| Description |
1 online resource (streaming video file) (55 min. 33 sec.) ; 337490566 bytes |
| Summary |
*Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that the following program may contain images and voices of deceased persons*Seventy years after the controversial murder trial of the great Yolngu leader Dhakiyarr Wirrpanda and his subsequent disappearance, his family is still searching for answers. Dhakiyarr's body has still not been found and laid to rest. His descendants know that justice was not served and want to restore what was denied to him; his honour. Dhakiyarr vs The King is their story, told in their own words. It is also the story of a clash of cultures and of one man bravely facing the unknown.In 1933, on Woodah Island in remote northeast Arnhem Land, Dhakiyarr speared to death a policeman, Constable Albert McColl who had chained up his (Dhakiyarr's) wife. To Dhakiyarr, the action was lawful on his land. On the advice of missionaries, he went to Darwin to explain his actions and his people's ways to the Northern Territory Supreme Court.He was found guilty of murder in a trial where conditions and justice were grossly stacked against him and was sentenced to hang. However, the sentence was overturned by the High Court and Dhakiyarr was freed. But he disappeared the day he was released and his family have never discovered what happened to him. This documentary journeys with the Yolngu as they re-trace his footsteps and as master storytellers, they relate it in their own natural way directly to camera.In their journey, the Yolngu come face to face with the authorities who let Dhakiyarr down and with the descendants of Constable McColl. It is an inspiring story of remembrance and healing of two laws, two cultures and two families coming to terms with the past.PRODUCTION DETAILS:Producer Graeme IsaacWriter/co-director: Tom MurrayCinematographer/co-director Allan CollinsExecutive producer: Anna Grieve |
| Event |
Broadcast 2011-07-11 at 22:00:00 |
| Notes |
Classification: PG |
| Subject |
Aboriginal Australians -- Criminal justice system.
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Aboriginal Australians -- Government relations.
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Aboriginal Australians, Treatment of.
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Disappeared persons' families.
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Justice, Administration of -- Public opinion.
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Yolngu (Australian people)
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Northern Territory -- Arnhem Land.
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| Form |
Streaming video
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| Author |
Collins, Allan, director
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Egan, Ted, contributor
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Marawili, Djambawa, contributor
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Marawilli, Wakuthi, contributor
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Munungurr, Gawaratj, contributor
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Munungurra, Waka, contributor
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Murray, Tom, director
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Wirrpanda, Dhukal, contributor
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Wirrpanda, Mulkun, contributor
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Wirrpanda, Wuyal, contributor
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Wunnungmurra, Galawarriwuy, contributor
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