Yijarni

This is a new book. Condition: Brand New.

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, has ignited the interest of audiences nationally and internationally and challenged revisionist historians who question the extent of frontier battles and the legitimacy of the Stolen Generations.

'It is widely acknowledged that the 1966 Wave Hill Walk-Off - with Vincent Lingiari leading the Gurnidji people - was a seminal moment in the history of Aboriginal society's tragic encounters with the European occupiers of Australia. Still, up to now, few Gurindji voices have been heard, especially on the period preceding the Walk-Off. The 'new' history contained here: oral accounts, maps, paintings, photos and citations, does much to fill the chasm in our understanding of the circumstances preceding that fateful moment when Lingiari and Gurindji stood their ground. I highly commend this intimate, heart wrenching, and informative account of one of the single
most important events in our recent past.' - Peter Garrett, musician, activist and former federal minister

Book details and technical specifications

Format: Paperback / softback
ISBN13: 9781922752147
Published: August 2026

Number of pages: 256
Width: 213 mm
Height: 275 mm
Depth: not specified

Publisher: Aboriginal Studies Press