Gatjil Djerrkura
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Donald Gatjil Djerrkura OAM (Yolŋu Matha:Gätjil Djerrkura) (1949 – 26 May 2004) was an Aboriginal Australian leader and Indigenous spokesman in the Northern Territory and Australia.
Gätjil Djerrkura was born in Yirrkala, in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, in 1949.[1][better source needed]
He attended school at the Yirrkala Mission School and later attended bible college in Brisbane.[1] He was given the English name "Donald".[2]
Career
Djerrkura was a senior elder of the Wangurri clan of the Yolngu people. He was responsible for a number of traditional and ceremonial activities on behalf of his clan and the East Arnhem Land/Yirrkala Aboriginal community.[1]
He was appointed to the role of chairperson of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) on 6 December 1996 and held it until 2000. In this role he advocated for Australia to become a republic and for Constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians.[3] In so doing, he was a core part of the republican movement in Australia and he led the push for the addition of a new preamble to the Constitution of Australia which recognised to original and continuing custodianship of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; this was ultimately included in the 1999 Australian republic referendum.[3]
Positions
- Chairman of the Batchelor College Council, NT
- Director of the Board of the Indigenous Land Corporation
- Director of the Board of the Land Enterprise Australia
- Member of the Council for Aboriginal reconciliation
- General Manager of Yirrkala Business Enterprises in Nhulunbuy
- Chairperson of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commercial Development Corporation
- Director of the Henry Walker Group
Publications
- At the Crossroads : Native Title, Economic Development and their Impact on Reconciliation. South Australia : Kaurna Higher Education Centre. Aboriginal Studies Centre. University of South Australia, 1997. (essay)[1]
Recognition and honours
On Australia Day 1984 Djerrkura was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in recognition of service to Aboriginal welfare.[2][1]
On 1 January 2001 he received a Centenary Medal, for service to Australian society through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission.[4][1]
