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 land-mark action in 1966 precipitated the equal wages case in the pastoral industry and the establishment of the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 (1986).
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.
Yijarni means "true" in the Gurindji language.
- Previously unpublished bi-lingual accounts by Gurindji elders celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Wave Hill Walk-off.
- Highly illustrated, includes paintings from the artists of Karungkarni Arts, Kalkaringi and photographs by Brenda L Croft, well-known multimedia artist of Gurindji/Malngin/Mudburra heritage and former Aboriginal curator, NGA.
- Endorsements from well-respected historian Henry Reynolds and Peter Garrett, performer, advocate for a range of local and global issues, and former cabinet minister 2007-2013.
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