing strike action.[15]
In late 1966 the Northern Territory government offered a compromise pay rise of 125 per cent, but the strikers still demanded wages equal to those of white stockmen and return of their land. The Government also made moves to cut off means of Gurindji obtaining food supplies and threatened evictions. The Gurindji persisted with their protest and stayed at Daguragu.[9]
Support for the Gurindji grows
The tide of public opinion was beginning to turn in Australia. Demonstrations and arrests occurred in southern Australia, and many church, student and trade union groups gave practical and fundraising support to the Gurindji struggle. The struggle would, however, continue for another eight years, during which Lingiari, Jampijinpa and others toured the country, giving talks, raising awareness, and building support for their cause. They arranged meetings with prominent lawyers and politicians.[9]
Writer Frank Hardy recalled one fundraising meeting at which a donor gave A$500 after hearing Lingiari speak. The donor – who said he had never before met an Aboriginal person – was a young Dr Fred Hollows, the eye surgeon and Communist activist. Brian Manning garnered support at the Waterside Workers' conference in Sydney, recommending to members a A$1 per member national levy to support the Gurindji claim for their land. This raised a A$17,000 in the Gurindji's battle for their land rights. The money spent on building fences as well as a massive campaign.[9] Workers in Vesteys' meatworks in London took a day of strike action and sent donations.[15]
Several significant events marked a change in public opinion in Australia. In 1967, an overwhelming majority of Australians – over 90 per cent of voters and a majority in all six states – voted "Yes" to giving the Federal Government power to make laws specifically for Indigenous Australians, in the
In 1968, 60 Aboriginal workers at another Vestey's property, Limbunya, also joined the strike when they walked off the job.[21]
In 1968 Hardy published The Unlucky Australians, with a foreword by Donald Horne and contributions by Lingiari, Aboriginal Union organiser Daniel Dexter, Aboriginal actor Robert Tudawali and Captain Major, telling the story of the Gurindji people based on personal narratives, and the Gurindji Strike.[22]
Also in 1968, the Liberal-National Coalition federal government under John Gorton offered 20 houses at Wave Hill Welfare Settlement (now Kalkarindji), but the Gurindji would not be enticed by this.[23] In 1969 the government was given a proposal to give 8 square kilometres (3.1 sq mi) back to the Gurindji. Cabinet refused even to discuss the issue.[citation needed]
Meanwhile, the
1972–75 Whitlam government
On 2 December 1972 the Australian Labor Party (ALP) came to power under Prime Minister Gough Whitlam.[5][2] Aboriginal land rights was an issue high on the Whitlam government's agenda. It called a halt to development leases granted by the Northern Territory Land Board that might damage Indigenous rights and suspended mining exploration licences.[26]
The
The original Wave Hill contract ended in March 1973, and two new ones were drafted, one for Vestey and one for the Gurindji, through their Murramulla Gurindji Company.[5]
1975 – Handback
In 1975, the
"On this great day, I, Prime Minister of Australia, speak to you on behalf of all Australian people – all those who honour and love this land we live in. For them I want to say to you: I want this to acknowledge that we Australians have still much to do to redress the injustice and oppression that has for so long been the lot of Black Australians. Vincent Lingiari, I solemnly hand to you these deeds as proof, in Australian law, that these lands belong to the Gurindji people and I put into your hands part of the earth itself as a sign that this land will be the possession of you and your children forever."
Mervyn Bishop's photograph of Whitlam pouring sand into Lingiari's hand on that day, has become an iconic one in Australian history.[28]
Significance and legacy of the strike
As a result of the recommendations of the Woodward Inquiry, the Whitlam government drafted the Aboriginal Land Rights Bill. The legislation was not passed by
In 2006 an
Seven associated sites were registered on the
Unfortunately, Lingiari's vision of "a separate but equal settlement, land and cultural and political autonomy" did not happen. The Murramulla Aboriginal-owned cattle business did not survive, for a range of reasons.
