Yunupingu

Dr Galarrwuy Yunupingu, AM

Dr Galarrwuy Yunupingu, AM

The Yothu Yindi Foundation mourns the passing of Gumatj leader, Yunupingu.

He was a master of the ceremonies and a keeper of the songlines of the Yolngu people. He held the deep backbone names of the country and the sacred knowledge of his people.

His totems were fire, rock and baru (saltwater crocodile), and his name Yunupingu means the sacred rock that stands against time.

He starts his journey now to be reunited with his fathers and his kin, who await him in the hearth of his sacred Gumatj country.

A giant of the nation whose contribution to public life spanned 7 decades, he was first and foremost a leader of his people, whose welfare was his most pressing concern and responsibility.

A pioneer of the Land Rights movement and Aboriginal rights more broadly, he spoke for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people when they were voiceless, working with leaders from throughout the country to return Indigenous people to their rightful place.

With Yolngu leaders, he led the revival of the homelands movement in the 1970’s and the emergence of the Land Rights movement throughout Australia.

His name is synonymous with some of the nation’s most significant events – the Yirrkala Bark Petitions, the Gove Land Rights case, and the Barunga Statement.

Although his influence reached the farthest boundaries of the country, he lived his entire life in Yirrkala and Gunyangara, among his people.

Having met Prime Minister Robert Menzies with his father in the 1960’s when Cabinet met to announce the Gove Bauxite Mine, he dealt personally with every Prime Minister who followed.

He was left disappointed by them all.

But in 2022 he asked Prime Minister Albanese whether his commitment to the Voice was “serious”. He was told it was.

As chairman of the Yothu Yindi Foundation, he made education the primary focus of its work, and in recent years oversaw the establishment of the Dhupuma Barker junior school in Gunyangara, and the Garma Institute, realising a long-held dream by community leaders for world-class education facilities in northeast Arnhem Land.

With his Yolngu kin he gifted the nation the Garma Festival, which showcased Yolngu miny-tji (art) bunggul (dance), manikay (song) and story-telling to a national audience, and which today leads discussion and debate of issues affecting Yolngu and other Indigenous people.

He won string of awards but never sought recognition or accolades for his work.

He established a suite of sustainable small business in the region which supported local employment, including a cattle station, a timber mill, and a nursery, and in recent years set up the Gumatj-owned Gulkula Bauxite Mine – the first Aboriginal owned and operated mine in the country.

In 2022, he oversaw the establishment of the Gulkula Space Base and its partnership with NASA.

He lived and died in the arms of his family, and they in his arms. He is Yolngu first and Yolngu forever.

Always in our hearts. RIP.

The Yothu Yindi Foundation mourns the passing of Gumatj leader, Yunupingu.

He was a master of the ceremonies and a keeper of the songlines of the Yolngu people. He held the deep backbone names of the country and the sacred knowledge of his people.

His totems were fire, rock and baru (saltwater crocodile), and his name Yunupingu means the sacred rock that stands against time.

He starts his journey now to be reunited with his fathers and his kin, who await him in the hearth of his sacred Gumatj country.

A giant of the nation whose contribution to public life spanned 7 decades, he was first and foremost a leader of his people, whose welfare was his most pressing concern and responsibility.

A pioneer of the Land Rights movement and Aboriginal rights more broadly, he spoke for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people when they were voiceless, working with leaders from throughout the country to return Indigenous people to their rightful place.

With Yolngu leaders, he led the revival of the homelands movement in the 1970’s and the emergence of the Land Rights movement throughout Australia.

His name is synonymous with some of the nation’s most significant events – the Yirrkala Bark Petitions, the Gove Land Rights case, and the Barunga Statement.

Although his influence reached the farthest boundaries of the country, he lived his entire life in Yirrkala and Gunyangara, among his people.

Having met Prime Minister Robert Menzies with his father in the 1960’s when Cabinet met to announce the Gove Bauxite Mine, he dealt personally with every Prime Minister who followed.

He was left disappointed by them all.

But in 2022 he asked Prime Minister Albanese whether his commitment to the Voice was “serious”. He was told it was.

As chairman of the Yothu Yindi Foundation, he made education the primary focus of its work, and in recent years oversaw the establishment of the Dhupuma Barker junior school in Gunyangara, and the Garma Institute, realising a long-held dream by community leaders for world-class education facilities in northeast Arnhem Land.

With his Yolngu kin he gifted the nation the Garma Festival, which showcased Yolngu miny-tji (art) bunggul (dance), manikay (song) and story-telling to a national audience, and which today leads discussion and debate of issues affecting Yolngu and other Indigenous people.

He won string of awards but never sought recognition or accolades for his work.

He established a suite of sustainable small business in the region which supported local employment, including a cattle station, a timber mill, and a nursery, and in recent years set up the Gumatj-owned Gulkula Bauxite Mine – the first Aboriginal owned and operated mine in the country.

In 2022, he oversaw the establishment of the Gulkula Space Base and its partnership with NASA.

