This clip shows Willigan (also known as Jo Ross), the Aboriginal employment officer at Fitzroy Crossing in Western Australia, and Kevin Oscar, another local man, recounting the recent history of the Indigenous people of the area. Both men discuss the effects of award wages granted to Indigenous workers on pastoral properties in the 1960s and the later handing back of traditional lands to the original owners. The clip ends with footage of preparations for a corroboree and includes some didgeridoo music.

Educational value points

• The clip reveals that Indigenous people in the Kimberley region of WA were dispossessed of their land in the late 1800s and forced from it in the 1960s; from the 1970s they have recovered parts of it. The first dispossession occurred when pastoralists moved in with cattle herds beginning in the 1860s. The second dislocation followed the award-wage decision of 1966 and the recovery of some land began in 1972.
• Until 1968 Indigenous people were able to maintain some contact with their country by living and working on cattle stations and moving around and caring for country in the wet season when pastoral work was in abeyance. In 1968, however, the 1966 decision of the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission to grant award wages to Aboriginal pastoral workers came into effect. Unwilling or unable to pay, pastoralists forced the people to leave their properties.
• As described by Willigan and Oscar, the people’s eviction from the cattle stations was a terrible blow that forced them into camps outside towns or onto missions such as the one at Fitzroy Crossing, which was operated by the United Aborigines Mission. Lack of employment, loss of access to their country and overcrowded conditions with disparate language groups in close proximity exacerbated their distress.
• Both Willigan and Oscar discuss the benefits of local Indigenous language groups regaining access to traditional lands by acquiring cattle-station leases. In 1972, after the election of the Whitlam Labor government, funds were allocated to ‘buy back’ pastoral properties to enable Indigenous people to care for their country, earn income and reinforce cultural integrity. Since then government funds have been used to purchase more than 70 pastoral properties.
• Willigan’s Fitzroy (2000) was produced by the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA), which was established in 1980 to promote Indigenous culture, language, dance and music and to provide training and employment opportunities for Indigenous people. CAAMA includes a film and television production company, radio network, recording studios and a record label, and is a major shareholder in the Alice Springs-based Imparja Television.

A yarn told to camera about Fitzroy Crossing, and how Indigenous people were moved around depending on shifting political environments.

Willigan's Fitzroy Synopsis

A documentary about Fitzroy Crossing presented through the eyes of local characters.

Willigan’s Fitzroy is part of the Nganampa Anwernekenhe series produced by Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) Productions. Nganampa Anwernekenhe means 'ours’ in the Pitjantjatjara and Arrernte lanuages, and the series aims to contribute to the preservation of Indigenous languages and cultures.

Curator's Notes

In Willigan’s Fitzroy the landscape of Fitzroy Crossing is introduced to us through the eyes of local man Jo Ross, nicknamed Willigan. The introduction to the film at first is disarming, as we hear the director talking with Willigan as they drive through the country in a four-wheel drive vehicle. The sound bite is what is usually cut from the film, but in this instance it sets up a style the director Warwick Thornton uses throughout the film.

The local folk though have interesting things to say about Fitzroy Crossing and the debate about whether to produce the land in a European agricultural context, or preserve the land through ecotourism is one occurring throughout Australia today. Ecotourism, which means that Indigenous culture and its preservation become necessary to attract the tourists, is positive in that it will not harm the environment. On the other hand, while Western agricultural techniques will increase productivity, it will devastate the natural resources. The characters speak with familiarity of Fitzroy Crossing, as well as the rich cultural heritage of the place.

Notes by Romaine Moreton