FILM AUSTRALIA PRESENTS
Dhakiyarr vs the King
The descendants of a great Aboriginal leader tell an inspiring story
of two laws, two cultures and two families coming to terms with the past.
Writer Tom Murray
Directors Tom Murray and Allan Collins
Cinematographer Allan Collins ACS
Producer Graeme Isaac
Executive Producer Anna Grieve
Duration 56 minutes
A Film Australia National Interest Program. Produced with the assistance of the Australian
Broadcasting Corporation and CAAMA Productions (Central Australian Aboriginal Media
Association).
Film Australia © 2004
AN AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT OWNED COMPANY, FILM AUSTRALIA IS A LEADING PRODUCER AND
DISTRIBUTOR OF TELEVISION DOCUMENTARIES AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS.
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DHAKIYARR VS THE KING • A FILM AUSTRALIA NATIONAL INTEREST PROGRAM
Synopses
One line synopsis
The descendants of a great Aboriginal leader tell an inspiring story of two laws, two cultures
and two families coming to terms with the past.
One paragraph synopsis
The family of the great Yolngu leader Dhakiyarr Wirrpanda is searching for answers.
Seventy years after his controversial murder trial and subsequent disappearance,
Dhakiyarr’s body has still not been found. His descendants know that justice was not served.
They want to restore what was denied to him: his honour. This is their story, told in their own
words—of two laws, two cultures and two families coming to terms with the past.
One page synopsis
The family of the great Yolngu leader Dhakiyarr Wirrpanda is searching for answers.
Seventy years after his controversial murder trial and subsequent disappearance,
Dhakiyarr’s body has still not been found and laid to rest. His descendants know that justice
was not served. They want to restore what was denied to him: his honour.
This is their story, told in their own words. It is also the story of a clash of cultures, and of
one man bravely facing the unknown.
In 1933, on Woodah Island in remote northeast Arnhem Land, Dhakiyarr speared a
policeman, Constable McColl, who had chained up his wife. This was Dhakiyarr’s land and
that was his law. On the advice of missionaries, he went to Darwin to explain his actions and
his people’s ways to the Northern Territory Supreme Court.
Dhakiyarr vs the King journeys with the Yolngu as they re-trace his footsteps and finally
come face to face with the authorities that let him down and with the descendants of
Constable McColl.
It is an inspiring story of remembrance and healing—of two laws, two cultures and two
families coming to terms with the past.
Pronunciation
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 short—like the “u” in “put”. It’s yol-ng-oo.
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DHAKIYARR VS THE KING • A FILM AUSTRALIA NATIONAL INTEREST PROGRAM
About the making of the film
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.
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DHAKIYARR VS THE KING • A FILM AUSTRALIA NATIONAL INTEREST PROGRAM
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.”
Film Australia is an Australian Government-owned company, which supports production and
distribution of documentaries in the national interest.
Film Australia produced Dhakiyarr vs the King in association with the Australian
Broadcasting Corporation and CAAMA Productions (Central Australian Aboriginal Media
Association).
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DHAKIYARR VS THE KING • A FILM AUSTRALIA NATIONAL INTEREST PROGRAM
About the filmmakers
Tom Murray—Director and Writer
An experienced radio writer and producer, Dhakiyarr vs the King is Tom Murray’s debut as a
documentary director.
In 2002, Tom wrote and produced a one-hour program about Dhakiyarr for ABC Radio
National’s Hindsight program. Like Dhakiyarr vs the King, it told the story of northeast
Arnhem Land clan leader Dhakiyarr Wirrpanda, who disappeared in 1934.
It is one of a number of radio specials he has written and produced for ABC Radio on
subjects ranging from land rights to circumcision. Tom has written and produced three radio
documentaries in northeast Arnhem Land, as well as remote-area documentary projects in
the Simpson and Strezlecki Deserts of Central Australia and in the islands of East Indonesia.
Tom has also written and produced short film and has shot and edited films for the
Department of Education, released on the web and CD-ROM. Tom holds a Bachelor of Arts
from the University of Sydney.
Allan Collins ACS—Director and Cinematographer
An Australian Film Institute and IF award winner for his cinematography on Ivan Sen’s
feature Beneath Clouds, Allan Collins is based in Alice Springs with his family. Allan and his
wife, Cilla Collins, who is Chief Executive Officer of the Central Australian Aboriginal Media
Association, have five children.
The first Indigenous person to receive the honour of accreditation to the Australian
Cinematographers’ Society, Allan’s TV and film career began with a traineeship at the
regional television station Imparja TV in 1989.
Allan worked in many roles at Imparja before becoming a camera assistant shooting
low-budget TV commercials and sometimes filming and editing the local news. He moved
to CAAMA, working on programs ranging from current affairs to documentary series.
In 1997 he graduated in cinematography from the Australian Film Television and Radio
School.
Although based in Alice Springs, he works around Australia on projects from within his own
community and also on mainstream drama, documentary and commercial production.
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DHAKIYARR VS THE KING • A FILM AUSTRALIA NATIONAL INTEREST PROGRAM
Graeme Isaac—Producer
A founding member of Circus Oz, musician with Captain Matchbox and performer with the
Pram Factory in the 1970s, Graeme Isaac has worked in a wide variety of roles in the
Australian film industry.
