Mervyn Bishop was the first Aboriginal Australian to work on a metropolitan newpaper daily at the Sydney Morning Herald, in 1963 and also the first Aboriginal Australian to become a professional photographer. In 1971 he was pronouced the Australian Press Photographer of the Year.

In 1975 is when Mervyn captured this photograph of then Prime minister Gough Whitlam pouring soil into Vincent Lingiarias hands as the deeds of land at Wattie Creek was passed over to the Gurindji people.

Happiness over comes me as I look at this picture, what was waited for, for so long finally happened.

Girl Pours Tea, Burnt Bridge, 1988

This photograph was shown in a lecture, this woman is in her pj's pouring a cup of tea, I sense a sadness in her eyes. She lives in a shed but you can see she makes the best of what she has, it is clean and tidy with fresh flowers on the table. She is making best do for her family, which is an admirable quality.

I went to the Our Mob exhibition at the Adelaide Festival Centre.
There was a large number of artworks done by Indigenous people all over South Australia. I listed down some works I liked that grabed my eye these were Fah Fah Walsh, Sherrie Jones, Christine Tschuna, Coral Hayes Panaka, Red Dodd and Alice Abdulla.
There was a range of media from jewellery, didgeridoos, clapping sticks, pen holders, acrylic dot paintings, acrylic paintings, painted silk and photographs and more.

Many artworks conveyed stories, that the artist wrote in their statement. I like seeing how a story is created into art. In a few of the artworks I found the dot paintings mezmerising, the amount of effort that goes into them is amazing. There is such dedication and pride that goes into their works, which shown in each one.

It is nice to see the youth getting involved. I will admit I did not like the two large pieces made by the children but its nice to see the tradition of art making is still carried on, also you could see the happiness shining through the painting which made me smile.

All in all I enjoyed seeing the artworks in the exhibihition.

A lecture I really enjoyed was on contemporary urban Indigenous art.

I wrote my review on Richard Bell, he was one of the first artists mentioned.

At first he thought art was for girls, but then was told that painting could be away to get his views across. He did some film work where his persona was called Richy. In his artworks he has quotes "I am not a woman basher" "There is no black prolem" "Thank Christ I dont love on Palm Island".

I enjoy Richard Bells artworks, it gives you a chance to research what he means. During the lecture I found out that there was poor Aboriginal health and deaths on Palm island.

Vernon Ah Kee

He does massive portrait and film work.

These works have a sense of beauty.

In 1967 there was a referendem, before that Indigenous people were concidered animals.

I like his works, it makes me feel disgusted that Indigenous people were concidered animals, doesnt even make sense to me.

Albert Namatjira (1902-1959)

Albert was an artist who belonged to the Arrernte people in the Northern Territory. He is best known for his watercolour paintings. He attended Hermannsburg along side Rex Battarbee and John Gardner. He had his first exhibition in 1938, it was sold out in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide.

His artworks are like European landscapes but with colours from the Australian sun, his style of work set him apart from other Indigenous artists. His successful borught him fame and fortune, he wanted to lease a cattle station but as he was Aboriginal he was not allowed. Later he wanted to build a house in Alice Spring where he owned land but once again was not allowed. From public outrage he then was made a full citizen along with his wife in 1997. He was allowed to buy alcohol and once shared it with a fellow Indigenous man and in 1958 he was charged. He went to prison for two months, after he was uninspired to paint and died a broke man in 1959 only 57years young.

Here are some his works.

The film The Sapphires is about four Aboriginal women who are dicovered by a music scout and then travel to Vietnam in 1968 to perform for troops. This movie is based on a true story and shows insight to how some Indigenous women felt. At the start of the movie two of the girls went into a singing competition and were amazing, all of the acts before them were atrosious. The atmosphere was hostile as the girls entered and even though they sang amazingly it was still a white person who won. One of the girls from The Sapphires was taken away when she was younger as apart of the Stolen Generation. At first when two of the Indigenous sisters came to see her she pretended not to know them infront of her white friends, they all thought she was white herself. Later in the movie she apologises, she embraces her culture again. I wonder if back in those days the children taken from the Stolen Generation were taught to be embarressed by who they are and to ignore that side of them?
I think its amazing what these women set out to do, they went for their dreams ignoring all odds. They truly are inspiring.

Back in August I went to the S.A Museum Aboriginal Cultures Gallery. There is displayed items from the worlds largest collection of Australian Aboriginal Culture artefacts.

