Dhambit Munuŋgurr Ŋathi and the Ḏawu – Muŋgurrawuy fights the bulldozer

My Ŋathi (mother’s father) Muŋgurrawuy led the fight against the Nabalco mining company stealing our land on the Gove Peninsula in the 1970s. He took them to the Supreme Court and helped make the Bark Petition. But when they sent the bulldozers to destroy the sacred Tree of Knowledge, he had had enough. He painted himself with gapan (white clay) and stood with an axe in front of the bulldozers. The only way they could kill the tree was to first run him over. He showed no fear. His courage was rewarded, and that tree is still alive inside the massive processing plant.

Dhambit Munuŋgurr, 2022