Burnam Burnum
Striding across Woden Plaza
Yelling to my partner
A tall handsome
Aboriginal man
wearing a pin stripped suit
with tie
Short hair
With a beaming smile
A hug
introductions
A short conversation
He turned and walked into the crowd
Our discussion continued
By way of explanation
He was Harry Penrith
Who worked as a Liaison Officer to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs
Finding it difficult to fit in in the white man’s world
After 13 years in the Department of Agriculture
A fleeting meeting
Then lost in the crowd
Five years later
Living in Melbourne
We were at a festival in South Yarra
Walking through the crowd
Passing a seated aboriginal
In full kangaroo coat
A full white beard with long white hair
With a red head band
With traditional objects for sale
All laid out on a blanket
He raised his hand
stood up
Calling to us
We turned
It was Harry Penrith
An emotional
Spontaneous embrace ensued
my partner
had been his counsellor in Canberra
He could not survive in the white man’s world
So he went back to his ancestral roots
Just surviving
Standing
Chatting energetically
As his story unfolded
He took his great grandfathers name
Burnum Burnum
Meaning
Great warrior
As the crowd
Flowed around us
We hugged
And parted
lost up in the flow
It was January 26 1988
When on the news
Burnum Burnum takes possession of England
As a colonial outpost for the Aboriginal People of Australia
by planting an Aboriginal Flag on the white cliffs of Dover
The Burnum Burnum Declaration declares
I Burnum Burnum being a nobleman of ancient Australia do hereby take possession of England on behalf of the Aboriginal People
A stunning piece of theatre!
Finishing in
…to encourage Earth Repair Action to unite people, communities, religions and nations in a common, productive peaceful purpose.
A book was also published at that time
A Traveller’s guide to Aboriginal Australia
It started out by saying
As white Australians become more Australianised and see Australia as their homeland, there is going to be a need for acute appreciation of the mythologies which they inherit through the landscape
The book chronicled for non- aboriginal people the mythologies connected with the landmarks that are sacred to the Aborigines of Australia
After that
We followed his life as an actor, activist, author
A great Australian
Unaccustomed as I am to quoting John Howard
In this case we agree about Burnum Burnum
He was a very gracious man and strongly committed to the welfare of the Aboriginal Australians