The exhibition was amazing although it does feel a little sad, there is all this culture in the rooms and I know it is diminishing in the real world. It is sort of like a funeral in away to me, this is what was.

I really liked this piece of carving on the shield. The Aboriginal Cultures of south eastern Australia produced masterpieces in wooden carvings.

These are shields the men used to ward off thrown weapons like spears and boomerangs. They are heavily decorated. They seem so skinny to be shields but I guess it would be easier to carry around than a huge one. The first shield on the left is from northern western Victoria in the 1800s. The next inline is from the juction of the Darling and Murray River in NSW 1800s. Next is from Dimboola in western Victoia. The last on the right is from the lower Murray in South Australia 1800s.

These are spear thowers made in the 1800s, I like the soft patterns on them. The top is from the Lower Murray, second Lake Alexandria and third is from NSW.

These are my favourite in the whole exhibition, the are the Tindale Masks. They were worn by young Aboriginal men in a series of performances during 1947, proceeding their initiation. It was a month long ceremony at Twelve Mile Camp near Port Hedland in Western Australia. The performances were organised by the Nyangumarda and Palyku people. The names underneath the masks were given by the museum. It was six years after the ceremonies that Norman Tindale noticed the abandoned masks near the old dancing ground. I think these are my favourite because I am a performer my self and i really appreciate what goes in to it. Not only that but something about these masks draw me in, they have a darkness about them. 

Clothes back in the day were mostly to show a persons status, whether they were married, widowed or initiated. In ritual occasions the body could be decorated, with accessories.  The photo above is of a head ornament, it was worn by members of visiting Arrernte groups to signal their friendly intentions. 

These are nose pegs worn by initiated Arrernte men as a status symbol. 

The Yuendumu School Doors

In 1983 senior Warlpiri men took an opportunity to paint their scared Dreaming designs on the doors of a remote Yuendumu school, 250km north west of Alice Springs. It is now an important moment for Australian Art, it symbolised the Warlpiris decision to explain the Tjukurrpa to the world. There was 30 original doors. They reveal ancient stories and beliefs, they are marvellous to look at, there are makings from the school children and damage from the years of use. It all adds to the history of the doors.

Moira Gibbs, Vincent Lingiari and Stan Smith in front of sign 'Gurindji Mining Lease & Cattle Station' Wattie Creek, 1970

Prime Minister Gough Whitlam pouring sand into Gurindji leader Vincent Lingiaris hand.

Paul Kelly - From Little Things Big Things Grow

Gather round people ill tell you a story
An eight year long story of power and pride
British Lord Vestey and Vincent Lingiari
Were opposite men on opposite sides

Vestey was fat with money and muscle
Beef was his business, broad was his door
Vincent was lean and spoke very little
He had no bank balance, hard dirt was his floor

From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow

Gurindji were working for nothing but rations
Where once they had gathered the wealth of the land
Daily the pressure got tighter and tighter
Gurindju decided they must make a stand

They picked up their swags and started off walking
At Wattie Creek they sat themselves down
Now it don't sound like much but it sure got tongues talking
Back at the homestead and then in the town

From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow

Vestey man said I'll double your wages
Seven quid a week you'll have in your hand
Vincent said uhuh we're not talking about wages
We're sitting right here till we get our land
Vestey man roared and Vestey man thundered
You don't stand the chance of a cinder in snow
Vince said if we fall others are rising

From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow

Then Vincent Lingiari boarded an aeroplane
Landed in Sydney, big city of lights
And daily he went round softly speaking his story
To all kinds of men from all walks of life

And Vincent sat down with big politicians
This affair they told him is a matter of state
Let us sort it out, your people are hungry
Vincent said no thanks, we know how to wait

From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow

Then Vincent Lingiari returned in an aeroplane
Back to his country once more to sit down
And he told his people let the stars keep on turning
We have friends in the south, in the cities and towns

Eight years went by, eight long years of waiting
Till one day a tall stranger appeared in the land
And he came with lawyers and he came with great ceremony
And through Vincent's fingers poured a handful of sand

From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow

That was the story of Vincent Lingiari
But this is the story of something much more
How power and privilege can not move a people
Who know where they stand and stand in the law

From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow

Stevie Goldsmith had mentioned that Aboriginal people were used as slaves back in the day. I decided to take it upon myself and learn more about it, since I had never been told that before. The more I learnt from Stevies lecture the more I became infuriated that I had not been taught this in school. I think it is important for us to learn about our own history not only to acknowledge the wrong done to the Indigenous people of our land but also to learn from it.


