The Vestey Brothers and the Treatment of Aboriginal People Who Worked at Wave Hill StationThe Vestey Brothers were wealthy and powerful whilst the Aboriginal people working for them had poor working conditions and no money. In 1914, Wave Hill Station was bought by The Vestey Brothers who were a large British food production company, with wealth and power. The majority of their employees were Aboriginals who were forced to work there. The Vestey Brothers choose to employ Aboriginals so they could benefit from the Indigenous labour without having to pay their entitlements. By doing this they could increase the station’s size and capacity. The Aboriginals who worked for the Vestey Brothers at Wave Hill Station suffered from extremely poor working conditions and almost non-existent wages, which they rarely received. The food, clothes, tea and tobacco that they were supposed to receive, as per the legislation, never left the hand of their employers. If they were to argue or disobey their employers, they were beaten and often killed. The women were treated just as poorly as the men, and were regularly sexually abused. Due to the geographic isolation of the Wave Hill Station, this behaviour continued for 50 years, despite improvements in the rest of Australia. The Vestey Brothers didn’t want to comply with the Wards Employment Regulations, and they weren’t questioned about it until many years later. As it can be seen, the Vestey Brothers were wealthy and powerful whilst the Aboriginals working for them had poor working conditions, no money and no opportunity to improve their lives.
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Wave Hill Station Walk Off-Vincent LingiariWhilst there had been many discussions about the treatment of Indigenous Australians working at Wave Hill Station, no action had been taken and the Gurindji community had had enough. The Aboriginals working for the Vestey Brothers at Wave Hill Station suffered from extremely poor working conditions and almost non-existent wages ‘We were treated like dogs…They didn’t care about blackfellas’ (Billy Bunter Jampijinpa). This resulted in many discussions, but no improvement. So, on the 23rd of August 1966 Vincent Lingiari led the Gurindji community off the station and their strike began. They set up camp at Wattie Creek to symbolise that they didn’t want improved working conditions, they wanted the return of their traditional land. During the eight years in which the strike took place, Vincent Lingiari toured Australia to raise awareness of the issues faced by Indigenous Australians and to fight for acknowledgement of Indigenous rights. Requests and petitions went back and forth between the Gurindji community and the Australian Government, but nothing was resolved. An important statement in one of these documents was ‘We feel morally the land is ours and should be returned to us’. Many people believed that the strikers would give up, but even though conditions were tough they did not waver. Finally, on the 16th of August 1975, the deeds were placed into the hands of Vincent Lingiari and Indigenous Australians celebrated their victory. The Australian government had negotiated a deal with the Vestey Brothers to return part of their land to the Gurindji people. This deal was symbolised by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam pouring sand into Vincent Lingiari’s hands and saying ‘Vincent Lingiari, I solemnly hand to you these deeds as proof, in Australian law, that these lands belong to the Gurindji people… this land will be the possession of you and your children forever’. As can be seen from this, the Wave Hill Walk Off, lead by Vincent Lingiari, was an important and necessary part of Australian history.
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