Iconic Australian Jack Thompson AM delivers this year’s Vincent Lingiari Memorial Lecture
Iconic Australian actor and First Nations advocate Jack Thompson AM has delivered the 23rd Vincent Lingiari Memorial Lecture at Charles Darwin University (CDU) this month.
The annual Vincent Lingiari Memorial Lecture commemorates the historic Wave Hill Station walk-off led by Gurindji leader Vincent Lingiari in 1966. This was a catalyst for recognising traditional land rights and inspired national change for equal wages and conditions for First Nations workers.
For over 60 years Mr Thompson has been a household name in Australian and international cinema, staring in several roles including the Man from Snowy River, the Magic Pudding, Australia, and the Great Gatsby.
Mr Thompson is also the co-founder and figurehead of the Jack Thompson Foundation, an organisation that is addressing unemployment and housing shortages in First Nations communities by teaching the communities how to build their own homes from materials available on-Country.
The Foundation is closely connected with the Garma Festival, with several community members building shelters and ceremony sites for the festival.
Mr Thompson’s time as a stockman on Elkedra Station in the Northern Territory when he was 15, inspired his lecture which is titled “A Stockman’s Life”.
Of his lecture which was unscripted, Mr Thompson spoke about the world as it was back in 1955 and how Vincent Lingiari changed things.
“I was the only white stockman on the station, but the First Nations stockman treated me as if I was family. I learned about their culture and language and their Country which had been theirs for thousands of years and was so familiar to them,” Mr Thompson said.
“I started on two pound 10 a week in pay, but the Indigenous workers got much less than that, so hopefully from my story the audience can better understand the time and why the Walk-off happened.”
“Vincent Lingiari was the public face of the land rights movement and the moment the Prime Minister poured red dirt in Vincent’s hands was so important.”
Mr Thompson said it is an extraordinary honour for him to deliver the Vincent Lingiari Memorial Lecture.
“It is an honour to be part of a great list of past speakers who understand the dilemma of our relationship with Indigenous Australians and have delivered such well thought and inspiring Vincent Lingiari Memorial Lectures in the past,” Mr Thompson said.
“I am very thankful to CDU for this opportunity and I have a close connection to the University after being awarded an Honorary Doctorate in 2012.”
Last year’s thought-provoking Vincent Lingiari Memorial Lecture titled “Two kinds of time: how we can meet each other again in Australia" was delivered by critically acclaimed journalist, author, radio and television presenter Professor Stan Grant Jr.
CDU’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor of First Nations Leadership and Engagement, Professor Reuben Bolt said Mr Thompson provided an insightful lecture.
“The Vincent Lingiari Memorial Lecture is such an important event in our calendar as it commemorates the legacy of the Wave Hill Walk-off which was such a significant turning point for First Nations people’s rights,” Professor Bolt said.
“We were pleased to welcome such a prominent figure and advocate for First Nations peoples in Jack Thompson to deliver his address and foster awareness of the issues facing First Nations communities.”