Mervyn Bishop started his career in photojournalism in 1963, when he started a cadetship with the Sydney Morning Herald. In 1974 he became staff photographer for the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, in which role he took this iconic photograph of the ceremony by which 3250 square kilometres of Gurindji country was returned to traditional owners in August 1975. The image shows Gurindji Elder Vincent Lingiari (1919–1988) and then Prime Minister Gough Whitlam (1916–2014) re-enacting the handing over of the title deeds at Daguragu (Wattie Creek), where Lingiari and around 200 others had settled after walking off in protest against the conditions they faced as employees on Wave Hill cattle station, south-west of Katherine. Following its election, the Whitlam government made funds available to purchase land that was not on reserves, and Daguragu was surrendered by the British pastoral company Vestey Ltd. The official handover actually took place in a shed, but Bishop asked Lingiari and Whitlam to repeat the gesture outside so that he could photograph it in bright sunlight. Lingiari held the deeds in his left hand as Whitlam poured a handful of red earth into Lingiari's right palm 'as a sign that this land will be in the possession of you and your children forever.' It was the first time the Commonwealth Government had returned land to its original custodians.
Purchased 2000
© National Indigenous Australians Agency
Mervyn Bishop (age 30 in 1975)
Hon. Gough Whitlam AC QC (age 59 in 1975)
Vincent Lingiari AM (age 56 in 1975)
On one level The Companion talks about the most famous and frontline Australians, but on another it tells us about ourselves.
1 November 2014
On the day before the Hon. E. G. Whitlam, AC, QC, died last month, at the great age of 98, there were seven former prime ministers of Australia still living, plus the incumbent Mr. Abbott – eight in all.
Ellen Kent examines the portrait of Vincent Lingiari and Prime Minister Gough Whitlam taken by photographer Mervyn Bishop.