In 1980 he co-wrote and co-produced the award-winning Wrong Side of the Road (the first
Australian feature film with an all Indigenous cast) as well as producing the first album of
contemporary black Australian rock and roll with bands Us Mob and No Fixed Address.
Since that time he has produced both drama and documentary films as well as script editing
and producing music. In the mid to late 1990s he was the supervising producer for two
pioneering Indigenous drama series—From Sand to Celluloid and Shifting Sands. Other
producing credits include the feature documentary Australia Daze (ABC TV and Channel 4
UK), Graham Chase’s The Kimberley Mob and Modern Times, Ivan Sen’s award-winning
drama Wind and Michelle Torres’ Whispering in our Hearts, which Allan Collins worked on
as Director of Photography.
Dhakiyarr vs the King is Graeme’s first project with Film Australia.
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DHAKIYARR VS THE KING • A FILM AUSTRALIA NATIONAL INTEREST PROGRAM
Credits
In collaboration with the Dhuruputjpi and Yilpara
Location Manager
communities of Blue Mud Bay, northeast East
NEVILLE KHAN
Arnhem Land
Special thanks to
DHUKAL WIRRPANDA
WUYAL WIRRPANDA
Sound Attachment
VANCE GLYNN
Foley Artist
LES FIDDESS
MULKUN WIRRPANDA
DJAMBAWA MARAWILI
Foley Engineer
GAWARATJ MUNUNGURR
BEN GRANT
GALAWARRIWUY WUNNUNGMURRA
Additional Camera
WAKA MUNUNGURR
ANDREW HYDE
Directors
Underwater Camera
TOM MURRAY & ALLAN COLLINS
CLAIRE ELLIOT
Producer
Newspaper Stills
GRAEME ISAAC
GREG BARTLEY
Writer
Online Edit
TOM MURRAY
ADAM ARCHER - THE LAB
Cinematographer
Colour Grading
ALLAN COLLINS ACS
KIERAN BLEAKLEY
Editor
Titles
JAMES BRADLEY
NICK HART
Composer
Graphic Design
ALISTER SPENCE
IAN MASEK
Sound Recordist
MUSICIANS
CHRIS WEST
Guitar
Sound Design
BRUCE REID
LIAM EGAN
Shakuhachi
Sound Mixer
ADRIAN SHERRIFF
PHIL JUDD – PHILM SOUND
Percussion
Translators
FABIAN HEVIA
NUWANDJALI MARAWILI & DENA CURTIS
Keyboards
Historical Consultant
ALISTER SPENCE
TED EGAN AM
FILM AUSTRALIA PRODUCTION UNIT
Production Manager
FOTINI MANIKAKIS
Production Affairs Manager
LIZ STEVENS
Assistant Editor
DENA CURTIS
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DHAKIYARR VS THE KING • A FILM AUSTRALIA NATIONAL INTEREST PROGRAM
Production Assistant
CITT WILLIAMS
SUEANNE FLYGHT
BEC COLE
Production Accountant
MADE WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE ABC
LIANE WRIGHT
ABC Executive Producer
Executive Producer’s Assistant
DAVID JOWSEY
AIDA INNOCENTE
THANKS TO
Executive Producer
ANNA GRIEVE
Joan and Alan McColl and members of the McColl
Family
Chris Clugie, Phillipa Hetherington, Geoff Maine,
Tom Pauling QC, Francoise Barr, Tom Berkley,
Cecelia Bradley, Rick Brown, Graham Bruxton,
Daniel Connell, Tianee Collins, Codie Collins, Sean
Collins, Jamie Collins, Kyle Collins, Jane Connors,
Ken Conway, Sue Cox, Richard Creswick, Isabel
Dunner, Cathy Flint, Alana Harris, Keith Hart, Lee
Hillam, Michi Hirzel, John Hughes, Michelle Jones,
John Lawrence, Michael Letnic, Jane March,
Murray McLaughlin, Robert Marbury, Freddy Mills,
June Mills, Jim Murray, Joy Murray, Michelle
Rayner, Victor Roseverne, Margaret Simpson,
Stephen Tranter, Matt Tomaszewski, Leon White,
Rosemary Wrench, Buku Larrngay Mulka Arts
Centre, Layhapuy Homelands Schools
Office of the Chief Minister, Northern Territory
Government
ARCHIVAL MATERIALS COURTESY OF
D.F.Thomson Collection – Mrs.D.M.Thomson and
Museum Victoria, Eric Wilson Collection – Ian
Wilson and Australian Institute for Torres Strait and
Aboriginal Islander Studies, Mahony Collection –
Northern Territory Archive Service, The Hood
Collection & Sydney Morning Herald headlines
courtesy of State Library of NSW, Photograph of
chained prisoners – Battye Library, WA,
Hart Collection – Church Mission Society, Darwin,
Melbourne Herald headlines – State Library of
Victoria, Fred Gray Interview by Daniel Connell –
ABC Radio National Social History Unit
Produced with the assistance of
CAAMA Productions
CILLA COLLINS
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