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Djerrkura educated Howard

By Stuart Rintoul

27 May 2004 - One event more than any other crystalised the relationship between Djerrkura and John Howard. It was February 1998 and Djerrkura had invited Mr Howard to his traditional country at Yirrkala in Arnhem Land in what many believed was a vain attempt to engage with a Prime Minister who was bent on winding back an imaginary pendulum he said had swung too far towards Aboriginal rights.

Djerrkura had arranged for Mr Howard to witness important traditional ceremonies. Mr Howard had only been to an Aboriginal community once previously, during his earlier, ruinous period as opposition leader a decade earlier when he went on to Pitjantjatjara lands and indigenous leader Yami Lester told him he was, to the Aboriginal way of thinking, only a boy. Mr Howard left deeply humiliated. This time, Djerrkura was determined Mr Howard would have his eyes opened.

In the event, Mr Howard emerged saying it was a very moving experience. He said: "I have always respected Aboriginal culture, but until today I don't think I had understood the depth of feeling that the indigenous people have in relation to their culture."

But it was not, he said, a step on the road to Damascus on land rights.

Djerrkura paid a price among his people for Mr Howard's response. Djerrkura was a conservative indigenous leader. His background was in economic development.

In 1984 he was awarded the Medal in the General Division of the Order of Australia (OAM) for his services to the Aboriginal community. That much Mr Howard understood when he appointed Djerrkura to chair ATSIC in 1996.

Looking to the future in one of his last public addresses, Djerrkura said: "If we want to break away from the colonial past, and begin anew, then we have to walk together – hand in hand and side by side – as a truly reconciled nation."

Djerrkura died with the shadow of a sexual molestation charge hanging over him.

Reconciliation pioneer Djerrkura dead at 54

By Michael Gordon
National Editor

May 27, 2004 - One of the pioneers of the reconciliation movement, Mr Djerrkura, has died suddenly, prompting expressions of shock and sadness from across the country.

The former ATSIC leader died at 5pm at a hospital near his home at Yirrkala on the Gove Peninsula in East Arnhem Land after a heart attack. He was 54.

In line with Aboriginal mourning custom, Mr Djerrkura's family requested that neither his first name nor pictures be published.

Many described it as ironic that he died on national Sorry Day, and the day before legislation would be introduced to disband ATSIC, the organisation he led from 1997 until 1999.

"One can only speculate of what might have been the outcome if he had remained as ATSIC chair," former Labor politician Bob Collins said.

When Mr Djerrkura became the last appointed chairman of ATSIC, there was widespread suspicion that he would be a yes-man to the Howard Government because he was a conservative and former member and candidate of the Country Liberal Party in the Northern Territory.

But doubts were swept aside when Mr Djerrkura clashed with the Government, declaring: "That's where my loyalty lies - to my people, not to the Government."

In 1999, Prime Minister John Howard described a visit to Mr Djerrkura's home, overlooking the Arafura Sea, as one of the highlights of his first term in office. But their relationship became strained over Mr Howard's refusal to embrace what was described as symbolic reconciliation, including a formal apology to those forcibly removed from their families.

Mr Howard was among those who paid tribute to Mr Djerrkura last night, describing him as "an immensely likeable man".

The former head of the disbanded Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, Dr Evelyn Scott, described him as a true leader. NSW Labor MP Linda Burney said he was "an incredibly gentle person" and a trailblazer who saw the potential to advance his people through economic development.

A senior elder of the Wangurri clan, Mr Djerrkura was the most significant indigenous leader in the Northern Territory apart from Galarrwuy Yunupingu. He was awarded the Medal in the General Division of the Order of Australia (OAM) in 1984 for service to the Aboriginal community.

Patrick Dodson, regarded as the father of reconciliation, last night said he was filled with sadness at the passing of "yet another indigenous leader in this country well before his time".

Mr Dodson said Mr Djerrkura's death was another example of "the cold, hard reality of Aboriginal men passing away when other non-indigenous Australian men are entering the most productive stages of their lives".

Source: Sydney Morning Herald

Mr Djerrkura- Statesman, Leader, Lawman

Senator Aden Ridgeway

May 27, 2004 - The passing of a senior elder of the Wangurri clan and former ATSIC Chair, Mr Djerrkura, has added an extra level of poignancy to Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week say the Australian Democrats.

