Latest news with #VincentLingiari
SBS Australia
06-07-2025
- General
- SBS Australia
The music icon and croc hunter who was a driving force for NAIDOC Week
Ted Egan isn't just a songwriter with an extensive and well-known catalogue documenting life in the Northern Territory. As a public servant, he also played a significant role in the formation of the group behind what is today known as NAIDOC (National Aboriginal and Islanders Day Observance Committee) Week. Born in 1932 in Melbourne, Egan moved to the Top End in 1949 and started working for the NT Department of Aboriginal Affairs. His work as a patrol officer and reserve superintendent took him out of the city and on to cattle stations and crocodile-hunting expeditions. In his late 30s, Egan worked as a project officer with the Office of Aboriginal Affairs: a new national agency within the Prime Minister's Department that had been established following the successful 1967 Referendum, which saw the Commonwealth now having overall responsibility for Aboriginal affairs. In 1970, a year after Egan wrote the track Gurindji Blues with land rights leader Vincent Lingiari, Egan was sent to Sydney to attend the annual general meeting of the Commonwealth Council of NADOC (National Aborigines' Day Observance Committee). The purpose of the National Aborigines Day Observance Committee was to "create and promote an informed public opinion on the status and needs of the Aborigines". The committee had been set up back in 1957, two years after the National Missionary Council of Australia (NMCA) had asked the federal government to establish a National Aborigines Day. While denying the request for a National Day, the federal government supported a National Aborigines Day via funding for publications, leaflets and stickers as a way of "creating and promoting an informed public opinion on the status and the needs of the Aborigines … as to what is being done, and what remains to be done". In 1969, the NADOC Federal Executive was made up of Rev Frank Engel (chairman), Rev Robert Denham (secretary), Rev Richard Udy (treasurer) and committee members: Rev Robert Brown (SA), Rev James Sweet (Qld), Rev G Night (NSW), Mr Ken Colbung, Mrs S Dunn (NSW), Rev E Newman (NSW) and Pastor Schultz (NSW). A turning point In the overall historical context of National Aborigines Day or NAIDOC Week, the February 1970 meeting of the National Executive was a turning point. At the meeting, there was a move to elect an Aboriginal man — Ken Colbung from WA — as the new National Chairman. Colbung was the Secretary for NSW NADOC which had large staunch Aboriginal membership including Kaye Mundine, Clive and Tom Williams, Charles 'Chicka' Dixon, Lyall Munro, Bert Groves and Reverend Frank Roberts. It would be the first time an Aboriginal person would be at the helm of the National Committee; Lester Bostock was also elected a joint treasurer. On returning to Darwin, Egan typed up a report to his supervisor — Frank H Moy, assistant director (research) at the Office of Aboriginal Affairs — about the meeting. "The members of the outgoing committee seemed anxious to replace some of the church officials on the Executive with Aboriginals and this is an encouraging sign," he wrote. Egan recommended that NADOC should be a national committee made up entirely of Indigenous representatives. Moy endorsed his observation about the lack of Aboriginal people on the National Executive. "We have been lecturing them on this for two years now," Moy scrawled in pen over this section of Egan's report. In his report, Egan went further, writing that the NADOC should be a national committee made up entirely of Indigenous representatives. "It seems to me that if this is to become a national body, NADOC should appoint a representative (preferably an Aboriginal) in each state," Egan wrote. "Mr Phillip Roberts would be an ideal choice for the Northern Territory and perhaps one of our liaison officers for the ACT. Could it be suggested to NADOC that an Aboriginal be appointed in each State, NT and ACT?" From National Aborigines Day to NAIDOC Week Later that year, in September 1970, the annual general meeting of the National Council of NADOC saw Indigenous representatives from across the nation attend. These included: Dick Roughsy (Mornington Island Qld) G Winnunguj (Goulburn Island NT), Tom Williams (Foundation Aboriginal Affairs NSW), George Abudullah (WA), Lyall Munro (Moree Advancement Committee), Kath Walker (National Tribal Council), and Dulcie Flower and Faith Bandler (Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders - FCAATSI). Egan also used his report to cheekily comment on the lack of interest in the NT about the national celebrations. "I know at present in the Northern Territory little is done towards the observance of National Aborigines Day because it is considered to be a day on which a few 'compensation neurotics' do a bit of stirring in Sydney," he wrote. LISTEN TO SBS News 04/07/2025 05:58 English Egan's attendance at the meeting occurred in an era of growing calls to make National Aborigines Day a proper national day. "It seems to me that there should be a move to make it a national day in its true sense," Egan summarised in his report. "I think that our role should be to make the thing financially secure as far as publications etc are concerned and thereby make it an attractive enough proposition for Aborigines to take over 'their day'," he concluded. Ken Colbung would again sit as National Chairman in 1971 with Pastor Frank Roberts, Kath Walker and Dulcie Flower joining him on the National Executive. In 1972, control of NADOC was given to the newly established Commonwealth Department of Aboriginal Affairs, and in 1974, the Committee had full Aboriginal representation for the first time. In 1975, National Aborigines Day became NAIDOC Week. By this point, Egan had already released several albums and begun to establish his reputation as a musical chronicler of outback life. He would go on to be a member of the first National Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation and serve as administrator of the Northern Territory from 2003 to 2007. NAIDOC Week will be marked 6-13 July.
