The Gurindji Strike
| "Gurindji Blues" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Galarrwuy Yunupingu | |
| B-side | "The Tribal Land" |
| Released | 1971 |
| Format | 7" Single |
| Length | Introduction by Vincent Lingiari – 1:06 Gurindji Blues – 2:30 |
| Label | RCA Victor 101937 |
| Songwriter(s) | Ted Egan |
| Producer(s) | Ron Wills |
Coordinates: 17°23′13″S 131°06′59″E / 17.38698°S 131.11641°E Wave Hill walk-off or The Gurindji strike was a walk-off and strike by 200 Gurindji , house servants and their families in August 1966 at Wave Hill cattle station in Kalkarindji (formerly known as Wave Hill), Northern Territory.
The Gurindji people's traditional lands are approximately 3,250 km² of the Northern Territory. Gurindji first encountered Europeans in the 1850s, when explorer Augustus Gregory crossed into their territory. Several other explorers traversed the area over the following decades until the 1880s, when large pastoral operations were established.
Wave Hill cattle station, which included the Kalkaringi and Daguragu area, was first stocked in 1883.
Gurindji – along with all Aboriginal groups in this predicament – found their waterholes and soakages fenced off or fouled by cattle, which also ate or trampled fragile desert plant life, such as bush tomato. Dingo hunters regularly shot the people's invaluable hunting dogs, and kangaroo, a staple meat, was also routinely shot since it competed with cattle for water and grazing land. Gurindji suffered lethal "reprisals" for any attempt to eat the cattle – anything from a skirmish to a massacre. The last recorded massacre in the area occurred at Coniston in 1928. There was little choice to stay alive but to move onto the cattle stations, receive rations, adopt a more sedentary life and, where possible, take work as and domestic help. If they couldn't continue their traditional way of life, then at least to be on their own land – the foundation for their religion and spiritual beliefs – seemed crucial.
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