Democrats Indigenous Affairs spokesperson, Senator Aden Ridgeway, said Mr Djerrkura was a reconciliationist and a leader, long before he came to the national stage.

"He was an active cultural leader in his own community and he took his culture through to his leadership roles," said Senator Ridgeway.

"He also led the charge for economic development in North East Arnhem Land through his leadership of Yirrkala Business Enterprises which operated independently, providing employment and training to local people in the area.

"His appointment to the ATSIC Chair in 1996 was viewed with suspicion by many people who feared he would be a conservative yes-man for the Government.

"He proved, instead, to be a strong leader for his people and went on to lead ATSIC through extremely difficult times, dealing with a massive funding cut and a sustained attack on the organisation by John Howard and the then Minister John Herron.

"Mr Djerrkura was one of many Indigenous Australians who has attempted to help the Prime Minister understand the essential role of land and culture to Indigenous people only to have it thrown back in his face.

"He lived reconciliation and I worked with him on the former Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation.

"I dedicated my Sorry Day address to him last night.

"The Democrats mourn his passing and offer our sympathies to his family and community," concluded Senator Ridgeway.

Source: Australian Democrats

Djerrkura, chef de file aborigène australien

Frédéric Therin

2 Juin 2004 - Un des principaux chefs de file aborigènes australiens, Djerrkura, est mort, mercredi 26 mai, d'un arrêt cardiaque à l'hôpital de Nhulunbuy (Territoire du Nord). Il était âgé de 54 ans.

Ce père de trois enfants, né le 30 juin 1949, a occupé d'importantes responsabilités auprès de nombreuses organisations aborigènes. Il a notamment présidé de 1996 à 1999 l'Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (Atsic), la principale association indigène en Australie que le gouvernement fédéral s'apprête à dissoudre dans les toutes prochaines semaines. Gatjil Djerrkura était formellement opposé à la disparition de cette structure même s'il lui reconnaissait de nombreux défauts. La volonté de Canberra de condamner à mort cet organisme était, selon lui, "typique de la coutume impériale où la négociation et la compréhension n'ont pas leur place et où l'empathie est à peine présente".

Ce chef traditionnel de la communauté de Wangurri à l'est de la Terre d'Arnhem, au nord de l'Australie, n'avait pas peur de se faire des ennemis pour défendre la cause aborigène. Lorsqu'il fut nommé à la tête de l'Atsic par le gouvernement fédéral, de nombreux critiques pensaient qu'il allait accepter toutes les mesures que lui soufflerait le premier ministre, John Howard. Les deux hommes étaient en effet membres du Parti libéral, Djerrkura avait même été candidat à une élection locale dans le Territoire du Nord. Les doutes concernant la probité de cet ancien élève des missionnaires envers les communautés indigènes furent toutefois rapidement écartés lorsqu'il déclara : "Ma loyauté va vers mon peuple, pas vers le gouvernement."

La relation entre le membre du Conseil pour la réconciliation aborigène et le chef du gouvernement fédéral était devenue très tendue au fil des années. "Le premier ministre semble incapable de comprendre les aspirations indigènes, critiquait cet homme qui a reçu en 1984 la médaille de l'Ordre d'Australie. Il n'a jamais accepté la différence fondamentale du peuple aborigène dans notre communauté. Il n'a jamais supporté les principes sur lesquels l'Atsic a été créée et fondée. Il a toujours refusé toutes suggestions concernant l'autonomie et le droit à l'autodétermination des indigènes." Une semaine avant sa mort, Djerrkura condamnait dans le quotidien The Age le refus de John Howard de formuler des excuses publiques concernant le massacre des Aborigènes durant les premières décennies de la colonisation britannique. Mais sa disparition subite a provoqué un torrent d'hommages (plus ou moins sincères) de nombreux dignitaires australiens.

Source: Le Monde (France)

Djerrkura, 54, Who Led Aboriginal Rights Group, Dies

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

May 28, 2004 - CANBERRA - Djerrkura, a prominent Aboriginal leader who was born into traditional tribal life in northern Australia and rose to lead an elected indigenous group that helped allocate government funds, died on Wednesday at his community in Arnhem Land, east of the port city of Darwin. He was 54.