SBS Australia
05-07-2025
- General
- SBS Australia
National Aborigines Day: How an Australian icon wanted to make it a 'true' national day
Ted Egan isn't just a songwriter with an extensive and well-known catalogue documenting life in the Northern Territory. As a public servant, he also played a significant role in the formation of the group behind what is today known as NAIDOC (National Aboriginal and Islanders Day Observance Committee) Week. Born in 1932 in Melbourne, Egan moved to the Top End in 1949 and started working for the NT Department of Aboriginal Affairs. His work as a patrol officer and reserve superintendent took him out of the city and on to cattle stations and crocodile-hunting expeditions. In his late 30s, Egan worked as a project officer with the Office of Aboriginal Affairs: a new national agency within the Prime Minister's Department that had been established following the successful 1967 Referendum, which saw the Commonwealth now having overall responsibility for Aboriginal affairs. In 1970, a year after Egan wrote the track Gurindji Blues with land rights leader Vincent Lingiari, Egan was sent to Sydney to attend the annual general meeting of the Commonwealth Council of NADOC (National Aborigines' Day Observance Committee). The purpose of the National Aborigines Day Observance Committee was to "create and promote an informed public opinion on the status and needs of the Aborigines". The committee had been set up back in 1957, two years after the National Missionary Council of Australia (NMCA) had asked the federal government to establish a National Aborigines Day. While denying the request for a National Day, the federal government supported a National Aborigines Day via funding for publications, leaflets and stickers as a way of "creating and promoting an informed public opinion on the status and the needs of the Aborigines … as to what is being done, and what remains to be done". In 1969, the NADOC Federal Executive was made up of Rev Frank Engel (chairman), Rev Robert Denham (secretary), Rev Richard Udy (treasurer) and committee members: Rev Robert Brown (SA), Rev James Sweet (Qld), Rev G Night (NSW), Mr Ken Colbung, Mrs S Dunn (NSW), Rev E Newman (NSW) and Pastor Schultz (NSW). A turning point In the overall historical context of National Aborigines Day or NAIDOC Week, the February 1970 meeting of the National Executive was a turning point. At the meeting, there was a move to elect an Aboriginal man — Ken Colbung from WA — as the new National Chairman. Colbung was the Secretary for NSW NADOC which had large staunch Aboriginal membership including Kaye Mundine, Clive and Tom Williams, Charles 'Chicka' Dixon, Lyall Munro, Bert Groves and Reverend Frank Roberts. It would be the first time an Aboriginal person would be at the helm of the National Committee; Lester Bostock was also elected a joint treasurer. On returning to Darwin, Egan typed up a report to his supervisor — Frank H Moy, assistant director (research) at the Office of Aboriginal Affairs — about the meeting. "The members of the outgoing committee seemed anxious to replace some of the church officials on the Executive with Aboriginals and this is an encouraging sign," he wrote. Egan recommended that NADOC should be a national committee made up entirely of Indigenous representatives. Moy endorsed his observation about the lack of Aboriginal people on the National Executive. "We have been lecturing them on this for two years now," Moy scrawled in pen over this section of Egan's report. In his report, Egan went further, writing that the NADOC should be a national committee made up entirely of Indigenous representatives. "It seems to me that if this is to become a national body, NADOC should appoint a representative (preferably an Aboriginal) in each state," Egan wrote. "Mr Phillip Roberts would be an ideal choice for the Northern Territory and perhaps one of our liaison officers for the ACT. Could it be suggested to NADOC that an Aboriginal be appointed in each State, NT and ACT?" From National Aborigines Day to NAIDOC Week Later that year, in September 1970, the annual general meeting of the National Council of NADOC saw Indigenous representatives from across the nation attend. These included: Dick Roughsy (Mornington Island Qld) G Winnunguj (Goulburn Island NT), Tom Williams (Foundation Aboriginal Affairs NSW), George Abudullah (WA), Lyall Munro (Moree Advancement Committee), Kath Walker (National Tribal Council), and Dulcie Flower and Faith Bandler (Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders - FCAATSI). Egan also used his report to cheekily comment on the lack of interest in the NT about the national celebrations. "I know at present in the Northern Territory little is done towards the observance of National Aborigines Day because it is considered to be a day on which a few 'compensation neurotics' do a bit of stirring in Sydney," he wrote. LISTEN TO SBS News 04/07/2025 05:58 English Egan's attendance at the meeting occurred in an era of growing calls to make National Aborigines Day a proper national day. "It seems to me that there should be a move to make it a national day in its true sense," Egan summarised in his report. "I think that our role should be to make the thing financially secure as far as publications etc are concerned and thereby make it an attractive enough proposition for Aborigines to take over 'their day'," he concluded. Ken Colbung would again sit as National Chairman in 1971 with Pastor Frank Roberts, Kath Walker and Dulcie Flower joining him on the National Executive. In 1972, control of NADOC was given to the newly established Commonwealth Department of Aboriginal Affairs, and in 1974, the Committee had full Aboriginal representation for the first time. In 1975, National Aborigines Day became NAIDOC Week. By this point, Egan had already released several albums and begun to establish his reputation as a musical chronicler of outback life. He would go on to be a member of the first National Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation and serve as administrator of the Northern Territory from 2003 to 2007. NAIDOC Week will be marked 6-13 July.
