17 The Wave Hill Walk Off

I was drawn to the Wave Hill Walk Off poster particularly  because of my activist and union background. The Wave Hill Walk Off by the Gurindji peoples in 1966 in the Northern Territory was a watershed moment in the history of Aboriginal  and Torres Strait Islander rights in Australia and was the catalyst for the current land rights movement. Although not the first mass strike of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples for equal pay, it was possibly the most significant as it led to the passing of the first legislation that allowed for land rights in Australia.

The Wave Hill Walk Off also triggered a great evolution in the industrial rights for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers, and an evolution in the union movement, changing the union movement’s thinking towards and perceptions of Aboriginal workers.

This poster highlights the ‘Save the Gurindji’ campaign, which was established to provide money and material aid, including voluntary labour for the Gurindji at Wattie Creek and to ‘awaken the public conscience to the facts of the case’. At the forefront of the actions was a call to boycott Vestey goods; Donald Cook (tinned fruit and vegetables); Villawool (knitting wools and yarns); Imperial (tinned meat and mushrooms); Hamper Trim (tinned meats); and Dewhurst (butchers).

The poster, aptly entitled Human Rights?, is a call to support the Gurindji peoples in their struggle for land rights. I was two years of age when the Gurindji peoples walked off Lord Vestey’s land and started their epic struggle for equal wages and land rights, a struggle that lasted nine years. Despite my age, this Aboriginal community action and the subsequent events that led to a hand back of land to Gurindji is indelibly etched in my mind. I will never forget the image of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam pouring land into the hand of Gurindji leader Vincent Lingiari, and the immortalisation of the Walk Off in the Kev Carmody / Paul Kelly ballad ‘From Little Things, Big Things Grow’.

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Biography

I am a Saltwater woman, with family ties to the Darug, Awabakal, Garigal and Wiradyuri peoples of NSW. I am the Associate Director, Principles of Responsible Management Education – Indigenous Engagement for UQ Business School and a Lecturer in Employment Relations. My current research areas centre around Closing the Gap on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander disadvantage in education and employment. I am leading the Indigenisation of the curriculum for the UQ Business School.