The cause was a heart attack, Australian officials announced.

His clan asked the news media to honor Aboriginal tribal culture and not print his first name or pictures of him after his death.

Mr. Djerrkura straddled the worlds of traditional Aboriginal culture and national politics. He always kept a spear by his door to protect his family at times of tribal tensions.

By birthright, he became a leader of the Wangurri clan in Arnhem Land in far northern Australia, where Aborigines live by their ancient traditions and rituals.

In 1996, by a federal government decree, he was appointed chairman of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, an elected council established in the 1980's as a means of self-determination for indigenous people.

The conservative government chose Mr. Djerrkura from among 17 commissioners democratically elected by their Aboriginal constituents. He led the organization for three years.

Source: New York Times

Towering figure in Australian reconciliation

OBITUARY

By Lionel Quartermaine

1 June 2004 - Statesman, senior lawman of the Wangurri clan and former ATSIC chairman Djerrkura, who has died at his home in Yirrkala in his beloved Arnhem Land at the age of 54, joked: ``You can say anything to me or about me that you like, but you can't see me blush."

But Djerrkura's favourite joke in early December 1996, in the midst of government praise and media attention that followed his appointment as chairman of ATSIC (1996-99), was not strictly accurate. Other telltale signs - an embarrassed giggle and rolled eyes in response to compliments - made it clear that Australia's highest ranking indigenous official was yet to settle into his new role.

Djerrkura was always a man of destiny. A tall and striking figure, certain in his cultural authority, he nonetheless spoke with soft words that valued diplomacy. His welcome was warm and his interest genuine.

His staff learnt to work around the ceremonial demands upon him as a senior lawman, regularly devising trans-continental itineraries to allow him to attend to his duties.

Djerrkura was the only son in a tight-knit family that produced eight daughters. Away from the struggle for his people, he loved football, and was a fan of Carlton.

He inherited his Wangurri clan responsibilities from his father but modelled his philosophy on his maternal grandfather, the warrior chief Wongu, whom he saw as strong in his culture but open to new ideas.

``The people on my mother's side, the Djapu, are particularly regarded as warlike," Djerrkura said in 1999.

The enduring strength of traditional culture in Arnhem Land is partly due to the late arrival of European economic interests that initially were limited to cattle leases.

Djerrkura's traditional home, Yirrkala, is regarded as the birthplace of the modern land rights movement. In 1963 the Yolngu (a generic name for the eastern Arnhem Land clans) sent a bark petition to Federal Parliament in protest over the bauxite lease issued to the Nabalco company that year by the Menzies government. Later court challenges proved unsuccessful but triggered the determination of Aboriginal communities to assert their rights to land and waters.

The Methodist Overseas Mission arrived in the 1930s and provided ``protection from the slaughter and the government policies that occurred in other places", according to Djerrkura. He began his close involvement with the church under the local guidance of the Reverend Wally Fawell and his wife Jill (``Bapa" and ``Ngandi", as he knew them).

Djerrkura went on to become a youth leader and Sunday school teacher. He attended the Brisbane Bible College for three years with Galarrwuy Yunupingu and other young men with identified leadership potential.

Djerrkura's relationship with Yunupingu remained complex throughout his life, although nowhere near as strained as often reported. Their close familial and cultural ties meant frequent consultation, despite being rivals in both Aboriginal and mainstream politics, and Yunupingu will preside over funeral ceremonies for his cousin.

Djerrkura was long aligned with the conservative side of politics - yet he was a republican. In 1980, he stood for the NT Assembly as the Country-Liberal Party candidate in the seat of Arnhem (won by Bob Collins with 73 per cent of the vote) and maintained friendships (although not membership) in the party until his death. Yunupingu has always been closely identified with the Australian Labor Party.

In the early '70s, Djerrkura moved back to Darwin to begin social work with the Reverend Bernie Clarke. By now the Methodist Church had adopted the ``free to decide" policy of tolerance for traditional ways and was passing control of its missions to Aboriginal communities. Clarke became Djerrkura's mentor in concepts of community and economic development that were the foundations for his later career.