SBS Australia
23-04-2025
- Politics
- SBS Australia
Makaratta hasn't been mentioned during the election campaign, but this Labor MP wants it back on the table
The Lingiari electorate honours Vincent Lingiari, a Gurindji man whose activism led to the first successful land rights claim, granted in 1975 by then Labor Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. It's also a seat which encompasses 99 per cent of the Northern Territory and has the highest proportion of Indigenous voters in the country. Labor has held Lingiari for all of the 21 st century. But Marion Scrymgour, the Labor MP elected to the House of Representatives on a razor-thin margin in 2022, is fully aware that every vote in the Northern Territory's 76 remote community is vital. 'I only won this seat by 900 votes the last time," she told Living Black's Karla Grant. "I'm very conscious of that, of working hard to make sure that I do my job." Facing a tough campaign to retain her seat, Scrymgour has priorities for a re-elected Labor government. Scrymgour appears to be a popular figure as she walks through the Todd Mall market in Alice Springs on a Sunday morning. There are smiles and waves as her constituents bail her up for quick chats. But behind the sunny mood is a determination to express the views of the people of Lingiari. Reflecting on the outcome of last year's Voice referendum, Scrymgour said there remained strong support for change among Aboriginal people in her electorate — and frustration that momentum had stalled. 'I think that Aboriginal people and communities want us to continue that journey." While Lingiari voted No in the referendum, the margin was smaller than in many other parts of the country. Data released in the wake of the Voice's defeat revealed that majority Indigenous communities overwhelmingly voted Yes. "You'd have to be tone deaf if you didn't get the message that the bush wanted change," said Scrymgour. "I think out of the 24 booths in the Northern Territory, we won 23 of those booths. "As a re-elected member in Lingiari, I'll do everything that I can ... to elevate those voices in government to make sure that we can take forward the other parts of voice, which is treaty and truth." "I don't disagree with an audit," she said. "[In] my electorate, there are a lot of labour hire companies that are not Indigenous, that are providing a lot of services into those remote Aboriginal communities for very little outcome. "There are some that are doing a great job, but there's a lot that need to be looked at,' she said. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has frequently visited Lingiari's main population centre of Alice Springs (Mparntwe) and highlighted problems of youth crime and domestic violence. While acknowledging that crime is an issue in Alice Springs Ms Scrymgour said, 'I think youth crime across Australia there are issues and I think it probably wouldn't hurt for the Prime Minister and all the ministers for youth to have a national cabinet that deals with youth crime across the board because we've got a mishmash of legislation that is just demonising young people." 'I'm sorry, I don't agree with locking children up as young as 10 in detention. "Rather than the punitive approach, we need to try and work with families so we get a better outcome for young people, rather than just locking them up.' As the campaign heads into its final weeks, Scrymgour spoke candidly about the immense personal challenges she's faced over the past year. 'I'm nervous. It's been hard work and there have been plenty of challenges," she said, reflecting on the deeply personal struggles she has encountered in recent months. Her daughter has been battling cancer, her sister has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, and her son continues to face struggles with addiction. Despite these challenges, Scrymgour remains resolute in her commitment to her role as a representative for her electorate. 'The biggest challenge is making sure I represent everybody and that their voices are heard loud and clear in Canberra.' Living Black airs Tuesdays at 8.30pm on NITV and is available on SBS On Demand after broadcast.