In Northern Australia Aboriginal workers had no wages on cattle stations, Aboriginal workers were valuable to the cattle stations so to me it does not make sense why they were not paid, it is not enough for them to only have a few advantages.

An article, The Cattle Industry by Heather Douglas has stated even when they were paid sometimes they were kept in accounts held by station owners. Also in the 1950s stations that wanted to hire Aboriginal workers had to retain a license pursuant to the Aboriginal Ordinance.(1) It was only in 1966 that a man Vincent Lingiari led the way to strike for better wages and conditions at Wave Hill cattle station.(2) Years of waiting it was in 1975 when the Prime Minister of Australia, Gough Whitlam poured sand into Vincent Lingiari's hand symbolising a part of the land in Wattie Creek rightfully being transferred back to the Gurindi people.(3)

The symbol of pouring sand into Vincents hand is beautiful but I wish it never had to come to that, Australian land will always be that of Indigenous people.


Reference
(1,2) Douglas, H. The Cattle Industry, 2009
http://www.law.uq.edu.au/documents/kriewaldt/The-Cattle-Industry.pdf
(3) Documenting a Democracy http://foundingdocs.gov.au/enlargement-eid-73-pid-50.html

Some Artworks in Adelaide Stevie Goldsmith pointed out, which are about the Stolen Generation.

Grieving Mother, Sculpture bronze by artist Silvio Apponyi, 2000, at Colebrook Reconciliation Park, Eden Hills. Photo: Kerry Fletcher

This piece of work invokes a sense of sadness and disappear. To have your child taken away must be the greatest pain. 

Fountain of Tears, Black Granite Sculpture, by artist Silvio Apponyi, 1998, at Colebrook Childrens Home Site, Eden Hills.

This is a plaque in Piltawodli, It is a written letter from a 12 year old Kaurna student, Pitpauwe and sent in 1843. 

David Unaipon (1872- 1967)

David Unaipon is the man who appears on the 50 dollar note along with his drawings of his inventions in the foreground. His most successful invention was a sheering machine. He is the uncle of Stevie Goldsmith from the post below. Stevie asked if we knew who he was and if not why not. I will be honest I did not know who David Unaipon was, these are things we should be taught in school, it isnt enough to be on a 50 dollar note.

A lecture that really inspired me was when Stevie Goldsmith came to talk about the Kaurna Culture. He is apart of LKCC which educates people about the culture with tours, seminars, workshops and galleries.

Stevie Goldsmith was personal in his talk, he told us that his mother was from Kaurna and his father was Pondy from Taillem bend. He was born in 1957.  I felt it was nice to know about where he is from and his family, I felt more connected to him.

Something that intrigued me was that Australia day on the 26th of January is celebrated by the Aboriginal people as a survival day. It makes me think we should change our day to something more inclusive of the Aboriginal people. It seems bizarre that we celebrate a day when the First Fleet came to Australia in 1788 when the arrival of Europeans in 1836 caused Indigenous people so much pain.

I learnt that Aboriginal culture has been alive for around 300,000 years, but most known for 45,000 years. Also that the Dutch came to Australia first before Captain Cook in 1788. Captain Cook was not interested in the culture or the people in Australia but the land, the land was said to be 'Terra Nullis'. Europeans drew pamphlets to get people to come to the land. When the Europeans came they built prisons and let prisoners loose amongst the Aboriginal people, there was an act of genocide through Australia. I never knew there was a thing called the 'Black Line' in Tasmania where the settlers shot any Aboriginal insight. Knowing this now makes me so upset and infuriated that anyone could be so inhumane. Stevie asked if we about about these event and if not why not? Makes me question why we are not taught this.

In South Australia, Glenelg was also claimed to be 'Terra Nullis' and Aboriginal people were locked away and taken to Pindi by force. They felt like trespassers. Stevie had explained that the different tribes of Indigenous people are like different countries. So when the Kaurna people were taken to Pindi it was like they were trespassing and intruding on the Pindis peoples land. The Aboriginal people were taught the western idea of farming and they could get more wheat then the non indigenous people so they were moved back closer to the city.

Aboriginal people finally became people of this country from a referendum to be included in the constitution in 1967.