5081. From Little Things Big Things Grow (Paul Kelly cover)

Описание: Wave Hill cattle station, which included the Kalkaringi and Daguragu area, was first stocked in 1883. Gurindji found their waterholes fenced off or destroyed by cattle. Kangaroos, a staple meat, were also routinely shot because they competed with cattle for water and grazing land. But when the Gurindji tried to eat the cattle instead they were massacred, even as late as 1928. They had little choice but to move onto the cattle stations, and accept rations for working as stockmen and domestic servants.

In 1914, Wave Hill Station was bought by Vesteys, a British pastoral company owned by Baron Vestey. The landless Aboriginal people became the backbone of the cattle industry, working for little or no money and minimal food. A Northern Territory government inquiry held in the 1930s said of Vesteys: “It was obvious that they had been … quite ruthless in denying their Aboriginal labour proper access to basic human rights.” Gurindji lived in corrugated iron humpies without floors, lighting, running water, sanitation, furniture or cooking facilities.

On 23 August 1966, led by spokesman Vincent Lingiari, the workers and families walked off Wave Hill and began a seven-year strike. This action, though not the first taken by Aboriginals, was the first to gain a lot of support from the general public for Aboriginal land rights.

In late 1966 the government offered a compromise pay rise of one hundred and twenty-five per cent, but the strikers still demanded wages equal to those of white stockmen and return of their land.

In 1972 the Australian Labor Party (ALP) came to power, with Aboriginal land rights high on its agenda, and, in 1975, negotiated with Vesteys to give the Gurindji back a portion of their land, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam said, “Vincent Lingiari, I solemnly hand to you these deeds as proof, in Australian law, that these lands belong to the Gurindji people and I put into your hands part of the earth itself as a sign that this land will be the possession of you and your children forever.”

The song was recorded by Paul Kelly and the Messengers for their 1991 album, Carmody recorded it on his 1993 album "Bloodlines" with numerous other musicians.

Kelly attributes the song’s major influences to protest songs from the civil rights movement and traditional folk songs. The melody is borrowed from Dylan’s "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll", with the opening line reworked from "The Times They Are a-Changin’".

E ………………..............…….… B7 ……....... E
Gather round people. I’ll tell you a story,

An eight year long story of power and pride.
..……………………................… B7 …...….…. E
British Lord Vestey and Vincent Lingiari
…………...............…………… B7 …......… E
Were opposite men on opposite sides.
Vestey was fat with money and muscle
Beef was his business, broad was his door.
Vincent was lean and spoke very little.
He had no bank balance, hard dirt was his floor.

A ……………............… E
From little things big things grow.
A …………...........…… E
From little things big things grow.

Gurindji were working for nothing but rations
Where once they had gathered the wealth of the land.
Daily the pressure got tighter and tighter;
Gurindji decided they must make a stand.
They picked up their swags and started off walking.
At Wattie Creek they sat themselves down.
Now it don't sound like much but it sure got tongues talking
Back at the homestead and then in the town.


Vestey man said, "I'll double your wages.
Eighteen quid a week you'll have in your hand."
Vincent said, "Uh-huh we're not talking about wages.
We're sitting right here 'til we get our land."
Vestey man roared and Vestey man thundered.
“You don't stand the chance of a cinder in snow.”
Vince said, "If we fall others are rising."

Then Vincent Lingiari boarded an airplane,
Landed in Sydney, great big city of lights,
And daily he went round softly speaking his story
To all kinds of men from all walks of life.
And Vincent sat down with them big politicians.
“This affair,” they told him, “is a matter of state.
Let us sort it out. Why, our people must be hungry.”
Vincent said, "No thanks We know how to wait."

Then Vincent ingiari returned in an airplane
Back to his country once more to sit down
And he told his people, “Let the stars keep on turning.
We’ve got friends in the south, in the cities and towns.”.
Eight years went by, eight long years of waiting
'Til one day a tall stranger appeared in the land
And he came with lawyers & he came with great ceremony
And through Vincent's fingers he poured a handful of sand.

That was the story of Vincent Lingiari,
But this is the story of something much more;
How power and privilege can not move a people
Who know where they stand and stand in the law.