He lived and died in the arms of his family, and they in his arms. He is Yolngu first and Yolngu forever.

Always in our hearts. RIP.

The Yothu Yindi Foundation mourns the passing of Gumatj leader, Yunupingu.

He was a master of the ceremonies and a keeper of the songlines of the Yolngu people. He held the deep backbone names of the country and the sacred knowledge of his people.

His totems were fire, rock and baru (saltwater crocodile), and his name Yunupingu means the sacred rock that stands against time.

He starts his journey now to be reunited with his fathers and his kin, who await him in the hearth of his sacred Gumatj country.

A giant of the nation whose contribution to public life spanned 7 decades, he was first and foremost a leader of his people, whose welfare was his most pressing concern and responsibility.

A pioneer of the Land Rights movement and Aboriginal rights more broadly, he spoke for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people when they were voiceless, working with leaders from throughout the country to return Indigenous people to their rightful place.

With Yolngu leaders, he led the revival of the homelands movement in the 1970’s and the emergence of the Land Rights movement throughout Australia.

His name is synonymous with some of the nation’s most significant events – the Yirrkala Bark Petitions, the Gove Land Rights case, and the Barunga Statement.

Although his influence reached the farthest boundaries of the country, he lived his entire life in Yirrkala and Gunyangara, among his people.

Having met Prime Minister Robert Menzies with his father in the 1960’s when Cabinet met to announce the Gove Bauxite Mine, he dealt personally with every Prime Minister who followed.

He was left disappointed by them all.

But in 2022 he asked Prime Minister Albanese whether his commitment to the Voice was “serious”. He was told it was.

As chairman of the Yothu Yindi Foundation, he made education the primary focus of its work, and in recent years oversaw the establishment of the Dhupuma Barker junior school in Gunyangara, and the Garma Institute, realising a long-held dream by community leaders for world-class education facilities in northeast Arnhem Land.

With his Yolngu kin he gifted the nation the Garma Festival, which showcased Yolngu miny-tji (art) bunggul (dance), manikay (song) and story-telling to a national audience, and which today leads discussion and debate of issues affecting Yolngu and other Indigenous people.

He won string of awards but never sought recognition or accolades for his work.

He established a suite of sustainable small business in the region which supported local employment, including a cattle station, a timber mill, and a nursery, and in recent years set up the Gumatj-owned Gulkula Bauxite Mine – the first Aboriginal owned and operated mine in the country.

In 2022, he oversaw the establishment of the Gulkula Space Base and its partnership with NASA.

He lived and died in the arms of his family, and they in his arms. He is Yolngu first and Yolngu forever.

Always in our hearts. RIP.

Born

30 June, 1948, in Gunyangara, northeast Arnhem Land

Father

Mungarrawuy Yunupingu (c. 1905 – 1979) – Gumatj clan

Mother

Makurrngu – Galpu clan

Clan

Gumatj

Totems

Fire, rock

School

1954 – 1965: Yirrkala Mission School; Dhupuma College

1966 – 1967: Methodist Bible College (Brisbane)

Born

30 June, 1948, in Gunyangara, northeast Arnhem Land

Father

Mungarrawuy Yunupingu (c. 1905 – 1979) – Gumatj clan

Mother

Makurrngu – Galpu clan

Clan

Gumatj

Totems

Fire, rock

School

30 June, 1948, in Gunyangara, northeast Arnhem Land

1954 – 1965: Yirrkala Mission School; Dhupuma College

1966 – 1967: Methodist Bible College (Brisbane)

Born

30 June, 1948, in Gunyangara, northeast Arnhem Land

Father

Mungarrawuy Yunupingu (c. 1905 – 1979) – Gumatj clan

Mother

Makurrngu – Galpu clan

Clan

Gumatj

Totems

Fire, rock

School

1954 – 1965: Yirrkala Mission School; Dhupuma College

1966 – 1967: Methodist Bible College (Brisbane)

   1963   

Yirrkala Bark Petitions – assisted in drafting petitions (15 y.o.)

   1967   

Return to Gove

   1969   

Elected to Yirrkala Town Council

   1963   

Yirrkala Bark Petitions – assisted in drafting petitions (15 y.o.)

   1967   

Return to Gove

   1969   

Elected to Yirrkala Town Council

   1963   

Yirrkala Bark Petitions – assisted in drafting petitions (15 y.o.)

