MERVYN BISHOP 1 INTERPRETIVE RESOURCE | Learning at the Gallery | Art Gallery of South Australia artgallery.sa.gov.au/learning , 1975, Northern, 1975, Territory, gelatin Prime Minister pours soil into the hand image: , Australia, Wailwan 1945, people, New South Wales, of traditional owner Vincent Lingiari silver photograph, 50.5 x 40.5 cm (sheet); Board Members Fund 2009, Art Gallery of South Australia, . © Photograph by MervynBishop, G Courtesy the Australian Government Rights (Northern Territory) Act. This act recognised Aboriginal and Torres Islander peoples’ ownership and connection to Country, aiding the cultural, social and economic survival Indigenous of Australians. Vesteys. paid Wages to Aboriginal people were much lower than those paid to non-indigenous employees and in Lingiari,1966 who was tired the of poor treatment Aboriginal of people, led a walk-off. Over the course the of nine-year strike, the demanded the return their of traditional lands with protesters establishing the Wattie Creek Camp. In ten December years 1976, of following the initial walk off, the federal government passed the Aboriginal Land WHO WAS VINCENT LINGIARI AND WHAT WAS THE WAVE HILL VINCENT THE WAVE WHO WAS WAS LINGIARI AND WHAT WALK-OFF? A member the of Gurindji people, Vincent Lingiari was a stockman and an Aboriginal land rights He leader. worked at Hill the Cattle Wave Station in the Northern Territory which was owned and operated British by company images often imbued with a sense optimism of for the future Aboriginal of people. and art photography, where he documented major developments in Aboriginal communities, capturing Strait Islander artists working in photo media, such as Ricky Maynard, Moffatt, Tracey Rea and Michael Riley. Bishop’s career included both photojournalism act parliament. of Bishop paved the way for other Aboriginal and Torres captures Prime Minister Gough Whitlam pouring soil into the hand Aboriginal of rights activist, Vincent Lingiari on theoccasion the of successful passingthe of revolutionary Australian history followed a nine-year strike over the working conditions and request for traditional lands to be returned to the Gurindji people. This photograph Department Aboriginal of Affairs, where August on 16 he covered a historical1975, event at Wattie Creek in the Northern Territory. This significant moment in photography. he worked asIn a photographer 1974, for the this time he alsocompleted a Photography Certificate Course at SydneyCollege Technical and later lectured in In 1963 he was employedIn 1963 as the first Aboriginal cadet photographer at the Morning Herald where he covered news, sport, community and the arts. During now lives As in a child Sydney. Bishop had a passion for photography and, using his mother’s camera, he captured candid black and white images his of family and friends. Australian documentary photographer Mervyn Bishop was born in Brewarrina,in 1945 New South Wales and MERVYN BISHOP MERVYN BISHOP 2 INTERPRETIVE RESOURCE | Learning at the Gallery | Art Gallery of South Australia artgallery.sa.gov.au/learning Frame Icon Lighting Land rights Manipulation Photojournalism KEY LITERACY WORDS Composition Crop Documentary photography Film http://bit.ly/2w3K1sE Reconciliation SA – Education Packs http://bit.ly/2w3OkEw SBS – NITV: How Aboriginal Mervyn captured photographer Bishop famous Hill pic Wave http://bit.ly/2i8qdPm Secret Country http://bit.ly/2wRSgWu Sydney Morning Herald – Bishop frames his people in a new light http://bit.ly/2vKfIoE Paul Kelly – From Little things continued

years since the white man first came to Australia and began taking the land, on which their whole life and culture depends, from the Aboriginal people”… leader the of Gurindji, will receive from the Prime Minister, Mr Whitlam, and the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Mr Johnson, the pastoral lease square the of 3,108 kilometres, formerly part Hill Pastoral Wave of lease held theby Vestey Group, at a ceremony on the kilometres land 435 south Darwin. of Mr Whitlam will go down“Today will in Australian say, history as one the of most significant milestones in the200 Article from the TimesSaturday - Aug Page 1975, 16 32 ABORIGINES GET SACRED LAND TO TODAY BACK the GurindjiToday get back their land. least At they get back Daguragu, thesacred site Gurindji of dreaming, only a few miles from Seal Gorge where the bones their of tribal ancestors and sacred totem paintings are kept; a place known for short a time in their long history under the white name, man’s WattieCreek. Mr Vincent Lingiari, http://bit.ly/2uRLNcz National Museum Australia http://bit.ly/2uKNDQxNational Archives Merv Bishop – Photographer http://bit.ly/2i7IE6B http://bit.ly/2w3K1sE Merv Bishop blazed as Australia’s first Aboriginal press photographer http://ab.co/2wh7I0r COFA – ReconciliationCOFA is a two way street – Mervyn Bishop http://bit.ly/2w3FDtN From Little Things Big Things Grow Australians Together http://bit.ly/2whyrKr http://bit.ly/2x6AQF3 Australian Museum – Brewarrina Boy http://bit.ly/2vKbRrA http://ab.co/2x61WMc Australian Dictionary Biography of Land Rights http://bit.ly/2uRGNVv The Australian Constitution The Age – Mervyn Bishop http://bit.ly/2wSjDQq Australian Institute Aboriginal of and Torres Strait Islander Studies – ABC Splash – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures http://ab.co/2i6nDt0 ABC Splash Hill walk-off – Wave more than a wage dispute http://ab.co/2v3wxZm RESOURCES RESOURCES MERVYN BISHOP MERVYN BISHOP 3 INTERPRETIVE RESOURCE | Learning at the Gallery | Art Gallery of South Australia artgallery.sa.gov.au/learning

