The following information is from Wikipedia: The Gurindji people's traditional lands are approximately 3,250 km² of the Northern Territory. Gurindji first encountered Europeans in the 1850s, when explorer Augustus Gregory crossed into their country. Several other explorers traversed the area over the following decades until the 1880s, when large pastoral operations were established. Wave Hill cattle station, which included the Kalkaringi and Daguragu area, was first stocked in 1883. Gurindji found their waterholes fenced off or destroyed by cattle Kangaroos, a staple meat, were also routinely shot because they competed with cattle for water and grazing land. But when the Gurindji tried to eat the cattle instead they were massacred, even as late as 1928. They had little choice but to move onto the cattle stations, and accept rations for working as stockmen and domestic servants. It was crucial for them to stay on their own land, as it was central to their religious beliefs. In 1914, Wave Hill Station was bought by Vesteys, a British pastoral company owned by Baron Vestey. On stations across the north, the landless Aboriginal people became the backbone of the cattle industry, working for little or no money, minimal food and appalling housing. A Northern Territory government inquiry held in the 1930s said of Vesteys: "It was obvious that they had been ... quite ruthless in denying their Aboriginal labour proper access to basic human rights." While it was illegal up until 1968 to pay Aboriginal workers more than a specified amount in goods and money, a 1945 inquiry found Vesteys was not even paying Aboriginal workers the 5 shillings a day minimum wage set up for Aborigines under a 1918 Ordinance. Gurindji lived in corrugated iron humpies without floors, lighting, running water, sanitation, furniture or cooking facilities. On 23 August 1966, led by spokesman Vincent Lingiari, the workers and families walked off Wave Hill and began a seven-year strike. Novelist Frank Hardy was one of the many non-Indigenous Australians who supported the Gurindji struggle. This action, though not the first taken by Aboriginals, was the first to gain a lot of support from the general public for Aboriginal land rights. In late 1966 the government offered a compromise pay rise of one hundred and twenty-five per cent, but the strikers still demanded wages equal to those of white stockmen and return of their land. The Government also tried to prevent Gurindji obtaining food supplies and threatened evictions. Offers of houses, which the Government had built for them at Wave Hill Welfare settlement, were resisted. The Gurindji persisted with their protest and stayed at Daguragu, which they claimed as their own land. In 1972 the Australian Labor Party (ALP) came to power, with Aboriginal land rights high on its agenda, and, in 1975, negotiated with Vesteys to give the Gurindji back a portion of their land, a landmark in the Aboriginal land rights movement in Australia.Prime Minister Gough Whitlam said, "Vincent Lingiari, I solemnly hand to you these deeds as proof, in Australian law, that these lands belong to the Gurindji people and I put into your hands part of the earth itself as a sign that this land will be the possession of you and your children forever." Ted Egan (Edward Joseph Egan), born 6 July, 1932 is a prolific writer and performer of contemporary folk songs, who served as Administrator of the Northern Territory from 2003 to 2007. In his early career with the Department of Aboriginal Affairs he was mainly in the bush, and engaged in jobs like stockwork and crocodile hunting while employed as a patrol officer and, later, as a teacher at bush schools. He was awarded the Order of Australia in the 1991 Honours List for services to the Aboriginal people, and for 'an ongoing contribution to the literary heritage of Australia through song and verse'. I had the honour of hearing him perform live at the Ringwood Folk Club, a memorable evening when he entertained us with great stories as well as songs, and showed a profound understanding of Aboriginal culture. "Gurindji Blues" is one of his best known songs. It was recorded in 1971 by Egan and Galarrwuy Yunupingu. Lyrics are on my website - see Australian Songs - Modern Australia.

contemporary indigenous music Aboriginal Australia commenting on the Wave Hill walk off and Kalkarinji Freedom Day

This is my version of 'From little things big things grow. This song was co-written by Paul Kelly and Kev Carmody and is based on the story of The Gurindji Strike and Vincent Lingiari.

In the 1960s, Aboriginal stockmen went on strike at the NT Wave Hill station. Led by Gurindji man Vincent Lingiari, they walked off the job and set up a camp at a place called Wattie Creek. The dispute over wages and conditions turned into a demand for land rights. It dragged on for years before eventually being resolved by the Whitlam government.