Big Bill Neidjie ( – 23 May 2002), nicknamed "Kakadu Man", was the last surviving speaker of the Gaagudju language, an

Aboriginal Australian language The Indigenous languages of Australia number in the hundreds, the precise number being quite uncertain, although there is a range of estimates from a minimum of around 250 (using the technical definition of 'language' as non-mutually intellig ...

from northern Kakadu, after which

Kakadu National Park Kakadu National Park is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia, southeast of Darwin. It is a World Heritage Site. Kakadu is also gazetted as a locality, covering the same area as the national park, with 313 people recorded liv ...

is named. He was an elder of the Gaagudju people and a custodian of the land, who cared deeply about preserving his culture and land.

Early life and education

Neijdie, was born around 1913 at Alawanydajawany, on the

East Alligator River Alligator Rivers is the name of an area in an Arnhem Land region of the Northern Territory of Australia, containing three rivers, the East, West, and South Alligator Rivers. It is regarded as one of the richest biological regions in Australia ...

in the Kakadu region of the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

, into the Bunitj clan of the Gaagudju people. His father was Nadampala and his mother was Lucy Wirlmaka, from the Ulbuk clan of the Amurdak people. He had little formal education, spending only a couple of years at school at Oenpelli (present-day

Gunbalanya Gunbalanya (also spelt Kunbarlanja, and historically referred to as Oenpelli) is an Aboriginal Australian town in west Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia, about east of Darwin. The main language spoken in the community is Kunwi ...

), but learnt about his traditional culture, people and lands from his father and grandfather.

Working life

From about the age of 20 he worked first with

buffalo hunter Buffalo most commonly refers to: * Bubalina, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York Buffalo or buffaloes may also refer to: Animals * Bubalina, a subtribe of the ...

s, then at a timber mill, and then on board a

lugger A lugger is a sailing vessel defined by its rig, using the lug sail on all of its one or several masts. They were widely used as working craft, particularly off the coasts of France, England, Ireland and Scotland. Luggers varied extensively i ...

transporting people and goods along the North Coast of the

and to remote island communities. He was initiated at a ceremony at

Ubirr Ubirr is a rock formation within the East Alligator region of Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory of Australia, and is known for its Indigenous Australian art, rock art. It consists of a group of rock outcrops on the edge of the Nada ...

in the early 1940s. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

("the big fight") he helped in the defence of Australia, working at the

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

station at Cape Don. He was in Darwin during the Japanese bombings in 1942 and helped

Aboriginal people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

during and after the devastation. He acquired the nickname "Big Bill" because of his physique and strength, and was also called "Kakadu Man", after the title of his first book.

Kakadu

He was a senior elder of Kakadu National Park and a

traditional owner Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have rights ...

of the Bunitj estate in northern Kakadu, perhaps the most spectacular

national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

in Australia. His decision to open up this land to other people was instrumental in the creation of Kakadu National Park. Neidje was instrumental in the decision to lease his traditional lands to the

Commonwealth of Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

so that it could be managed as a wild area and as a resource to be shared by all Australians. Rev. edns 1986–
Australia's Kakadu man, Bill Neidjie
'. Darwin: Resource Managers. man, Bill Neidjie, Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory, Australia
'. Allan Fox . After helping establish Kakadu as a National Park in 1979, he returned there to commit the rest of his life to supporting the joint management of the Park. He worked as a ranger and cultural adviser for the park, and his work was critical in gaining

World Heritage A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

status for the park. Kakadu was listed in three stages: stage 1 in 1981, stage 2 in 1987, and the entire park in 1992.

Recognition

In the 1989 Queen's Birthday Honours Neidjie he was awarded the

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

for his services to conservation. He became known internationally as "Kakadu man", for both his work in the park and books of poetry and prose, with his first book being titled ''Kakadu Man''. In 1988, Kakadu was featured in the February issue of ''

National Geographic Magazine ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

'', and was the focus of the National Geographic television documentary entitled ''Twilight Of The Dreamtime'', in which Big Bill figured prominently. His son, Jonathan Yarramarrna, appeared with him, and parts of the film dealt with the future of Kakadu and specifically with Big Bill's preparation for Jonathan to assume the custodianship of his family's tribal lands.

Later life, death and legacy

In many

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

cultures, there are traditional secrets passed down from generation to generation, and it is

taboo A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

to reveal these secrets to a non-initiate. As he grew older, Neidjie realised that he might be in the position, as one of the last Gaagudju initiates, of taking these secrets to the grave with him, and so made the courageous decision to break this taboo, so that his culture might live on. In addition to entrusting some of the custodianship of tribal lands to his son Jonathan, he related many of his stories to the anthropologist Stephen Davis and others, and published two books, in which he related his passion for the land of which he was part, and insisted on the importance of managing the land in the traditional ways. He hoped that, one day, his culture might thrive once again, and his grandchildren, or their grandchildren, might pick up the threads once more. Neidjie died on 23 May 2002. The Federal Minister for the Environment and Heritage, David Kemp, said, "He was instrumental in the establishment of Kakadu National Park and was deeply committed to sharing his love for his country, his respect for the heritage of his country and his Indigenous culture with countless thousands of park visitors and all who shared his love for the natural world".

Selected works

GAMU The Deamtime Stories, Life and Feelings of Big Bill Neidjie as told to Sarah George. Publisher Cyclops Press 2022. Sydney NSW. ISBN 978-0-6489527-5-6 www.cyclopsproductions.com.au GAMU is the most comprehensive book of Big Bill Neidjie's stories and biography ever published. *''Kakadu Man'' * *