Gurindji people
The Gurindji are a group of Indigenous Australians living in northern Australia, 460 km southwest of Katherine in the Northern Territory's Victoria River region.
Language
Gurindji are generally best known in the broader Australian community for The Gurindji Strike, led by Vincent Lingiari, in 1966.
Native title
A small part of their traditional lands (roughly 3,236 sq kms), subsequently known as 'Daguragu Station" was handed back to them in 1975[1] as a N.T pastoral lease, by the then Australian prime minister,Gough Whitlam– paving the way for further land rights victories in Australia.
In 1984, after a hearing under the Aboriginal land Rights Act, NT, 1976[2], and 1981 recommendations made by the original Aboriginal Commissioner, Justice John Toohey,[3] they were granted inalienable freehold title to almost all of the area originally transferred back to them by Whitlam, 3,250 square kilometres (1,250 sq mi) of their tribal land. A final small portion of the Daguragu lease was recommended by the later Commissioner, Justice Maurice, in 1984.[4] Much of Wave Hill pastoral Station (some 13,500 sq kms) , however, remains in non-Indigenous hands.
Gurindji people share many similarities in language and culture with the neighbouring Warlpiri people.
Two Gurindji communities are Kalkaringi and Daguragu. The Daguragu Community Government Council provides municipal and other services to the township and surrounds of Kalkaringi (formerly Wave Hill) and to Daguragu, a community settled on land under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act.
The township of Kalkaringi is 260 hectares. It was gazetted as an open town in September 1976 (hence permits are not required for residents or visitors). Kalkaringi is located on the Buntine Highway, which runs between Top Springs, NT and Halls Creek, Western Australia.
Daguragu is located 8 km north of Kalkaringi via a bitumen road. Permission from traditional owners, through the Central Land Council, is required to visit Daguragu. Daguragu became the first cattle station to be owned and managed by an Aboriginal community. It is still owned and managed by the Murramulla Gurindji Company.
The Council also services a number of outstations where traditional owners reside. Traditional owners belong to the Gurindji language group. There are also other residents of Daguragu and Kalkaringi who belong to other language groups, including the Warlpiri. The population of Daguragu/Kalkaringi is approximately 700 people.
In August every year, a large celebration is held at Kalkarinji to mark the anniversary of the strike and walk-off. Known as Freedom Day, people gather from many parts of Australia to celebrate and re-enact the walk-off.
See also
Alternative names
(all in Tindale,1974)
- Korindji"
- Guirindji, Gurindji
- Garundji
- Koorangie[5]
Notable people
- Vincent Lingiari
- Pincher Numiari <ref>https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/12204455?selectedversion=NBD5041505/ref>
Notes
Citations
- ^ Lewis 2012, p. 291.
- ^ McConvell, P and Hagen, R., A traditional land claim by the Gurindji to Daguragu Station
- ^ Gurindji land claim to Daguragu Station : report / by the Aboriginal Land Commissioner, Mr Justice Toohey, to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and to the Administrator of the Northern Territory. Australia. Office of the Aboriginal Land Commissioner, 1981/2 https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/40131873
- ^ Gurindji land claim to Daguragu Station : Further report to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and to the Administrator of the Northern Territory / by the Aboriginal Land Commissioner, Mr Justice Maurice. Australia. Office of the Aboriginal Land Commissioner https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/39804477 , 1984
- ^ Tindale 1974, p. 229.
Sources
- Lewis, Darrell (2012). A Wild History: Life and Death on the Victoria River Frontier. Monash University Publishing. ISBN 978-1-921-86726-2.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Rose, Deborah Bird (1991). Hidden Histories: Black Stories from Victoria River Downs, Humbert River and Wave Hill Stations. Aboriginal Studies Press. ISBN 978-0-855-75224-8.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Tindale, Norman Barnett (1974). "Korindji". Aboriginal Tribes of Australia: Their Terrain, Environmental Controls, Distribution, Limits, and Proper Names. Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-708-10741-6.
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