Yunupingu saw a succession of prime ministers visit his Country over the course of his life. When young, he helped draft the Yirrkala bark petitions, which were presented to federal parliament in 1963. They were a response to the government excising land from the Arnhem Land reserve for bauxite mining. The Yolngu were not consulted.

The petition states that when government officials “came to inform them of decisions taken without them and against them”, the officials “did not undertake to convey to the government in Canberra the views and feelings of the Yirrkala Aboriginal people”.

Source: Voice to parliament: How Yunupingu’s fishing trip with Malcolm Fraser says so much about ‘Yes’