Published in Overland Issue 257 Summer 2024 · Poetry Gurindji blues Galarrawy Yunupingu and Vincent Lingiari Poor bugger me Gurindji Me bin sit down this country Long time before Lord Vestey Allabout land belongin’ to me Poor bugger me Gurindji. Poor bugger blackfellow this country Long time work no wages we Work for good old Lord Vestey Little bit plour, chugar and tea For Gurindji From Lord Vestey O poor bugger me. Poor bugger me Gurindji My name Vincent Lingiari Me talk allabout Gurindji Daguragu[1] place for weHome for we Gurindji. But poor bugger blackfella this country Gov’ment boss him talk long we Build you ’ouse with ’lectricity But at Wave Hill for can’t you see Wattie Creek belong to Lord Vestey O poor bugger me. Poor bugger me Lingiari Still me talk long Gurindji Daguragu place for we Home for we Gurindji. Poor bugger me Gurindji Up come Mr. Frank Hardy ABSCHOL too and talk long we Givit hand long Gurindji Buildim ’ouse and plantim tree Long Wattie Creek For Gurindji. But poor bugger blackfella this country Gov’ment law him talk long we Can’t givit land long blackfella see, Only spoilim Gurindji O poor bugger me Gurindji. Poor bugger me Gurindji Peter Nixon talk long we Buy you own land Gurindji Buyim back from Lord Vestey O poor bugger me Gurindji. Poor bugger blackfella Gurindji Spose we buyim back country What you reckon proper fee? Might be plour, chugar and tea From the Gurindji To Lord Vestey. O poor bugger me, O Wiyaripa,[2] Marndiala,[3] Poor bugger me fella, Poor bugger GURINDJI. Written by Ted Egan for Galarrawy Yunupingu and Vincent Lingiari “Gurindji blues” was issued on a 45 r.p.m. single by R.C.A. Victor in 1971. First published in Overland 49—1971 [1] Gurindji word for Wattie Creek. Wattie Creek entered Australian folklore as the birthplace of the Aboriginal land-rights movement when Prime Minister Gough Whitlam visited the Gurindji people to grant them deeds to their land. [2] Sorry. [3] Literally, poor fellow (bugger). Galarrawy Yunupingu Galarrawy Yunupingu, a member of Gumatj clan of the Yolngu people, entered the struggle for land rights in the early 1960s. Yunupingu became a very prominent leader and strong voice on behalf of Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory and Australia. He was Chairman of the Northern Land Council from 1977–2004 and in 2001 was elected as co-chair of the Aboriginal Development Consultative Forum in Darwin. His honours include Australian of the Year (1978), the Order of Australia (1985), and an honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) from the University of Melbourne. More by Galarrawy Yunupingu › Vincent Lingiari Vincent Lingiari was a Kadijeri man. He led the Gurindji people off Wave Hill station in 1966. In 1975, in a now famously symbolic gesture, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam poured earth into Lingiari’s hand to mark the giving of a lease of 3300 square kilometres to the Muramulla Gurindji Company. Lingiari continued to play a leadership role as the Gurindji people established this company on lands finally recognised as belonging to them. Vincent Lingiari has become a national iconic figure representing, more broadly, the struggle of Aboriginal people to have their rights to land recognised. More by Vincent Lingiari › Overland is a not-for-profit magazine with a proud history of supporting writers, and publishing ideas and voices often excluded from other places. If you like this piece, or support Overland’s work in general, please subscribe or donate. Related articles & Essays 5 November 2025 · Poetry Force posture agreement Miroslav Sandev The men of Darwin have all taken their rottweilers / out for a walk at the same time. / For our protection. Like Pine Gap: / all those big white eyes that scan / the darkening horizon. / The eyes stay woke, so that we may sleep. / Or so they say. 1 22 August 202522 August 2025 · Poetry starmight K.A Ren Wyld Ending genocide and apartheid is the story. Palestinian liberation is the story. / Aboriginal rights is the story. Truth, justice, treaties and land back is the story. / Global Indigenous peoples’ solidarity and joy is the story. Kinship is the story.
