It is with great sadness that AIATSIS learned today of the passing of senior Yolngu man, Yunupingu, and we offer our deepest sympathies to his family and loved ones!
Yunupingu leaves a powerful legacy, born in 1948 on Gunyangura, an island in the Northern Territory’s Melville Bay, north-east Arnhem Land, into the Gumatij clan of the Yolnu people.
Respected Yolŋu Elder, Yunupingu was a tireless campaigner for the rights of his Gumatj clan, his country, and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Yunupingu rose to prominence for his pioneering role in the Aboriginal Land Rights movement, a giant of the nation whose contribution to public life spanned several decades, a true leader to his people.
The photo credit, Yolŋu elder Yunupingu at the Garma festival in 2019. Photograph: Peter Eve/Yothu Yindi Foundation
The photo credit, Yolŋu elder Yunupingu at the Garma festival in 2019. Photograph: Peter Eve/Yothu Yindi Foundation
Yunupingu helped create the first bark petitions presented to the Australian parliament in 1963, chaired the Yothu Yindi Foundation, and oversaw the establishment of the Dhupumauma Barker school in Gunangara, and the Garma Institute, which has inspired action in so many. He was named Australian of the Year in 1978 and made a member of the Order of Australia for his services to the Aboriginal community in 1985. We are so proud of everything he achieved in his remarkable life: his strength of character, resilience, immense generosity, and contribution to the community.
Today is a day for mourning and remembering as we pay tribute and celebrate a life that was well lived. So much heartache across Community. He will live on in our hearts and memories.
May he be greeted by his Ancestors on his return home.
Vale Yunupingu.