In the aftermath of the death of former prime minister Gough Whitlam, the grandson of land rights activist Vincent Lingiari, Maurie Japarta Ryan, spoke to Bush Telegraph's Cameron Wilson. He plans to deliver red desert soil to Mr Whitlam's family as a gesture of thanks and respect.
‘He will always be part of our folklore and Aboriginal history, like nobody else has.’
He will always be part of our folklore and Aboriginal history, like nobody else has.
Mr Ryan says he holds an unparalleled position in Aboriginal history.
‘He will be remembered yesterday, and forever,’ he says.
‘Not many non-indigenous people are involved in our folklore.’
Forty-eight years ago, Vincent Lingiari led a walk-off of 200 Indigenous stockmen, house servants and their families from the Wave Hill cattle station in the Northern Territory.
They went on strike to protest the poor pay and working conditions indigenous people endured, and the federal government's refusal to grant them award wages.
The following year, indigenous leaders toured Australia hoping to raise awareness of their plight.
Mr Ryan was born at Wave Hill , and remembers growing up with no toilets or running water; sleeping beneath tarpaulins and sheets of iron; and eating offal and the heads of bullocks, rather than the beef offered to non-indigenous stockmen.
In 1972, when Mr Whitlam was elected, he came to their aid.
His symbolic returning of red soil to the hands of Mr Lingiari stands as one of the most significant moments in Australia’s land rights history.
‘I hold him in reverence for what he did,’ says Mr Ryan.
‘To me, Whitlam was like a brother to my grandfather. He has equal status, as far as I’m concerned.’
Mr Ryan says he will observe silent reflection and contemplation on the life of Mr Whitlam today.
He hopes to present soil from his Northern Territory country to Mr Whitlam’s family at the former prime minister’s state funeral.