Indigenous Affairs

IN MEMORY OF COWBOY JOHNNY

But Johnny was declared by Time magazine almost 30 years ago to be the symbolic last of a heroic breed of Indigenous men who helped open up the wild north on horseback. Steve Strike took the original photo for the publication and introduced me to Johnny for a follow up interview in TQ 2014. That was the start of a long friendship and I never...

MATES OF THE MURRANJI Indigenous Affairs

Matt Savage the Boss Drover

At the six-mile in Wyndham the word passed aroundMatt Savage, the boss drover, had just come to town His plants on the common, he's looking for men 'Cause he's taking a mob into Queensland.  He's a legend in the outback; he's a man among menMatt Savage, the boss drover, and he's riding again Two thousand store bullocks, wild ones at...

Anindilyakwa Land Council Indigenous Affairs

GROOTE: EMILY’S ISLAND HOME

She was educated in Brisbane and now lives in Tasmania. But the ARIA-nominated performer says: “Groote will always be my island home. It's where my grandparents sleep, my ancestors. It’s where my family are. “I always feel that connection no matter how far I go.” She returned home recently for the funeral of her uncle – she...

IRONBARK Business

IRONBARK: Growing Stronger by the Day

It started operations in June 2000 with five staff working from a single old demountable on the outskirts of Darwin. Today it has grown to more than 60 staff, with more than half of them Indigenous, 11 offices throughout the Top End, including corporate offices in Darwin Corporate Park and another base to be built nearby before Christmas....

INDIGENOUS ROAD SAFETY ACADEMY Business

THE TIPPING POINT

He did it to digitise the road rule book through two hours of animation in eight Indigenous languages, English and five foreign languages. DriveAbout has worldwide application and is scaling nationally. Its pivot focuses on government and corporate Australia reducing their horrific stats around employee road safety by using digital...

SOUTH32 Indigenous Affairs

Helping Hands

The resources company is supporting the MJD Foundation to fund research and manage cases on Groote Eylandt “South32 has always been community minded,” says foundation director of research and education Libby Massey, who was brought up on Groote. “Their help is extremely important to us.” The company has been a major supporter of...

SOUTH32 Education

Bush Medicine

A team of Warningakalina women founded Bush Medijina on Groote Eylandt four years ago to make skincare products using traditional recipes passed down by grannies, mothers and aunties over hundreds of generations. The business is so successful that the team has outgrown their humble shipping container workshop – affectionately known as The...

Rirratjingy Aboriginal Corporation Business

WE’RE OPEN FOR BUSINESS

Traditional Owners want to generate the wealth needed to pay for social, cultural and job-creation programs when the bauxite mine on the Gove Peninsula closes. The refinery shut down eight years ago and the mine is scheduled to cease operation in 2043. But global resources company Rio Tinto has said that mining could stop as early as...

ALC Business

GROOTE FASHION ON THE CATWALK

Artists on Groote Eylandt are quietly proud that their work is causing a stir in the Australian fashion world. The successful Country to Couture fashion show at the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair Foundation in December was followed by a second show in Melbourne in January. Two artists, Annabell Amagula and Jeanelle Mamarika, went to the Darwin...

Northern Land Council Indigenous Affairs

WORKING HARD TO IMPROVE LIVES OUT BUSH

The Northern Land Council is one of the most important Aboriginal organisations in Australia. But few people understand how it operates. One of the greatest misunderstandings is that the land council makes decisions on behalf of Traditional Owners. In fact, the power is exercised the other way round – Traditional Owners tell the NLC what...

Tiwi Islands Regional Council Business

STAYING SAFE AND STRONG

The 3500 people who live on the Tiwi Islands are looking forward to life after covid with enormous optimism. They have handled the coronavirus crisis with skill and are now working towards making the Indigenous-owned islands an even better place. The Tiwi Islands Regional Council still has strict covid procedures – vigorous cleaning, hand...

Batchelor Institute Business

LEARNING LANGUAGE

Linguists estimate that 120 Aboriginal languages have “fallen asleep” and are no longer spoken since Europeans arrived in Australia. Many others that are still spoken are critically endangered. A group of Indigenous Territorians is determined that Pertame Southern Arrernte – a Centralian language spoken fluently by only 10-20 people,...