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Yirrkala Bark Petition repatriation

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bark petition
Silas Roberts (left) and Galarrwuy Yunupingu with the Yirrkala bark petitions at Parliament House, Canberra, 1976 (Image: National Museum of Australia) 

The ‘missing’ Yirrkala Bark Petition – one of four sent by the Yolngu people of Northeast Arnhem Land to the Commonwealth Parliament in 1963 – will be repatriated to country in a community ceremony on December 7.  

Typed on paper and framed by traditional bark paintings, the petitions called for consultation with the local Yolngu clans before any mining proceeded.

Guest: Clare Wright, Professor of History and Public Engagement at La Trobe University

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