Directors Tom Murray and Allan Collins present what happened to Dhakiyarr Wirrpanda by allowing the Yolngu people of northeast Arnhem Land to tell their own story, in their own way.
"These people are the master storytellers," Allan Collins says. "Yolngu have a way of telling stories; it is oral, it is physical. And we as filmmakers did our best to allow their story to be told in their own natural way. They are talking directly to the people watching the film."
Early in Dhakiyarr vs the King, brothers Dhukal and Wuyal Wirrpanda talk straight to camera, addressing the viewer directly: "We want to know where the old man Dhakiyarr is buried," Dhukal declares. Then he asks: "Who knows the real story? Who last saw him?" Unanswered questions are part of the mystery of Dhakiyarr - found guilty in the Darwin Supreme Court of Constable Albert McColl's murder and jailed in Fannie Bay in the early 1930s.
The guilty verdict was subsequently overturned. "It was an extraordinary event in 1934 for the High Court to overturn the Supreme Court decision and set Dhakiyarr free," says Tom Murray. "It was the first time the High Court recognised an Aboriginal person's right to be treated equally and fairly before the law; an issue we are still grappling with today." And Tom Murray was intrigued by the mystery of what had happened to Dhakiyarr.
"Dhakiyarr disappeared in Darwin on the day of his release. It was an incredible mystery and I went to Arnhem Land to make a radio documentary about it.
"I met Dhukal, who is a descendant of Dhakiyarr. He was Dhakiyarr's grandson, but in Yolngu terms, is regarded as Dhakiyarr's son. For years, Dhukal had wanted to hold a traditional funeral ceremony for Dhakiyarr," says Tom Murray. As Dhukal explains in the film, the funeral is an extremely important ceremony in Yolngu culture because "all of the bones and strength and spirit of a person flows back into the land".
When the radio documentary was finished, Tom Murray stayed on in Arnhem Land. He worked with Dhukal and his community to make a "video letter" addressed to the Northern Territory's Chief Minister Clare Martin, asking for a funeral for Dhakiyarr. "Dhukal and the other senior Yolngu leaders spoke so eloquently, I thought a video letter would allow them to make their case in their own way. It was a major gesture of support for Dhakiyarr's descendants when Clare Martin agreed to have a funeral ceremony and a memorial installed at the Supreme Court in Darwin," Tom says.
Dhakiyarr vs the King documents the creation of the nine ceremonial burial poles forming Dhakiyarr's memorial. Until recently, the sacred clan designs shown in the film were never publicly discussed, nor shown. "In the old days," says Dhukal, "young fellers and women were not even allowed to see these." Tom Murray says it is testimony to Dhakiyarr's importance that his memorial needs nine burial poles to tell his stories and clan links.
Further evidence of his prestige was provided by the Supreme Court ceremony. In June 2003, more than 200 Yolngu people followed in Dhakiyarr's "footsteps" - as they describe it in the film - from Arnhem Land to Darwin, to confront the injustices of the past and restore Dhakiyarr as a leader and a man of honour. "The public ceremony that resulted was an extraordinary event," Tom Murray says. "This is where Yolngu and white law come face to face. For Dhukal and Wuyal it was an opportunity to have their law and culture recognised by a white court in a way Dhakiyarr was unable to 70 years before."
Dhakiyarr's family was joined in the Supreme Court by the Chief Minister, Clare Martin, judges from the Northern Territory Supreme Court and the High Court of Australia, plus 30 members of the McColl family - descendants of the policeman speared by Dhakiyarr 70 years before. Wuyal Wirrpanda addressed the people who gathered, saying it was time to "break the spear - the spear that flew between my family and the family of McColl".
When the film was nearly complete, Tom Murray took it back to Arnhem Land, screening it to Dhakiyarr's community. "When it was dark, Dhukal fired up the generator and 30 of Dhakiyarr's descendants sat together watching the film.
"Yolngu people will always preserve Dhakiyarr's story through their own traditions," says Tom Murray. "In telling this story on film, Dhukal and Wuyal are hoping that Australian and overseas audiences might begin to understand and respect Yolngu culture. Just as Dhakiyarr before them, they are fighting to preserve their culture and the land and sea country from which it is born."
Dhakiyarr is pronounced dhak-ee-yar with a thick "d" achieved by putting the tongue behind the front teeth. The emphasis is on the first syllable.
Yolngu is pronounced with the emphasis on the first syllable and a shorter-sounding second syllable. The "ng" is as in "sing" and the "u" is shortÑlike the "u" in "put". It"s yol-ng-oo.
See our program detail page to:
- buy a copy of the video
- find more information (including related links)
- download teachers notes
- download the press kit (including the production story, filmmaker biographies and full credits)
Note: detailed information is available for many titles in press kits that are downloadable from program detail pages.