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A healing from the past, for the future

Sacha Molitorisz.

images from Dhakiyarr vs the King

Dhakiyarr vs the King Study Guide (Film Australia, PDF 240kb

May 10, 2004 - Tom Murray and Allan Collins have a remarkable story, and they'd prefer to let someone else tell it. It's about a blackfella called Dhakiyarr Wirrpanda from north-east Arnhem Land.

In 1933 this Yolngu tribal leader came across a policeman who had broken Aboriginal law by trespassing on Yolngu land. He had also chained up Dhakiyarr's wife. In accordance with black law, Dhakiyarr speared the policeman, Constable Albert McColl, through the leg. McColl died.

The retribution, in accordance with white law, was equally harsh. On the advice of a missionary, Dhakiyarr travelled to Darwin to face the Northern Territory Supreme Court, where he was sentenced to death for murder.

After lobbying by academics and unions, however, the High Court overturned the decision, ordering Dhakiyarr be freed. At the time, it was a hugely controversial result, recognising Aborigines should be treated equally before the law. "It was an amazing decision," Murray says.

But the Yolngu celebrations were short-lived: as soon as Dhakiyarr was released, he disappeared. Rumour had it he was killed, possibly by vengeful policemen, or by vigilantes. His remains have never been found.

Murray, a Manly resident with a deep love for Arnhem Land culture, has long been fascinated with Dhakiyarr. "I've spent a bit of time up there. I'd heard the story in whispers. It was such a significant trial of the time, so I'd read bits and pieces. And I thought to myself, 'I bet Dhakiyarr's family have an amazing story.' When I went to meet them, this raw, unreconciled story of wanting to know what happened to Dhakiyarr revealed itself."

When Dhakiyarr's descendants reconciled with the McColl family, Murray decided to make a film about them. As an experienced maker of radio documentaries who lacked film experience, he teamed up with Allan Collins, the cinematographer of Beneath Clouds.

Funding proved hard to raise - until Film Australia's National Interest Program saw the project's significance. So filming began, with the focus on two of Dhakiyarr's grandsons, Wuyal and Dhukal.

"In the Yolngu way, they call themselves sons of Dhakiyarr," says Murray. "To us they're his grandsons. The film is about Wuyal's and Dhukal's attempts to reconcile this raw wound after 70 years."

Last year, Wuyal and Dhukal sent a video letter to Clare Martin, the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, asking for the return of Dhakiyarr's remains. Alternatively, the brothers asked to hold a ceremony at Darwin's Supreme Court, where Dhakiyarr was sentenced to death. Martin agreed to the latter, and the ensuing scenes - featuring a meeting of Dhakiyarr's descendants and McColl's family - form the climax of the finished film, Dhakiyarr vs The King, a powerful piece of work. Last week, the filmmakers learnt they've been nominated in the best doco category at this year's Dendy Awards, scheduled during the Sydney Film Festival.

The Supreme Court ceremony had a reconciling effect on the Wirrpandas and the McColls. As Joan McColl of Narracan wrote to The Age last week: "The Wirrpanda family involved the McColl family in a wonderful healing Wukidi ceremony during which they apologised for Albert's death and presented to Alan McColl, his nearest living male relative, a ceremonial headpiece. In turn, gifts were presented from the McColl family and the two families now are in close, friendly contact."

Says Murray: "I think it's been a profound experience for the McColl family. Alan McColl is from Gippsland. He said to me a year ago he'd never even met a black person, and now he has a family of them."

In the process, the McColls have adopted a sporting legend: 24-year-old David Wirrpunda, a star with AFL team the West Coast Eagles. He spells his name differently, but he is Dhakiyarr Wirrpanda's great-grandson. Wuyal is his dad. Yesterday, Murray, Wuyal and Dhukal went to a West Coast game in Melbourne.

"It's the first time Wuyal has seen his son play football since he was a kid. David lives in Perth, and Wuyal is the leader of a community in north-east Arnhem Land," says Murray.

This week, Murray returns to his hometown for the Sydney big screen premiere of his film at the Chauvel in Paddington. Wuyal and Dhukal will attend. "It takes courage to acknowledge the past and to apologise, as Wuyal did to the McColls. That's been missing from the national debate, where we don't seem to have that leadership. Dhakiyarr going to face white law, that's showing leadership ... With Wuyal, his leadership was made very clear. He showed dignity and courage, and I think that's what people are responding to. And the same is true of Alan McColl - the McColls were willing to reconcile their own past."

One of the film's biggest strengths is that it lets the Wirrpandas tell their own story. "Where there is narration, the two brothers narrate," says Murray. "And I think the film was really affirming for them, especially now so many people are saying to them, 'You've done something really important for the Aboriginal debate. You've told a really important story.'

"After the screenings, people have been saying that it's the first time they've been given the privilege of gaining insight into an Aboriginal community, unmitigated by a white voice trying to explain it."

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

Dhakiyarr vs the King

Year: 2003
Production Company: Film Australia
Exec. Producer: Anna Grieve
Producer: Graeme Isaac
Director: Allan Collins
Tom Murray
Writer: Tom Murray
International Sales: Film Australia
Duration: 55 mins
SP Beta

In 1932, Dhakiyarr Wirrpanda, a respected Indigenous leader from Arnhem Land, was charged with the murder of a white policeman while trying to defend his family. Following his acquittal after a high court appeal, Dhakiyarr mysteriously disappeared. Seventy years later, the family of this revered Yolngu elder search for the truth surrounding his disappearance. Intertwining striking archival footage with personal testimonials, Dhakiyarr vs the King is an extraordinary investigation into the haunting silences of Australia's colonial past.

Source: Australian Centre for the Moving Image

Wuyall (left) and Dhukal Wirrpanda showing the pandanus "spear" at Dhuruputjpi Homeland that is a symbol of their father Dhakiyarr Wirrpanda, who was found guilty of murdering a policeman in 1934 and sentenced to death. "This spear", says Wuyall, "contains all his songs and dances and knowledge".

Tuckiar Vs. The King and Territory

29 June 2003 - In 1934 the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory sentenced Yolngu Clan Leader Dhakiyarr Wirrpanda to death for spearing a policeman. The controversial verdict was subsequently overturned by the High Court amid large-scale protests in Sydney and Melbourne. This is the story of a clash of justice systems, of white meets black, of land owners and land grabs, and what happens when Westminster collides with the frontier.

Last year, Producer Tom Murray traveled to Arnhem Land to examine this history, and this week the Northern Territory Government belatedly acknowledged the miscarriage of justice dealt out, more than seventy years ago, to Dhakiyarr Wirrpanda, with the unveiling of a memorial outside Parliament House in Darwin, dedicated to the Yolngu elder and his family.

Source: ABC 'Hindsight'

Further information:

• Dhakiyarr vs the King Study Guide (Film Australia, PDF 240kb)
• Rabbit-Proof Central: film clips and info

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