I was fortunate to meet Gough Whitlam several times at the NSW Parliament … Johno Johnson even shouted us a drink at the Strangers bar … a rare feast as Johno used to be the bank and ruffle ticket robber not a generous shouter or giver …
Like Vaclav Havel, Gough knew how to save and stir the soul of a nation …
From Little Tweets big Tweets Grow: "Vincent Lingiari, I solemnly hand to you these deeds as proof, in … law, that these lands belong to the Gurindji people and I put into your hands part of the earth itself as a sign that this land will be the possession of you and your children forever"
Paul Kelly: From little things big things growFrom little things big things grow
Gather 'round people, I'll tell you a storyAn eight-year long story of power and prideBritish Lord Vestey and Vincent LingiariWere opposite men on opposite sidesVestey was fat with money and muscleBeef was his business, broad was his doorVincent was lean and spoke very littleHe had no bank balance, hard dirt was his floor
From little things big things growFrom little things big things grow
Gurindji were working for nothing but rationsWhere once they had gathered the wealth of the landDaily the oppression got tighter and tighterGurindji decided they must make a standThey picked up their swags and started off walkingAt Wattie Creek they sat themselves downNow it don't sound like much but it sure got tongues talkingBack at the homestead and then in the town
From little things big things growFrom little things big things grow
Vestey man said, "I'll double your wages18 quid a week you'll have in your hand"Vincent said, "Uh-uh we're not talking about wagesWe're sitting right here 'til we get our land"Vestey man roared and Vestey man thunderedYou don't stand the chance of a cinder in snowVince said, "If we fall, others are rising"
From little things big things growFrom little things big things grow
Then Vincent Lingiari boarded an airplaneLanded in Sydney, big city of lightsAnd daily he went 'round softly speaking his storyTo all kinds of men from all walks of lifeAnd Vincent sat down with big politicians"This affair, " they told him "It's a matter of state""Let us sort it out while your people are hungry"Vincent said, "No thanks, we know how to wait"
From little things big things growFrom little things big things grow
Then Vincent Lingiari returned in an airplaneBack to his country once more to sit downAnd he told his people, "Let the stars keep on turningWe have friends in the south, in the cities and towns"Eight years went by, eight long years of waiting'Til one day a tall stranger appeared in the landAnd he came with lawyers and he came with great ceremonyAnd through Vincent's fingers poured a handful of sand
From little things big things growFrom little things big things grow
That was the story of Vincent LingiariBut this is the story of something much moreHow power and privilege can not move a peopleWho know where they stand and stand in the law
From little things big things growFrom little things big things grow
From little things big things growFrom little things big things growFrom little things big things growFrom little things big things grow
From little things big things growFrom little things big things growFrom little things big things growFrom little things big things grow
From little things big things growFrom little things big things grow
The song was co-written by Kelly and Carmody, and is based on the story of the Gurindji Strike (also known as the Wave Hill walk-off) and in particular the role of the Gurindji leader of the strikers, Vincent Lingiari.It describes how the Gurindjis' claim to their traditional lands back from the cattle station on which they worked (owned by UK company Vesteys and called Wave Hill Station) sparked the Indigenous land rights movement.
The nine-year protest won public support and eventually led to the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976, which provides the basis upon which Aboriginal Australian people in the Northern Territory can claim rights to land based on traditional occupation (native title), and the power of veto over mining and development on those lands.
On 16 August 1975, a small part of their land was handed back to the Gurindji people on a 30-year-lease by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, a symbolic and powerful moment in history