Each year, more than 1000 people travel from around Australia to recreate the route taken by Lingiari, the stockmen and their families.[36]
2020 native title recognition
A native title claim was lodged in 2016 by the Central Land Council, as there were mining interests in area covered by Wave Hill Station's pastoral lease.[40] On 8 September 2020, the Federal Court of Australia recognised the native title rights of the Gurindji people to 5,000 square kilometres (1,900 sq mi) of the Wave Hill Station, allowing them to receive royalties as compensation from resource companies who explore the area. Justice Richard White said that the determination recognised Indigenous involvement (Jamangku, Japuwuny, Parlakuna-Parkinykarni and Yilyilyimawu peoples) with the land "at least since European settlement and probably for millennia".[40][41] The court sitting took place nearly 800 kilometres (500 mi) south of Darwin, and descendants of Lingiari and others involved in the walk-off celebrated the determination.[40]
The
In popular culture
"Gurindji Blues" | |
---|---|
Single by Galarrwuy Yunupingu | |
B-side | "The Tribal Land" |
Released | 1971 |
Length |
|
RCA Victor | |
Songwriter(s) | Ted Egan |
Producer(s) | Ron Wills |
Gurindji Blues
Ted Egan wrote the "Gurindji Blues" in the 1969 with Lingiari. The words to the first verse are:[42][43][44]
Poor Bugger Me, Gurindji
Me bin sit down this country
Long before no Lord Vestey
All about land belong to we
Egan says he was moved to write "Gurindji Blues" after he heard Peter Nixon, then Minister for the Interior, say in parliament that if the Gurindji wanted land, they should save up and buy it, like any other Australian. Nixon also gets a mention in the song:[42]
Poor bugger me, Gurindji
Peter Nixon talk long we:
'Buy you own land, Gurindji
Buyim back from the Lord Vestey'
In 1971 the song was recorded by in Sydney, with Egan singing along with
From Little Things Big Things Grow
In 1991, Paul Kelly and Kev Carmody recorded "From Little Things Big Things Grow". The words to the first verse are:[45]
Gather round people I’ll tell you a story
An eight year-long story of power and pride
’Bout British Lord Vestey and Vincent Lingiari
They were opposite men on opposite sides
The words to the last verse are:
That was the story of Vincent Lingiari
But this is the story of something much more
How power and privilege can not move a people
Who know where they stand and stand in the law.
The song was added to the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia registry in 2010.[46]
Wave Hill Walk Off
Irish folk musician Damien Dempsey's song "Wave Hill Walk Off", on his 2016 album No Force on Earth, commemorates the Gurindji strike and the struggle for Aboriginal land rights.[47][48]
The words to the first verse are:[48]
In the year of Lord Jesus nineteen and sixty six,
A great rumbling sound came from up in the sticks,
All these gentle black warriors they dreamed of a Bill,
And enough was enough, so they walked off Wave Hill.
The words to the last verse are:[48]
For nine hungry years they kept up their bold stand,
And took off with and poured land into Vincent's hand
For indigenous land rights it was finally time,
For to make reparations for a giant of a crime.
Freedom Day
The Freedom Day March occurs each year to commemorate the Gurindji strike.
In the
See also
- 1946 Pilbara strike
- Native title in Australia
References
- ^ MacLeod, Jason; Nolan, Karrina (2018). "Gurindji Land Rights Struggle: Case study & training guide". Commons Social Change Library.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Lawford, Elliana; Zillman, Stephanie (18 August 2016). "Timeline: From Wave Hill protest to land handbacks". ABC News. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
- ^ Croft, Brenda L. "Still in my mind: Gurindji location, experience and visuality"(PDF). An Artback NT Education Resource. Charles Darwin University. p. 13. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
- ^ "Northern Territory - History". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
- ^ Victoria Government. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
- ^ Payne, William Labatt (1937). Report of the Board of Inquiry Appointed to inquire into the land and land industries of the Northern Territory of Australia. Canberra: Government Printer. pp. 101 pages.
- ^ Murdoch, Lindsay (17 July 2006). "Stockmen mark long walk to freedom and land rights". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
- S2CID 20883333– via jstor.
- ^ a b c d e f Petersen, Paul (2016). "Wave Hill Walk Off: 50 Year Anniversary" (PDF). Maritime Union of Australia. Queensland Branch. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
- ^ "Aboriginals Ordinance 1953 (Legislation – Northern Territory)". Find & Connect. 24 July 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
- ^ Northern Territory Administration. Welfare Branch (1959). "Annual Report 1958/59" (PDF). Retrieved 10 August 2020 – via AIATSIS.
- ^ Regulations under the Wards' Employment Ordinance 1953–1960.
- ^ Ward, Charlie (20 August 2016). "An historic handful of dirt: Whitlam and the legacy of the Wave Hill Walk-Off". The Conversation. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
- ^ a b "Northern Territory Council for Aboriginal Rights". National Museum of Australia. 26 November 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Fifty years since the Gurindji strike: Unions and the fight for land rights". Solidarity Online. 9 September 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
- ^ Lingiari, Vincent; Hardy, Frank (18 March 1967). "Vincent Lingiari interviewed by Frank Hardy during the strike at Wave Hill Station in the Frank Hardy MS 4887 collection" (1 x Audio Tape). pp. approximately 42 min. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
- ^ Manguari, Pincher; Hardy, Frank (March 1967). "Pincher Manguari interviewed by Frank Hardy in the Frank Hardy MS 4887 collection" (Audio). nla.gov.au. pp. 1 audiocassette (approximately 49 min.).
- ^ "Petition to Lord Casey, Governor-General of Australia from four Gurindji spokesmen, April 1967" (PDF). The National Museum of Australia. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
- ^ "Governor-General's response to the Gurindji petition, June 1967" (PDF). The National Museum of Australia. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
- ^ Handbook of the 44th Parliament (2014) "Part 5 – Referendums and Plebiscites – Referendum results". Parliamentary Library of Australia. Archived from the original on 29 September 2017..
