The Founder of Garma: Yunupingu's Legacy

Yunupingu. His name means ‘the sacred rock that stands against time’.

He was a master of the ceremonies and a keeper of the songlines of the Yolŋu people.

He held the deep backbone names of the country and the sacred knowledge of his people.

His totems were fire, rock and bäru (saltwater crocodile).

His name is synonymous with some of the nation’s most significant events – the Yirrkala Bark Petitions, the Gove Land Rights case, the Aboriginal Land Rights Act, the Barunga Statement, the Native Title Act and the Voice.

With his Yolŋu kin, Yunupingu gifted the nation the Garma  Festival, which showcased Yolŋu miny-tji (art) bunggul (dance), manikay (song) and story-telling to a national audience, and which today leads discussion and debate on issues affecting Yolŋu and other Indigenous people.

Although his influence reached the farthest boundaries of the country, he lived his entire life in Yirrkala and Gunyaŋara, among his people.

As his eldest daughter, Binmila, said at his public memorial in May 2022: “Yunupingu lived his entire life on his land, surrounded by the sound of bilma (clapsticks), yidaki (didgeridoo) and the manikay (sacred song) and dhulang (sacred designs) of our people. He was born on our land, he lived all his life on our land and he died on our land secure in the knowledge that his life’s work was secure.