#warmun

Rover Thomas (c.1926–1998) changed the course of Aboriginal Australian art through paintings that transformed Kimberley Country into monumental fields of ochre, memory, and spiritual geography. Emerging from the Gurirr Gurirr (Krill Krill) ceremony at Warmun during the late 1970s, Rover developed a radically simplified visual language built from earth pigments, aerial landscape forms, and ceremonial mapping.

Unlike Western Desert dot painting, Rover Thomas’ work reduced rivers, roads, massacre sites, and sacred places into elemental compositions of black, red, yellow, and white ochre. His paintings feel ancient and modern at the same time — somewhere between landscape, history painting, and abstraction.

In 1990 Rover Thomas became one of the first Aboriginal artists to represent Australia at the Venice Biennale, helping shift Aboriginal art from anthropological framing into the centre of contemporary international art discourse.

My experience on the Kimberley leg of the Journey to Recognition has been insightful. As a local Gija woman from Warmun Community in the East Kimberley, I was honoured to share just a few of the stories of Aboriginal people in this region with the Journey team. I was also honoured to be part of something I truly believe in and that is for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to be both recognised and properly embraced in Australia’s Constitution.

The first insight is that no matter where our stories come from, we must continue to share them in as many ways as we can, with as many people as we can. The more we share, the more we learn and the more we learn, the more we connect. 1967 was the first time Aboriginal people were acknowledged as citizens of Australia and we must remember that was only 46 years ago. Like many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, I see daily reminders of the trauma preceding that day, celebrations on that day and the opportunities it presented. We must also acknowledge that we have a long way to go.

The second insight is that we must have the courage to say we are worth recognising because we are the longest surviving culture in the world and that’s something all Australians should be proud of. As we clocked up the kilometres and I shared stories of my country and my family with Charlee-Sue, I considered this. Imagine when Australia, my generation, the generations before me and the generations to come find the courage to step forward together. And imagine the positive change we could create together when we share OUR entire story.

The third and final insight is that being part of the Journey to Recognition and believing in the power of our people has made me appreciate the sacrifices my parents, grandparents and great-grandparents made. They believed in the power of knowledge and wisdom, to protect and ensure that like many other young Aboriginal people, I have the opportunity to be part of something so incredible that it would bring tears to their eyes – to not only be recognised as Australia’s first people but to do so in a way that is respectful, honours the past and embraces the future for all Australians.