Reaction to Attrition; The Ngukurr Strike of 1970

Rival Constructions of Traditional Aboriginal Ownership in the Limmen Bight Land Claim

“…Two families, the Daniels and Joshuas, dominate the internal competition of the core. Ngukurr politics has been the subject of a number of papers (e.g, Bern 1976, Thiele 1982. 7 The Alawa were not so disadvantaged.…”

“…Indigenous control of their land has long been an important political issue among the people of the Roper region. It was reported during negotiations for Government control of Ngukurr in the mid-1960s and was a central issue in the strike against Government control in 1970 (see Bern 1976). This struggle concentrated on the town of Ngukurr and surrounding country within Arnhem Land.…”

‘They Don’t Dance Corroboree Any More’: Youth Relations to Authority, Leadership and Civic Responsibility in a Remote Aboriginal Community

“…Then they galloped! He was also a driving force behind the community strike in 1970 (Bern 1976), which was an effort to achieve fair wages and recognition of Aboriginal ownership of the land: I said to them, 'we'll go on strike, take all the children out from schools'. They thought I was joking.…”

Is The Premise Of Egalitarianism Inequality?

“…There were collective activities by and on behalf of some specific section of the community in furtherance of their particular interests. Two quite different examples of this were the organisation of major religious cult performances (Bern 1979) and the conduct of a strike, first by the workers, then, by the community, against the authorities (Bern 1976). Neither of these resulted from decisions taken at village meetings.…”