community. Consider the role documentary of photography. Using a camera document a day in your life. Assess how accurate these images were in depicting your day and what things were missed? MAKING MAKING Think about something special that happened this week. Create a drawing that shows this event. MAKING Think a memorable of moment that happened in your life. Recreate it and capture it using photography. Write a small caption describing this event. Listen to the song ‘From Little Things Big Things Grow’ Paulby Kelly and . This was a tribute song to Vincent Lingiari and the Gurindji people. What do the lyrics reveal about Lingiari’s story? Create your own poem or song that commemorates someone in your The Art Gallery of South Australia gratefully acknowledges the support of the Wood Foundation in the development of this resource. Information and hyperlinks correct at time of print. Art Gallery of South Australiaof this resource. staff Kylie Neagle and Lisa Slade contributed to the development The Gallery’s Learning programs are supported by the Department for Education and Child Development. ask them to suggest what story might accompany such an image. Browse through a newspaper and collect an interesting image. Keep the article or caption for the photograph to yourself. Share the image with the rest the of class and Why do you think newspapers print some images in colour and others in black and white? Research the legacies Vincent of Lingiari and Gough Whitlam. How did these men prompt change in Australia? Investigate some other events that were happening in Australia around the time this photograph was taken. Why was this land so important to the Gurindji people? Bishop has captured Whitlam pouring soil into Lingiari’s hands. How was this action symbolic? RESPONDING RESPONDING Locate Hill on Wave a map. What do you think the climate is like in this area? PRIMARY RESPONDING RESPONDING Describe what is happening in this photograph? EARLY YEARS YEARS EARLY MERVYN BISHOP 4 INTERPRETIVE RESOURCE | Learning at the Gallery | Art Gallery of South Australia artgallery.sa.gov.au/learning

, 1968, Sydney, gelatin silver Lionel Rose at his press conference THINK AND DISCUSS DISCUSS AND THINK With everything we know about photo manipulation, cropping and editing, arephotographic images ever reliable sources? Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide. © Photograph by MervynBishop, G Courtesy of Josef Lebovic Gallery, Sydney MAKING Bishop’s photographs record important moments in Australia’s history. Using photographs create a visual timeline to represent moments key in the progress of social development rights (eg. Women’s or LGBT). Bishop boughtIn 1957 his first camera, using it initially to photograph family events and parties. In those days, cameras required film whichwould only permit12–24 photographs to be taken per roll. As film was expensive, photographers needed to make every shot count. Imagine you have film yourin camera. Setyourself the challenge to take consecutive 24 shots, without deleting any images in-between. Photograph your family at home. Slow down and think carefully about each composition to ensure your images are engaging. Mervyn Bishop, Australia, Wailwan 1945, people, New South Wales, photograph, 50.6 x 40.4 cm (sheet); Board Members Fund 2009, . Have ‘to change ’. Find images’. . Discuss this Mabo Case, The Wik Decision and Native Title.

Ricky Maynard MoffattTracey Michael Riley Darren Siwes ■ ■ ■ ■ struggles Aboriginal and Strait Torres people have endured. of ownershipof lands of and waters. TIP Research other artists who have responded to the Investigate the ongoing struggle for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to gain legal and moral recognition that have documented a significant event and discuss whether the photographer may have manipulated the subject in some way? ‘Bishop’s photographs have informed us, without creating sickly positive images or vicious negative ones Australians in the constitution. Australian photographer Moffatt Tracey has written people’s perspectives you need to start a conversation’ a conversation with a classmate, family member or friend about the currentdiscussion about recognising First Faith Bandler, Civil rights activist and campaigner for the rights Indigenous of Australians, stated that other works art of him by in the Gallery’s collection. Investigate the significanceof these images and analyse the compositional devices employed Bishop. by ■ Complete a case study on Mervyn Bishop exploring ■ ■ argument. ■ ‘Images are more powerful than words’ statement using the photography Mervyn of Bishop and one other photographer listed below to support your Bishop has spoken about reconciliation being a two-way street. What do you think he means this? by an example art of or photojournalism? Explain your response. differ to photographic images that are considered art? The image taken Mervyn by Bishop was acquired The by Art Gallery South of Australia in 2009. Is this photograph perspectives Vincent of Lingiari and Gough Whitlam. What photojournalism? is Howdoes photojournalism RESPONDING RESPONDING Write a short story about from August the the 16 1975 SECONDARY