Yolngu Bark petition

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The Yolngu Bark Petition (ger .: bark = bark), also Yirrkala Bark Petition called, was the first petition , which was passed in 1963 on a painted tree bark and typewritten text on paper in the Australian Parliament. It was traditionally painted with ocher and decorated with text in both English and Gumatj, an indigenous language. This petition was of great importance for the inclusion of the human rights of the indigenous population in the Australian constitution , moreover it is considered a historical document of this democracy and the starting point of the land rights movement of the Aborigines .

The petition was signed by 13 leading representatives of the Yolngu Aboriginal clan from the Gove Peninsula in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory .

occasion

When Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies announced in February 1963 that his government had approved the mining of a large bauxite deposit on the Gove Peninsula, protests erupted from the Aborigines living there. They feared that their land rights could be violated and their sacred sites destroyed. The liberal-conservative- led government replied that it had received a dismantling permit from the local population. It was later revealed that she had only consulted representatives from the Methodist Overseas Mission , who ran the Aboriginal Mission in Yirrkala . No Aboriginal leader had been asked. Government opposition officials visited the Yolngu in July 1963 and advised them to petition. The petition known as the Yolgnu Bark Petition was handed over on August 14, 1963, as were two other petitions on tree bark later. Because the Aboriginal concerns were not met, they filed lawsuits in court, which were dismissed.

Nevertheless, the mining company at the time, Nabalco, offered a compensation payment, thereby recognizing the land rights of the Aborigines and declaring that they would respect the sacred places of the Aborigines. In 2007, Rio Tinto took over the Gove bauxite mine, and the Rirratjingu, Gumatj and Galpu Traditional Owners , the Northern Land Council and Rio Tinto signed a contract to operate the Gove bauxite mine in 2011 for a period of 42 years until 2053.

meaning

The 1963 petition was the only one on display in Parliament House in Canberra , which also features the Magna Carta and the Australian Constitution. Due to its special form, this petition attracted national and international attention. It is also understood in Australia as an example of a bridge between the legal and cultural conceptions of the Aborigines and the whites. The Yolgnu Bark Petition made an important contribution to the struggle of the Aborigines for equality in Australian society.

Prior to the Yolngu Bark Petition, there were already Aboriginal petitions that also had implications for Australian law, which were given either to Queen Victoria or to British colonial governments. Significant for the development of Aboriginal land rights prior to the Yolngu Bark Petition were the Batman's Treaty (1835), the Wybalenna Petition (1847) and Coranderrk Petition (1882). Other petitions on tree bark that were of great concern followed the Yolngu Bark petition in 1968, 1988, 1998 and 2008.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ foundingdocs.gov.au : Documenting a Democray. Yirrkala bark petitions 1963 , in English, accessed February 1, 2013
  2. ↑ a b c australia.gov.au ( Memento of March 24, 2012 in the Internet Archive ): Indigenous Bark petitions: Indigenous art and reform for the rights of Indigenous Australians , in English, accessed on January 30, 2013
  3. ↑ riotintoalcan.com (PDF; 513 kB): Gove , in English, accessed on January 30, 2013