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One of the painters of the Barunga Statement and the CLC logo has passed away. Mr L Turner Jampijinpa, a senior Warlpiri man from Nyrripi died recently in Alice Springs after a short illness.
The CLC logo is derived from the painting done by Mr Turner Jampijinpa , Dennis Williams Japanangka and Mr W Rubuntja which was presented, with a petition seeking government recognition of Aboriginal prior ownership of Australia and a treaty, to the then Prime Minister Bob Hawke in June 1988.
It is known as the Barunga Statement and now hangs in Parliament House in Canberra. CLC Chairman Lindsay Bookie said Mr Turner was a former field officer at the CLC.
“He was very effective as a field officer and he later became an Executive member and a delegate for many years,” Mr Bookie said. “Everybody liked him and he was well respected both for his knowledge of Aboriginal law and his ability to stand up and defend Aboriginal rights.”
CLC Director David Ross said Mr Turner was always extremely active and engaging.
“He was always involved in a wide range of activities from managing the footy team, running the local community council at Nyrripi or representing his community in a wide range of forums.
“He never allowed governments to run rough shod over Aboriginal people and he was very vocal about the Intervention by the Australian Government,” Mr Ross said.
“He was always prepared to stand up and articulate what many people felt about those types of issues. We will miss him terribly. All of the staff and delegates of the CLC who knew him over many years are deeply saddened and we send his family our most sincere condolences,” he said.
The design of the CLC logo tells part of the Two-Women dreaming which links together all the major language groups of Central Australia and calls on Aboriginal people to come together to celebrate their culture and their country.
16 April 2009. Contact Jane Hodson 0417877579
www.clc.org.au
