NJIMINJUMA1980

Title: Message stick created by Jimmy Njiminjuma regarding vehicle trespass

Description: Jon Altman 29.01.24: : In April/May 1980 there was a lot of talk about upgrading the vehicle track between the East Alligator and Maningrida which passes by Mumeka There was much opposition to this There were also some NT government road crews coming through. Back then people were pretty paranoid about mining and desecration of sacred sites. And road access was linked to land rights law that purported to give people freehold title to their land but maintain previously ‘gazetted’ roads. And they had moved to outstations for some peace and quiet. So there were disturbed by this possibility that never eventuated all the effort going into the Arnhem ‘Highway’ between Katherine and Gove. There are entries in my field diaries also help by AIATSIS about this, see reference to a meeting in entries 18 and 19 May 1980 01.02.2024 PK: AIATSIS catalogue data for ALTMAN.J01.BW-N03214_23 and ALTMAN.J01.BW-N03214_26 'Nyiminyuma carving a message stick' Place: Mangodbehgayo Camp, Maningrida region, North Central Arnhem Land, N.T. Place authority: Mangodbehgayo (Central Arnhem Land SD53-02);Maningrida (Central Arnhem Land NT SD53-02) Date:June 1980 Access rights: Open access Creator Name Authority: Altman, Jon C., 1954- Depositor: Altman, Jon C Photographer: Altman, Jon C

Message: Prevent government workers entering lands between East Alligator creek and Maningrida, to build the "Arnhem highway" between Katherine and Gove. JA: "In April/May 1980 there was a lot of talk about upgrading the vehicle track between the East Alligator and Maningrida which passes by Mumeka There was much opposition to this There were also some NT government road crews coming through Back then people were pretty paranoid about mining and desecration of sacred sites And road access was linked to land rights law that purported to give people freehold title to their land but maintain previously ‘gazetted’ roads And they had moved to outstations for some peace and quiet So there were disturbed by this possibility that never eventuated all the effort going into the Arnhem ‘Highway’ between Katherine and Gove There are entries in my field diaries also help by AIATSIS about this, see reference to a meeting in entries 18 and 19 May 1980"

Creator of Object: Jimmy Njiminjuma Sender: Jimmy Njiminjuma

Date Created: 1980

Notes on date created: Exact date

Item type: message stick in a private collection

Subtype: traditional

State/Territory: NT

Linguistic area 1: Chirila: Gunwinggu Austlang: N173 - Kuninjku Glottolog: mura1269

Collector: Jon Altman

Coordinates: 12°03'18.100800"S,134°13'51.898800"E  (-12.055028, 134.231083)

Notes on coordinates: Absolute coordinates for Maningrida, Northern Territory, per Google Maps. Wikipedia: Maningrida (Ndjébanna: Manayingkarírra, Kuninjku: Manawukan) is an Aboriginal community in the heart of the Arnhem Land region of Australia's Northern Territory.

Notes: Email from Jon Altman to Piers Kelly (26 September 2017): "I mainly recall one occasion when a message stick was prepared by a now deceased man Jimmy Njiminjuma in relation to vehicular trespass onto his country and ‘political negotiation’, I have the message stick somewhere back in Melbourne where I now live." PK replied on 24 January 2024: "Hi Jon, Following up after some years! I managed to find all your photographs at AIATSIS and they're terrific. I've just been putting some of the finishing touches on an article about the message stick database and it's prompting me to ask if you can photograph Jimmy Njiminjuma's message stick about vehicle trespass when you get the chance. If you remember any more of the context that would also be fantastic. In the meantime, can you estimate the year he made it? The most recent 'traditional' message sticks in the database are from 1979-1980 from Betty Meehan, so this would also correspond with your fieldwork period. All the best, Piers P.S. Your AIATSIS photos of Jimmy making message sticks are below and they are dated June 1980:" Jon replied on 28 January 2024: "Hi Piers That date is likely correct June 1980 although actual photo may have been taken in May Happy for you to use it, Jimmy the creator of the message stick passed away in 2004 All the best Jon" PK replied on same day: "Thanks Jon, Is this specific message stick the one about vehicle trespass that you mentioned in your email of 27 September 2017? If so do you have any more contextual details about that incident? And is the artefact itself in Melbourne? Sorry to pester! Since this represents a relatively recent use of message sticks in the Top End I'm especially interested. Cheers, Piers" Jon replied on 29 Jan: "Hi Piers Yes that is the one And yes it is in my possession In April/May 1980 there was a lot of talk about upgrading the vehicle track between the East Alligator and Maningrida which passes by Mumeka There was much opposition to this There were also some NT government road crews coming through Back then people were pretty paranoid about mining and desecration of sacred sites And road access was linked to land rights law that purported to give people freehold title to their land but maintain previously ‘gazetted’ roads And they had moved to outstations for some peace and quiet So there were disturbed by this possibility that never eventuated all the effort going into the Arnhem ‘Highway’ between Katherine and Gove There are entries in my field diaries also help by AIATSIS about this, see reference to a meeting in entries 18 and 19 May 1980 Hope this helps Cheers"

Media Files:

Data Entry: Piers Kelly, Nitzan Rotman

Related Entries: JUNUNWANGA1980