   1967   

Return to Gove

   1969   

Elected to Yirrkala Town Council

   1971 – 27th April:    
   1975    

Joined NLC

   1977 – 1980    
   1971 – 27th April:    
   1975    

Joined NLC

   1977 – 1980    
   1971 – 27th April:    
   1975    

Joined NLC

   1977 – 1980    
   1980 – 1983    

Executive Member

   1983 – 2004    

Chairman NLC

Leadership Gumatj (Clan)

  1985 – 28th Jan    

OAM – For ‘Service to the Aboriginal Community’

   1980 – 1983    

Executive Member

   1983 – 2004    

Chairman NLC

Leadership Gumatj (Clan)

  1985 – 28th Jan    

OAM – For ‘Service to the Aboriginal Community’

   1980 – 1983    

Executive Member

   1983 – 2004    

Chairman NLC

Leadership Gumatj (Clan)

  1985 – 28th Jan    

OAM – For ‘Service to the Aboriginal Community’

   1990    

Chairman YYF

   1998    

Named one of Australia’s National Living Treasures as a leader who is ‘considered to have a great influence over our environment because of the standards and examples they set.’(National Trust of Australia)

   1990    

Chairman YYF

   1998    

Named one of Australia’s National Living Treasures as a leader who is ‘considered to have a great influence over our environment because of the standards and examples they set.’(National Trust of Australia)

   1990    

Chairman YYF

   1998    

Named one of Australia’s National Living Treasures as a leader who is ‘considered to have a great influence over our environment because of the standards and examples they set.’(National Trust of Australia)

   2008 – December    

Published in The Monthly: Truth, Tradition, Tomorrow

   2008 – December    

Published in The Monthly: Truth, Tradition, Tomorrow

   2008 – December    

Published in The Monthly: Truth, Tradition, Tomorrow

   2012 – December    

Australian Magazine – New Horizons (Nicholas Rothwell)

   2015   

Honorary Doctor of Laws – Highest Academic Honour: University of Melbourne

   2016 – July    

Published in The Monthly: Rom Watangu

   2016   

Kidney Transplant

   2017   

Honoured by Australian Post Indigenous Leaders Stamp

99 Year Township Lease signed by Gumatj

Composed foreword for ‘A Rightful Place: A roadmap to recognition’ by Noel Pearson, Megan Davis, Jackie Huggins and Nolan Hunter, Warren Mundine, Stan Grant.

   2019   

Senior Advisory Group ‘Voice to Parliament’

   2022   

Invited Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, to Garma Festival where His Honor made his ‘Garma Speech’

Opened court case seeking compensation from the Australian Government for the acquisition and destruction of land on the Gove Peninsula [Yunupingu (Gumatj) v Commonwealth]

   2012 – December    

Australian Magazine – New Horizons (Nicholas Rothwell)

   2015   

Honorary Doctor of Laws – Highest Academic Honour: University of Melbourne

   2016 – July    

Published in The Monthly: Rom Watangu

   2016   

Kidney Transplant

   2017   

Honoured by Australian Post Indigenous Leaders Stamp

99 Year Township Lease signed by Gumatj

Composed foreword for ‘A Rightful Place: A roadmap to recognition’ by Noel Pearson, Megan Davis, Jackie Huggins and Nolan Hunter, Warren Mundine, Stan Grant.

   2019   

Senior Advisory Group ‘Voice to Parliament’

   2012 – December    

Australian Magazine – New Horizons (Nicholas Rothwell)

   2015   

Honorary Doctor of Laws – Highest Academic Honour: University of Melbourne

   2016 – July    

Published in The Monthly: Rom Watangu

   2016   

Kidney Transplant

   2017   

Honoured by Australian Post Indigenous Leaders Stamp

99 Year Township Lease signed by Gumatj

Composed foreword for ‘A Rightful Place: A roadmap to recognition’ by Noel Pearson, Megan Davis, Jackie Huggins and Nolan Hunter, Warren Mundine, Stan Grant.

   2019   

Senior Advisory Group ‘Voice to Parliament’

   2022   

Invited Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, to Garma Festival where His Honor made his ‘Garma Speech’

Opened court case seeking compensation from the Australian Government for the acquisition and destruction of land on the Gove Peninsula [Yunupingu (Gumatj) v Commonwealth]

   2022   

Invited Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, to Garma Festival where His Honor made his ‘Garma Speech’

Opened court case seeking compensation from the Australian Government for the acquisition and destruction of land on the Gove Peninsula [Yunupingu (Gumatj) v Commonwealth]

   2022   

Invited Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, to Garma Festival where His Honor made his ‘Garma Speech’

Opened court case seeking compensation from the Australian Government for the acquisition and destruction of land on the Gove Peninsula [Yunupingu (Gumatj) v Commonwealth]

   2022   

    Invited Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, to Garma Festival where His Honor made his ‘Garma Speech’

    Opened court case seeking compensation from the Australian Government for the acquisition and destruction of land on the Gove Peninsula [Yunupingu (Gumatj) v Commonwealth]

       2022   

    Invited Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, to Garma Festival where His Honor made his ‘Garma Speech’

    Opened court case seeking compensation from the Australian Government for the acquisition and destruction of land on the Gove Peninsula [Yunupingu (Gumatj) v Commonwealth]

         2022   

      Invited Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, to Garma Festival where His Honor made his ‘Garma Speech’

      Opened court case seeking compensation from the Australian Government for the acquisition and destruction of land on the Gove Peninsula [Yunupingu (Gumatj) v Commonwealth]