Matjabala Mali’ Buku-ruŋanmaram: New Pathways for Indigenous Cultural Survival through Yolŋu Explorations of the University of Sydney Archives

This article was adapted by Aaron Corn from a lecture presented by Joe Gumbula at the Koori Centre at the University of Sydney on 5 April 2007. The day before, Joe had been admitted to the degree of Doctor of Music honoris causa at the University, and had only recently started work at the Koori Centre on his first Australian Research Council (ARC) project as an ARC Indigenous Research Fellow. Called “Elder Assessments of Early Material Culture Collections from Arnhem Land and Contemporary Access Needs to them among their Source Communities” (DI0775822) and including Aaron Corn as a nominal Mentor, this was the first ARC project to be led by a Yolŋu Chief Investigator. It enabled Joe to undertake detailed research into the Yolŋu heritage collections held in the University of Sydney’s Archives and Macleay Museum. Eighteen members of Joe’s family from Miliŋinbi (Milingimbi) and Galiwin’ku, who were visiting Sydney to attend his graduation ceremony, were present at this lecture. Joe’s assured and impassioned delivery on this occasion aptly demonstrates his exemplary knowledge of Yolŋu heritage, his mastery in applying Yolŋu law to its interpretation, and his ability to engage others in the process and significance of collections research. All University of Sydney materials that Joe presented in the lecture were later published in his 2011 book, Matjabala Mali’ Buku-ruŋanmaram: Images from Miliŋinbi (Milingimbi) and Surrounds, 1926–1948, and, in this article, are cross-referenced to this source, which remains available for purchase from Sydney University Press.