Wave Hill homestead through the eyes of the blokes who walked off

The Indigenous communities of Kalkarindji and Daguragu in the Northern Territory held a festival recently to celebrate the 45th anniversary of day the Gurindji people walked off Wave Hill Station.

It's a fascinating piece of Australian history.

It's a classic David and Goliath tale. The Gurindji people, bereft of any political or social support before the walk off, were tenacious and patient in their nine year struggle for land rights.

Walking around the sight of the old Wave Hill homestead with two old Gurindji fellas was an amazing way to recreate the story. Vesteys abandoned the site a few years after the walk off because they ran out of water and there's not much left now.

But Gus George and Paddy Dujack were both teenagers working on Wave Hill, and walked off with every other Aboriginal worker.

We started off at what they described as the "white fella" part of the homestead.

There's nothing there but an old shed and a few concrete slabs, but they told me this is where the managers house was, the single men's quarters, the kitchen, the shop. All those building had running water, electricity and solid floors.

They weren't allowed in any of those buildings.

Across the creek was where the Gurindji people lived, a few hundred metres away. There's very little left there, but by far the most noticeable feature is a couple of half-buried 44 gallon drums with hold cut in the top.

These were the toilets for the Aboriginal workers. A few concrete slabs were where the elderly Gurindji had huts with a concrete floor, a luxury compared to the harsh conditions they endured. There's nothing left where Gus and Paddy say the humpies that housed most of the Gurindji were.

They described them as not fit for dogs. Paddy says you had to get down on all fours to get in there, the floor was dirt, and as for power or water, forget it. They had to walk a couple of hundred metres to a bore to get water, and carry it back on a yoke.

"They treated us like dogs. We kept away from them, they didn't want us near them," says Paddy.

"We had a hard time, no wages, we used to work hard but there was not water supply into the house... and no money. Just a little bit of sugar and flour, that's it. We had to stay in the camp, there was no ceremony."

But it was hearing their recollections of the day they walked off that was most fascinating.

"Vincent (Lingiari) had come back from hospital... and we had a meeting that afternoon. We said we'd go up there and ask the manager for what we want: better wages, better food and better houses.

"The manager said "No, I won't do that'. Vincent said 'No, we're finished, we're striking now'."

Gus and Paddy were eager to share their story. They pulled up a few old tins to sit on under a pine tree and just talked - a living historical record.

While the 45th anniversary of the walk-off focused on the courage of the Gurindji strikers, the contribution made by the unions was also recognised.

Brian Manning was the person who delivered the first truckload of supplies about four days after the walk-off. Without that support, the strike may not have lasted.

"They had walked of previously, and were wondering if it was going to be like before. When that truck drove down the cutting there and onto the rough stones there was all this animation.

"It was a magic moment; it was just an absolute celebration and jubilation because help had arrived as promised."

Manning's Bedford truck has just been added to the National Heritage List, an indication of how important it was to the strike.

The festival also saw some big names play. Paul Kelly's solo set was a hit, but the highlight came when Kev Carmody and Dan Sultan joined him to sing the famous song about the Gurindji walk off. But what made it really special was that they invited the local kids up to sing on the stage with them.

"I feel connected to this place through the song, so when I was asked I came up straight away," Kelly says.

"It just started with the image of Gough Whitlam pouring the sand through Vincent Lingiari's hands, and when I found out a bit more about the walk off and found out it was nine years, I was struck by that, by the patience and perseverance needed to stick to your guns for that long in the face of lots of pressure and persuasion."

But there were also some very serious parts of the weekend. The march at the beginning of the festival walked down to the site on the Victoria River where the Gurindji first camped. The marchers carried banners calling for an end to the Northern Territory Intervention.

There was also an inaugural public lecture: the Vincent Lingiari Oration, in which one of the speakers Josie Crawshaw argued that the Federal Government's Indigenous Intervention returned the Gurindji and other Indigenous people to working for rations.

"It's ironic that in 2011 we're back having to work for this country, for basically a food card," she says.

Another speaker, from Amnesty International, expressed anger the Northern Territory Government's policy of 'growth communities', which will see Government services withdrawn from certain locations.

The message of the speakers was clear: Australia has made great progress since the Gurindji people walked off Wave Hill Station and surrounding properties, but there's still a long way to go yet.