Big Bill Neidjie
Big Bill Neidjie was a prominent Aboriginal elder from the Kakadu region of Australia's Northern Territory, recognized as the last fluent speaker of the Gaagudju language. Born on the East Alligator River, Neidjie spent his childhood learning traditional knowledge from his family, despite limited formal education. His life's work included various roles, from working at timber-mill camps to serving at a radar station during World War II. Neidjie played a crucial role in establishing Kakadu National Park in 1979, which was managed in partnership with the Aboriginal community, and he served as a ranger and cultural advisor, integrating Indigenous knowledge into park management.
In recognition of his contributions to conservation, he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1989. Neidjie was dedicated to preserving his culture and shared many traditional stories with researchers, believing that such knowledge should not be lost. He published several books, including "Australia's Kakadu Man," which explored his deep connection to the land and the importance of traditional practices. Neidjie was affectionately known as "Big Bill" due to his stature and gained recognition as "Kakadu Man." He famously organized his own wake to hear the tributes from friends and family before his passing.
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Subject Terms
Big Bill Neidjie
Activist and environmentalist
- Born: Between 1911 and 1913
- Birthplace: Northern Territory, Australia
- Died: May 23, 2002
- Place of death: Northern Territory, Australia
Significance: Big Bill Neidjie was an Australian Aboriginal activist and environmentalist. He was instrumental in the creation of Australia’s Kakadu National Park in 1979 and helped guide its management using traditional knowledge. Neidjie was the last fluent speaker of the Gagudju language. In order to preserve his peoples’ heritage and cultural knowledge, he broke from tradition and shared much of his knowledge with anthropologists and other “non-initiates.”
Background
Bill Neidjie was born at Alawanydajawany on the East Alligator River in the Kakadu region of Australia’s Northern Territory. His father was Nadampala of the Bunitj Clan people and his mother was Lucy Wirlmakaof from the Ulbuk clan of the Amurdak people. He spent most of his childhood on Bunitj Clan land.
Neidjie attended the Oenpelli Mission but only received a few years of formal education. Instead, he learned the traditions of his land and people from his father and grandfather. His father was shot and wounded in the back by buffalo hunter Rodney Spencer, and Neidjie also witnessed the death of another relative by buffalo hunter Joe Cooper. After the death of his father, Neidjie followed his mother to Coopers Creek where the two camped and lived on bush food.
Life’s Work
Starting around the age of twenty, Neidjie held numerous jobs around Australia. These positions usually compensated him with items like tea, sugar, meat, flour, or tobacco instead of money. Some of his jobs included working at timber-mill camps, hunting turtles, providing firewood, and loading and unloading small sailing ships called luggers. During World War II (1939–1945), he helped in the defense of Australia by working at the radar station in Cape Don. He was in Darwin during the Japanese bombings in 1942 and helped local Aboriginal people during and after the event. In the 1960s and 1970s Neidjie worked as a gardener and forester. Around this time, he became known for his physical stature and strength—he was capable of carrying two-hundred-liter fuel drums across his shoulders.
Neidjie was instrumental in the decision to lease his traditional lands to the Commonwealth of Australia in order to establish Kakadu National Park in 1979. Kakadu was Aboriginal-run in joint management with the Commonwealth of Australia. After the park’s establishment, Neidjie served as a ranger. Later, he would serve as a senior cultural advisor to the park, supplying researchers and rangers with Indigenous knowledge about the land. Much of this knowledge was integrated into the park’s management policies, and it was integral in Kakadu gaining World Heritage status. In 1989, Neidjie was awarded the Order of Australia for his contributions to conservation.
Neidjie has been the subject of several television programs, documentaries, and books including 1990’s Kakadu Man and 2001’s Bill’s Wake. In February 1988, he was featured in National Geographic Magazine. He was also the focus of National Geographic’s documentary “Twilight of the Dreamtime.”
Impact
Many Indigenous Australian cultures consider passing down traditional secrets to “non-initiates” (outsiders, or those who have not been initiated into the clan) a serious taboo. However, Neidjie broke this tradition because he realized that if he took his traditional knowledge to the grave, it might end with him. Neidjie was the last fluent speaker of the Gagudju language. He said he hoped that his culture might thrive again, with his descendants picking up the pieces in the future.
He told many of his stories to anthropologist Stephen Davis, photographer Mark Lang, teacher Sarah George, and others. In George’s book, GAMU - The Dreamtime Stories, Life & Feelings of Big Bill Neidjie, Neidjie explains how his dreaming is real and alive, and how it explains life. After they met in 1995, Neidjie sent George a series of his peoples’ dreamtime stories. The book was published in 2023, twenty-one years after his death. Neidjie also published a few books of his own: 1986’s Australia’s Kakudu Man and 1989’s Story about Feeling. His books delved into his deep feelings about country and knowledge of its traditions and culture. The texts also stressed the importance of managing land in traditional ways.
Personal Life
Neidjie was known as Big Bill because of his physical size. He also became known more widely as Kakadu Man, because of title of his first book. He had a son named Jonathan Yarramarrna.
He famously organized and attended his own wake a year before his actual death, saying he wanted to be around to hear the nice things that people said about him. The event was attended by politicians, judges, scientists, park rangers, friends, and relatives. Many gathered again after his death.
Bibliography
“Big Bill Neidjie.” Alchetron, 14 Sept. 2022, alchetron.com/Big-Bill-Neidjie. Accessed 20 June 2023.
“Bill Neidjie.” Magabala Books, www.magabala.com/collections/bill-neidjie. Accessed 20 June 2023.
“Bill Neidjie OAM.” National Portrait Gallery, 2021, www.portrait.gov.au/people/bill-neidjie-1913. Accessed 20 June 2023.
“GAMU - The Dreamtime Stories, Life & Feelings of Big Bill Neidjie.” Charles Darwin University Australia Bookshop, 2023, bookshop.cdu.edu.au/products/9780648952756. Accessed 20 June 2023.
McCarthy, Isaac. “The Impending Demise of Australian Indigenous Languages and Why Protecting and Preserving Them is Integral to Post-Colonial Reconciliation.” The Lovepost, 5 Mar. 2021, www.thelovepost.global/decolonise-your-mind/articles/impending-demise-australian-indigenous-languages-and-why-protecting. Accessed 20 June 2023.
“Old Man’s Story: The Last Thoughts of Kakadu Elder Bill Neidjie.” The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, aiatsis.gov.au/publication/35087. Accessed 20 June 2023.
“Record.” National Library of Australia, catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/4367339. Accessed 20 June 2023.
“The Man who Attended his Own Wake.” The Sydney Morning Herald, 17 June 2002, www.smh.com.au/national/the-man-who-attended-his-own-wake-20020617-gdfdey.html. Accessed 20 June 2023.