When he returned to Yirrkala as mission superintendent, Djerrkura joined in talks with clan leaders and elders, including those who had signed the 1963 petition, on how to exercise some control over mining activity. Land stripping at Gove stood as a warning of the threat to all Arnhem Land communities. Leaders from the south of the region began to join the discussions.

These moved on to the need to occupy traditional lands in order to maintain control. Eventually, a homelands movement arose that emphasised the practice of cultural activities on traditional sites. As the problems of alcohol and kava abuse took their toll on townships that grew out of the missions, this gained a new urgency.

Djerrkura later said the homelands or outstation movement was ``the only strong option I can see for Arnhem Land . . . it's people going home to find their links and leaders reasserting their traditional authority".

After a stint as area officer for the former federal Department of Aboriginal Affairs in 1986, Djerrkura was appointed general manager of Yirrkala Business Enterprises, owned by the 13 Yirrkala clans.

The company had lost its direction and accountability and its management was largely in the hands of non-Aboriginal opportunists. Djerrkura set about clearing out corruption, restructuring the business and restoring the self-respect of the staff and community owners. A renewed YBE secured key contracts for earthmoving services with Nabalco, and for maintaining parks and gardens in the Nhulunbuy township.

By the time he left for ATSIC in 1996, YBE employed up to 60 people and had an annual turnover of about $4 million.

Djerrkura's experience with YBE provided the credentials that led to his appointment in 1990 as the foundation chairman of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commercial Development Corporation, managing a diverse portfolio of large-scale commercial ventures involving indigenous communities and private sector partners. He held this position until approached to move to ATSIC.

The strong rapport between Djerrkura and the former Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Senator John Herron, was evident to most observers. They seemed to share similar values on practical measures for economic and social advancement.

And, while Djerrkura showed little of the warlike nature of his Djapu ancestors, their spiritual values were strong within him. There should never have been any doubt that when land and culture was at stake, Djerrkura could take only one course. There should never have been any suggestion that he would seek to overturn the decisions made by his fellow commissioners, democratically elected to represent communities over which he had no authority.

When it came to standing with other indigenous leaders in defending native title rights, he did so without hesitation because that was a higher duty than anything owed to his government sponsors.

His position as ATSIC chairman gave Djerrkura a seat on the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, and he embraced this opportunity to encourage new ways of thinking. He was an avid reconciliationist, who threw himself into the work at a national and local level to achieve CAR's goals; he believed no other path would deliver the results he wanted for his people.

Djerrkura was not the most accomplished speaker when reading prepared texts, but when, as he preferred, speaking ``from the heart", he could reduce a room to tears - as he did at an event to mark Patrick Dodson's farewell from CAR. He expressed with passion his respect for Dodson and his work, and offered a precious totem as a cultural link between the two men's communities.

During the latter part of his term as ATSIC chairman, Djerrkura was puzzled and hurt that the government had turned on him and ceased to consult ATSIC. He had reached out by inviting the Prime Minister and other government officials into his Arnhem Land home, expecting that they would gain better understanding of indigenous values and culture from the experience, but there was no evidence of this.

He felt that his effort to operate respectfully in two cultural spheres was never reciprocated.

He was disappointed in his 1999 bid to become the first elected chairman of ATSIC, but remained committed to the ATSIC system as a member of the Miwatj Regional Council. He resigned as the council's chairman in March last year in protest over the government's plan for a ``separation of powers" by splitting the organisation.

At Djerrkura's final public appearance, a book launch in Canberra in mid-May, he spoke about the power of symbols and the government's claim that it rejects them. ``I live every day understanding the extremely urgent needs of Aboriginal people," he said. ``But I also understand the importance of symbolism . . . The symbols of our nation embody our ideals. They speak to us, and to other nations of our identity and beliefs. Symbols can also be a sign of change, a beacon of hope and a declaration of intent. When they reflect our aspirations, they are empowering."

He spoke softly, as ever, but no longer with any reason to blush.

Djerrkura is survived by his children Damien, Fiona and Nathan (from his marriage to Jenny, which ended in 2000) and six grandchildren.

Lionel Quartermaine is the acting chairman of ATSIC.

Source: The Age

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