- ^ "Aborigines walk off jobs". The Canberra Times. Australian Capital Territory: National Library of Australia. 27 July 1968. p. 3. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
- ^ Hardy, Frank (Francis Joseph) (1968). The Unlucky Australians. Nelson (Australia). Retrieved 8 August 2020.
- ^ a b Hope, Zach (20 August 2016). "Vincent Lingiari's vision left to rot and die". NT News. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
- ^ "Milirrpum v Nabalco Pty Ltd (1971) 17 FLR 141". ATNS (Agreements, Treaties and Negotiated Settlements project). University of Melbourne. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
- ^ ISBN 9780980332070. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
- ^ "AATL: Historical land right legislations Flashcards". Quizlet. 11 October 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
- ^ Rowse, Tim; Graham, Trevor. "Justice A.E.Woodward". National Film and Sound Archive. Archived from the original on 13 May 2013.
- ^ Prime Minister Gough Whitlam pours soil into hand of traditional landowner Vincent Lingiari, Northern Territory 1975
- ^ "Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 (Cth)". Documenting A Democracy. Museum of Australian Democracy. Retrieved 9 August 2020. PDF of original version
- ^ "The History of the Central Land Council". Central Land Council, Australia. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
- ^ "Daguragu station land claim". Central Land Council, Australia. 1 November 1986. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
- ^ "Wave Hill group prepares stolen wages claim". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 8 December 2006. Retrieved 9 December 2006.
- ^ "Search Results [Wave Hill]". Australian Government. Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- ^ "Gurindji Wave Hill Walk Off Route". Heritage Register. Northern Territory Government. 23 August 2006. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- ^ "Wave Hill Walk Off Route, Buchanan Hwy (sic), Kalkarindji, NT, Australia - listing on the National Heritage List (Place ID 105897)". Australian Heritage Database. Australian Government. 9 August 2007. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- ^ a b Fitzgerald, Roxanne (30 January 2024). "NT government to launch legal action over alleged damage to National Heritage Listed Wave Hill walk-off site". ABC News. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ Ward, Charlie (20 August 2016). "An historic handful of dirt: Whitlam and the legacy of the Wave Hill Walk-Off". The Conversation. Article by the author of the 2017 book A Handful of Sand: The Gurindji Struggle, After the Walk-off.
- ^ Gerritsen, Rolf (2017). "A Handful of Sand: The Gurindji Struggle, After the Walk-off, by Charlie Ward... Book Review" (PDF). Aboriginal History. 41. ANU Press: 233–234.
- ^ "Our Communities: Kalkarindji / Daguragu". Victoria Daly Region. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
- ^ a b c d Wellington, Shahni (9 September 2020). "Native Title rights recognised over famous Wave Hill Station". NITV. Special Broadcasting Service. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
- ^ Bardon, Jane (9 September 2020). "Wave Hill walk-off veterans recognised in 'particularly special' native title determination". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
- ^ a b c Singley, Blake (10 August 2016). "Song for the Gurindji". Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. Archived from the original on 30 April 2020.
- ^ "'Gurindji Blues'". National Museum of Australia. 26 March 2020. Archived from the original on 29 May 2022.
- ISBN 978-1-000-24817-3.
- ^ "A tribute to Vincent Lingiari and the Gurindji: Song lyrics". National Museum of Australia. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
- ^ "Sounds of Australia 2010". NFSA. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
- ^ Gregory, Helen (7 March 2014). "Damien Dempsey: Dublin's working class act". Newcastle Herald. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
- ^ a b c Dempsey, Damien (17 April 2016). "Damien Dempsey – Wave Hill Walk Off" (Video). YouTube. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
- ^ "Freedom Day March". Freedom Day. 21 August 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
- ^ "Gurindji Festival". Program. 21 August 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
- ^ "Freedom Day video – Songs from the Stations". Sydney University Press. 19 October 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
- ^ "Gurindji History". Gurindji Festival. 21 August 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
- OCLC 1089228854.
- ^ "Ceremony & Wajarra". Freedom Day. 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
Further reading
- Attwood, Bain (2000). "The Articulation Of 'Land Rights' In Australia: The Case of Wave Hill". Social Analysis: The International Journal of Social and Cultural Practice. 44 (1): 3–39. JSTOR 23166785.
- James, Felicity (26 August 2021). "Wave Hill Walk-Off stockman and Aboriginal land rights hero Mr Wavehill dies". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
- Kelly, Paul; Carmody, Kev. "The Gurindji Strike" (Interview). Interviewed by Negus, George. Archived from the original on 20 November 2004.
- "The Lingiari Story". Lingiari Foundation. Archived from the original on 3 May 2008.
- Snowdon, Warren (20 March 2002). "First speech as the member for Lingiari". Archived from the original on 18 October 2009.
- Ward, Charlie (20 August 2016). "An historic handful of dirt: Whitlam and the legacy of the Wave Hill Walk-Off". The Conversation. Article by the author of the 2017 book A Handful of Sand: The Gurindji Struggle, After the Walk-off.