Gurindji people
The Gurindji people are an Aboriginal group from the Victoria River area in the Northern Territory of Australia. Historically, they faced significant challenges during the colonial period when British settlers sought to establish cattle ranching in their homeland. As the pastoral industry grew in the late 19th century, the Gurindji became an essential part of the labor force, yet they were heavily exploited and paid far less than their white counterparts. Despite the pressures to abandon their ancestral lands, the Gurindji resisted displacement and adapted to the changing environment while enduring harsh working conditions.
In the 1960s, the Gurindji gained national attention through a significant strike led by activist Vincent Lingiari, aimed at demanding equal wages and legal ownership of their land. Supported by labor unions, their movement highlighted the injustices faced by Aboriginal workers and sought to reclaim their rights. The protest lasted several years, ultimately leading to some recovery of their ancestral land and the establishment of the Gurindji Aboriginal Corporation to negotiate their interests. The story of the Gurindji reflects the broader struggles of Aboriginal Australians for land rights and social justice in the face of colonial exploitation.
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Gurindji people
The Gurindji people are an Aboriginal group from Australia. During Australia’s colonial period, the Gurindji lived in the Victoria River area of the Northern Territory. When the British arrived in the region, they thought that the Victoria River region would be ideal for raising cattle. By the end of the nineteenth century, the Victoria River pastoral industry was thriving.
The Gurindji were determined to stay on their land, and the pastoral businesses had a constant need for cheap labour. They came to be an important part of the cattle industry, though they quickly became one of the most exploited labour forces in the country. It was legal to pay Aboriginal workers far less than White workers, which made them the preferred workforce of the pastoral industry. During the twentieth century, the Gurindji workers were supported by various unions when they organised a large-scale strike. They sought wages equal to those of their White counterparts. They also sought legal ownership of their ancestral land.
Conflicts
After James Cook claimed a large portion of Australia for Britain, the large colonial power decided to use the new land for a penal colony. They shipped prisoners from Britain to the new land, many under orders to never return, as a way to relieve overcrowding in British prisons. However, though a large continent, Australia was already occupied by more than 750,000 Aboriginal Australians who considered Australia their land and did not welcome the British.
British colonists quickly claimed some of the most fertile hunting grounds on the continent, defending their claims with military might. This, along with the implementation of European farming techniques, drastically altered much of the Australian landscape. These changes made it difficult for the Aboriginal peoples to practice their traditional way of life, causing tension to develop between the colonists and the Aboriginal peoples.
In many regions, such as Tasmania, the conflict between the settlers and Aboriginal Australians became violent. Both the Aboriginal peoples and the Australian settlers viewed the land as belonging to them, and each group was willing to defend its claim with violence. The British settlers quickly reduced the number of Aboriginal Australians living in Australia through violence and by unintentionally spreading diseases. The British became the most powerful military force on the continent. However, Aboriginal groups utilised guerrilla tactics to fight against the more numerous, better-funded British soldiers.
Overview
The Gurindji are Aboriginal Australians that trace their ancestry back to the Victoria River area of the Northern Territory. Like many Aboriginal peoples, when British colonists arrived in their area, the Gurindji were pressured to abandon their lands. However, the Gurindji managed to resist attempts to force them to move.
During the latter half of the nineteenth century, the pastures that the Gurindji called home were taken over by the ranching industry. In 1884, roughly one thousand cattle were in the region. Ten years later, this number increased to more than fifteen thousand. The large influx of cattle permanently changed the environment, making it difficult for the Gurindji to practice their traditional methods of agriculture.
To adapt, the Gurindji made themselves an integral part of the ranching system. They were determined to remain on their ancestral land, and the ranchers had a constant need for cheap labour. Soon, the Gurindji became one of the most important and heavily exploited workforces in the Victoria River area.
The Gurindji’s association with the Victoria River cattle industry continued into the twentieth century. In 1913, the government passed a bill forcing employers to provide their Aboriginal workers with compensation in the form of tobacco, clothes, food and tea. However, later reports showed that many employers were providing their workers with less than the legal minimum amount of compensation. Additionally, reports showed that abuse against Aboriginal women and child labour were commonplace. This caused tension between the cattle station owners and their Gurindji employees. This tension was exacerbated in 1914, when the international meatpacking firm Vestey Brothers purchased the businesses in the area, and then refused to pay wages to Aboriginal workers.
In 1965, the North Australian Workers Union (NAWU) took the side of the Aboriginal peoples. They appealed to the Australian government, seeking to amend the Northern Territory’s labour laws to remove any sections that discriminated against Aboriginal workers. This move was fiercely opposed by the pasture industry, which would be forced to spend significantly more money in paying its labour force.
The pastoral companies argued that the Aboriginal workers would struggle to adjust if their wages were suddenly increased to the legal minimum required for other ethnic groups. Instead, they wanted pay raises given to Aboriginal workers to be given gradually. This allowed the pastoral industry to continue to pay its Aboriginal workers as little as possible for as long as possible. Additionally, the first increases were delayed for three years.
Frustrated with the decision, in 1966 the Gurindji decided to organise a protest. Vincent Lingiari led two hundred Gurindji workers on a strike, and many labour unions followed suit. The strike continued for years, with Gurindji leaders travelling across Australia to rally support for their cause, which was the reclamation of their land as well as improved working conditions. Though their petition was initially denied by the government, the Gurindji continued to protest for seven years. They then reclaimed some of their original land and formed the Gurindji Aboriginal Corporation to negotiate on behalf of Aboriginal workers.
Bibliography
“British Settlement Begins in Australia.” History.com, 26 Jan. 2024, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/australia-day. Accessed 17 Jan. 2025.
“Colonial period, 1788 – 1901.” Australian War Memorial, 2020, www.awm.gov.au/articles/atwar/colonial#:~:text=British%20settlement%20of%20Australia%20began,colonies%20with%20little%20local%20assistance. Accessed 17 Jan. 2025.
“Colonisation.” Australians Together, 2020, australianstogether.org.au/discover/australian-history/colonisation/. Accessed 17 Jan. 2025.
“First Australian Penal Colony Established.” History.com, 2020, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-australian-penal-colony-established. Accessed 17 Jan. 2025.
“Gurindji Strike for Their Land.” Deadly Story, www.deadlystory.com/page/culture/history/Gurindji‗strike‗for‗their‗land. Accessed 17 Jan. 2025.
“Maintaining History: The Gurindji People’s ‘Truthful Histories.’” Cultural Survival, www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/maintaining-history-gurindji-peoples-truthful-histories. Accessed 17 Jan. 2025.