Yami Lester

Anti-nuclear weapons activist

• Born: 1949
• Birthplace: Walyatjata, South Australia
• Died: July 21, 2017
• Place of death: Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia

Significance: After childhood exposure to nuclear fallout blinded him and sickened and killed many in his Aboriginal community, Yami Lester became an anti-nuclear weapon activist. His campaign aimed at the British and Australian governments was instrumental in gaining restitution to those affected as well as clean-up efforts for Aboriginal land. He was also active in pursuing Aboriginal rights, including the return of ancestral lands to Indigenous Australians.

Background

Yaminya Lester was born in the early 1940s in Walyatjata in South Australia. He sometimes used the names James or Jim. Lester was raised by his mother, Pingkai, and his stepfather, Kanytji. His father was a white man, Dick Lander, whom Lester never met. Lester also had several older brothers. He grew up learning how to live in the Australian bush as his Yankunytjatjara ancestors had for generations.

One day in 1953 when he was about ten, Lester was outside playing with a handmade toy. He and those around him heard a loud boom and felt the ground shake. Several more loud sounds followed. Then Lester and the others saw a black cloud of mist move quietly toward them. The mist was shiny and oily, and it covered everything, including plants, the surface of water, and the people.

Within a short time, the devastating effects of the black mist became apparent. People of all ages became ill, vomiting, and suffering from diarrhea. Skin lesions appeared and eyes burned so badly that people clawed at them in an effort to ease the pain. Many suffered temporary or permanent blindness, including Lester, who lost sight in his left eye almost immediately.

Several people became very ill, including Lester’s uncle. The condition that caused the skin sores and other symptoms of illness eventually killed him. Others died of dehydration because the oily film made the water supply undrinkable. Lester’s community moved away from the area.

As he grew up, he worked with horses as a stockman. During his teen years, Lester became ill like the others had years earlier. He developed a condition called trachoma that resulted in the surgical removal of one eye. He was blind in the remaining eye.

After the loss of his sight, Lester worked for a time in a factory associated with the Blind Institute. For nearly fourteen years, he made brushes and brooms there. He learned Braille, English, and cricket. Eventually, a doctor offered to try an operation to graft a new cornea to his existing eye, but the effort failed.

Eventually, Lester became an interpreter and toyed with the idea of becoming a missionary as a way to help the Aboriginal people. Instead, he joined the South Australian branch of the Aboriginal Advancement League. He began helping people get government help with food and other needs through a church organization. In 1976, this led to opportunities to advocate for the land rights of Indigenous communities.

Life’s Work

As Lester began campaigning for Indigenous land rights, he also began drawing attention to the situation that caused his blindness and resulted in long-lasting health problems for others in his community. The source of the black mist was determined to be nuclear tests conducted by the British and Australian governments. Between 1952 and 1963, twelve major nuclear tests and hundreds of smaller tests were conducted in South Australia and off the country’s western coast. For many years, both governments denied that the tests happened and ignored the effects, even as acres of land and countless people suffered in the aftermath.

The particular test that affected Lester was the result of Totem 1, the code name for the second British test detonation on October 14, 1953, at Maralinga. Lester began lobbying for recognition of the effects of the testing on the Aboriginal people, compensation for those affected, cleanup of affected ancestral lands, and an end to nuclear weapons and testing. In 1984, Lester led an Aboriginal delegation to England to meet with British officials about the testing. He was instrumental in gaining assurances that the British would cooperate with an Australian investigation into the matter. That investigation eventually revealed that weather conditions redirected the effects of the explosion in an unexpected direction and created fallout at a rate more than three times what was predicted. It was acknowledged that those conducting the tests should have canceled them that day because of the weather conditions.

Lester continued to advocate for restitution for those affected by the nuclear tests, especially the 1,800 from his community and nearby. Largely due to his efforts, restitution was made and the affected community also received special health care coverage. Lester also lobbied for decontamination of the affected area and the return of all affected ancestral lands to the Aboriginal communities to which they belonged. In addition, he shared his love of the land in a children’s book entitled Learning from the Land, which was published in 2013.

Lester died on July 21, 2017, in Alice Springs. His family was offered a state funeral. He was buried in his ancestral land.

His accomplishments are remembered in a photo display at the National Portrait Gallery and immortalized in a 1987 song called “Maralinga” by Paul Kelly. He also authored Yami: The Autobiography of Yami Lester (Jukurrpa Books).

Impact

Lester’s efforts resulted in recognition of the harm caused by nuclear testing and financial compensation for his people. He also raised awareness of the hazards of nuclear weapons even in the testing stages, and lobbied for an international ban on nuclear weapons use and against the storage of nuclear-contaminated materials in Australia. In 1981 he was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for his service toward Aboriginal welfare. His children carried on with his fight. His daughter, Karina, lobbied the Australian prime minister in 2023 to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. She continued to share the stories of what happened to her father, other relatives, and their community in 1953 and the lasting effects nuclear testing has had on the Aboriginal community.

Personal Life

While he was recovering from the corneal graft operation, Lester met a woman named Lucy. Like Lester, her mother was Aboriginal, and her father was White. They fell in love and married in June 1966. They had three children: Leroy, Rosemary, and Karina.

Bibliography

“Black Mist: The Impact of Nuclear Weapons on Australia.” ICan Australia, icanw.org.au/resources/publications/. Accessed 21 June 2023.

Blanco, Claudianna. “Farewell Tjamu Yami Lester, the Man Who Spoke Strong for Anangu.” NITV, 8 Aug. 2017, www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/farewell-tjamu-yami-lester-the-man-who-spoke-strong-for-anangu/jmb6eb0yn. Accessed 21 June 2023.

Damjanovic, Dijana. “Yami Lester: Aboriginal Activist, Elder and Nuclear Campaigner Dies Aged 75.” ABC News, 21 July 2017, www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-22/blind-aboriginal-activist-yami-lester-dies/8734328. Accessed 21 June 2023.

“Karina’s Father Went Blind at Emu Field. Now, She’s Fighting for a Treaty on Nuclear Weapons.” Special Broadcasting Service, 14 June 2023, www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/karinas-father-went-blind-at-emu-field-now-shes-fighting-for-a-treaty-on-nuclear-weapons/g67uk5oea. Accessed 21 June 2023.

Lester, Yami. Yami: The Autobiography of Yami Lester.IAD Press, 1993.

“Meeting Yami Lester.” Black Mist Burnt Country, 29 Sept. 2014, blackmistburntcountry.com.au/index.php/2014/09/29/meeting-yami-lester/. Accessed 21 June 2023.

“Yami Lester OAM – 24 August 1941 to 21 July 2017 R.I.P.” Coober Pedy News and Events, 22 July 2017, cooberpedytimes.com/2017/07/22/yami-lester-oam-24-august-1941-to-21-july-2017-r-i-p/. Accessed 21 June 2023.

“Yami Lester: Tributes Follow Death of Aboriginal Elder and Maralinga Activist.” Guardian, 22 July 2017, www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/jul/23/yami-lester-tributes-follow-death-of-aboriginal-elder-and-maralinga-activist. Accessed 21 June 2023.