Wenten Rubuntja
Wenten Rubuntja AM (c.1926–2005) was an Australian artist and Aboriginal rights activist who worked on the Central Land Council in the Northern Territory for several years.
Early life
[edit]Wenten Rubuntja has said that he was born in between 1923 and 1928 (therefore estimated at 1926)[a] in Burt's [sic] Creek, north of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia.[1] Burt Creek is a tiny community known as an outstation.[2][3] He was the son of sheep- and goatherd Bob Rubuntja.[1]
Acclaimed watercolour painter Albert Namatjira was his uncle.[4]
As a young man,Rubuntja was taken to Mount Hay, the traditional land of his father, where he was entrusted with the Fire Dreaming story that was part of his cultural heritage.[5] He grew up around the town camps of Alice Springs, where many missionaries were active, and he was baptised by Catholic, Lutheran, and possibly other missionaries. He attended mission schools briefly, but did not learn to read or write. He did however adapt the Christian world view with his own Arrernte traditional spirituality.[5]
Early work
[edit]As a young man, he worked as a stockman, and rode as a jockey at the Hermannsburg Races.[6] During World War II, he hunted kangaroos to feed the troops, and also performed menial jobs on cattle stations that were open to Aboriginal people.[5]
Career
[edit]His life changed after seeing his uncle Albert Namatjira at work, and he decided to turn to painting and advocacy for his community.[6] He began painting in the 1950s.[5]
Advocacy, activism, and community work
[edit]In 1975, Charlie Perkins was elected as first chair of the Central Land Council chair, and Rubuntja as his deputy.[6] He served as chairman of the Central Land Council in 1976-1980 and 1985-88.[5]
In 1976 he led over 1,000 Aboriginal people through Alice Springs demanding the passage of the Land Rights Act proposed (and passed that year) by the Liberal government led by Malcolm Fraser, and followed that up by touring the country addressing crowds on the topic.[5] In 1988, Rubuntja and Galarrwuy Yunupingu presented Prime Minister Bob Hawke with the Barunga Statement, which called for a treaty, at the Barunga Festival in Barunga.[6] Rubuntja played a key part in protecting many sacred sites in and around Alice Springs.[5]
Partly due to his efforts, the Federal Court of Australia recognised native title for the Arrernte people over large areas around Alice Springs in 2000 - the first time that Aboriginal people had been given title over municipal land.[5]
Rubuntja was a skilled negotiator, being able to integrate Indigenous and non-Indigenous concepts in a way that brought resolutions that satisfied all parties.[5]
He was a member of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation in 1991 and 1995.[5]
Art practice
[edit]Rabuntja worked at a camp called Yarrenyty Arltere, on the western side of the MacDonnell Ranges.[6] He painted in two main styles: in that of the Hermannsburg School (Namatjira) style, and, later dot painting, after Papunya Tula[6] developed the style in the 1970s. He believed that both styles expressed his connection to Country and his spirituality:[5]
Doesn't matter what sort of painting we do in this country; it still belongs to the people, all the people. This is worship, work, culture. It's all Dreaming.
Other roles
[edit]Rabuntja was also a storyteller and oral historian.[7]
Recognition and honours
[edit]In 1995, Rubuntja was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia, for "service to Aboriginal people, particularly in Central Australia".[8]
A photograph of Rubuntja by Greg Weight, taken in 1998, hangs in the National Portrait Gallery of Australia.[6]
Personal life
[edit]Rubuntja married Cynthia Perrurle in the mid-1950s, and they had many children together.[1]
He co-authored (with Jenny Green) his autobiography, The Town Grew Up Dancing, published in 2002.[1]
Collections
[edit]Rabuntja said that the Queen (Elizabeth II) and several prime ministers owned his paintings.[6] Pope John Paul II visited Alice Springs in 1986 and was presented with one of his paintings.[5]
His work is held in several major collections,[6] including:
- Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory[6]
- National Gallery of Australia[6]
- National Museum of Australia[7]
- Robert Holmes a Court collection[4]
- Araluen Collection in Alice Springs[4]
Footnotes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e "Wenten Rubuntja". The Hermannsburg School of Modern Art. 31 March 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
- ^ "Burt Creek". Place Names Register. NT Government. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
- ^ "Burt Creek". BushTel. NT Government. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
- ^ a b c "Aboriginal rights campaigner dies". The Age. 4 July 2005. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Hossack, Rebecca (12 August 2005). "Wenten Rubuntja". The Independent. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Weight, Greg. "WENTEN RUBUNTJA, 1998". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
- ^ a b "Wenten Rubuntja AM, b. 1923". National Portrait Gallery people. 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
- ^ "Wenten Rubuntja". Australian Honours Search Facility, Dept of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
Further reading
[edit]- Rabuntja, Wenten and Green, Jenny, with contributions from Rowse, Tim. The town grew up dancing: the life and art of Wenten Rubuntja. 2002. Jukurrpa Books, Alice Springs.
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