Hundreds march to mark 60th anniversary of the historic Wave Hill Walk-Off

To mark 60 years since the historic Wave Hill Walk-Off, more than 1,000 people have marched from Kalkarindji to Victoria River as part of the annual Gurindji Freedom Day Festival. The 1966 strike brought national attention to the harsh living conditions and poor wages of Aboriginal pastoral workers, leading to the birth of the land rights movement. A Gurindji traditional owner says while a lot of progress has been made, Vincent Lingiari's vision for economic prosperity for his people has not yet been fully realised. More than 1,000 people have marched from Kalkarindji to the banks of the Victoria River to mark the 60th anniversary of the Wave Hill Walk-Off, a pivotal moment in Australia's land rights movement. The 1966 walk-off led by Vincent Lingiari began as a strike over pay and conditions for Aboriginal workers, but morphed into a call for land to be given back so the Gurindji people could work a cattle station of their own. The Gurindji ultimately became the first Aboriginal people to receive land back from the Commonwealth, nine years after their strike began. Speaking on Friday at the annual Gurindji Freedom Day Festival, the son of a key unionist who brought national attention to the walk-off in 1966 urged the next generation of Gurindji leaders to take inspiration from their elders. "I want to say to the young people here today, this is your story," Brian Manning Junior said. "You are the first people that stood up and said, 'We won't accept this anymore, this is not right; it's not right that people are treated this way'." Reflecting on the moment he met Mr Lingiari as a young boy in the 70s, Mr Manning Junior described the revered Aboriginal rights activist as having a "commanding" presence. "He had an aura about him, you just knew he was in charge. He didn't have to say anything — he would gesture or raise a hand, and he was respected," he said. Gurindji traditional owner Roslyn Frith said this weekend was a reminder that her people were "silent achievers". "We do it for our people, for our community. It's what makes us so proud of who we are," she said. The 60th anniversary brought more special guests to the community, such as Kerry Gibbs, who as a 14-year-old helped the unionists who trucked supplies in to the striking workers in 1966. Mr Gibbs helped to lead the anniversary march, driving a restored Bedford truck similar to the ones used at the time. "We had flour, sugar, beef," Mr Gibbs said. "In realistic terms, had it have not been for that food, the station would have broken them. "Vincent said they probably had another couple of weeks, and they were starting to panic because there's only so many fish in the billabong." Mr Gibbs said the truckers feared retribution for supporting the strikers, and moved carefully and avoided "stopping anywhere" on their way down from Darwin. In some places, his associates would "break off branches and feather-dust our tracks". A shipment of the coins has been sent to the region to be distributed in communities including Kalkarindji, Daguragu and Lajamanu. Gurindji traditional owner Rob Roy said the mint had collaborated closely with Gurindji elders on the design. "It's got 'unity' there," he said of the design. "It means bringing everyone together united as one. "People talk about dividing Australia into black and white; we want to bring that together. "We're protecting it, we're preserving our culture and the history of this place — it did change Australia." Mr Roy said a lot of progress had flowed from the walk-off, but that Mr Lingiari's vision for the economic prosperity of his people was yet to be fully realised. "We still have struggle, with housing, education and health," he said. "I just hope tackling that now, we don't see that in the future — we see healthy living. "That's what [Mr Lingiari] fought for, he fought for better living."