Yijarni

On 23 August 1966, approximately 200 Gurindji stockmen and their families walked off Wave Hill Station in the Northern Territory, protesting against poor working conditions and the taking of their land by pastoralists. Led by Vincent Lingiari, this landmark action in 1966 precipitated the equal wages case in the pastoral industry and the establishment of the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976.

While it is well known that the Walk Off was driven by the poor treatment of Aboriginal workers, what is less well known is the previous decades of massacres and killings, stolen children and other abuses by early colonists. Told in both English and Gurindji, these compelling and detailed oral accounts of the events that Gurindji elders either witnessed or heard from their parents and grandparents will ignite the interest of audiences nationally and internationally and challenge revisionist historians who question the extent of frontier battles and the legitimacy of the Stolen Generations.

Listen to the Radio National, Late Night Live podcast of the interview with Felicity Meakins and Robert Roy, whose parents took part in the Wave Hill Walkoff. http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/latenightlive/wave-hill-walk-off

Yijarni brings these tales to light, ensuring the voices of those who were directly affected by these historical events are heard and respected.