Hobbles Danayarri
Hobbles Danayarri | |
|---|---|
| Born | circa 1925 |
| Died | 1988-03-24 Katherine Hospital, Northern Territory, Australia |
| Occupation(s) | Stockman, Aboriginal law custodian, community leader |
| Known for | Mudburra elder, participation in Wave Hill walk-off, oral histories documenting Indigenous perspectives |
Hobbles Danayarri (circa 1925 – 24 March 1988) was a Mudburra elder originating from Wave Hill Station, located in the Northern Territory of Australia. He served as a stockman, an Aboriginal law custodian, and a prominent community figure.
Life in the Northern Territory
Danayarri’s totem was the barramundi, represented by a distinctive mark on his forehead. Immersed from childhood in his ancestral land and traditions, he mastered traditional songs, frequented sacred locations, and earned respect as a lawman.
In his youth, Danayarri worked as a stockman at Wave Hill and Victoria River Downs Station, where he personally observed the systemic discrimination and poor remuneration endured by Aboriginal laborers. Aboriginal people were legally classified as wards of the state without citizenship rights, with their liberties controlled by the Protector of Aborigines and subsequently the Department of Native Affairs. In 1966, he participated in the Wave Hill walk-off, during which more than 200 Aboriginal workers protested for land rights and equitable pay.
Following the conclusion of the walk-off in 1975, Danayarri and his wife Lizzie Wardaliya, a woman of the Ngarinman people, played key roles in founding the community at Yarralin.
As a storyteller, Danayarri collaborated extensively with researcher Deborah Bird Rose over more than thirty years to document his oral histories. His accounts frequently presented Indigenous viewpoints on colonisation, notably challenging traditional narratives by portraying Captain James Cook as an invader who dispossessed Aboriginal peoples. He underscored Cook’s failure to recognize Aboriginal sovereignty or show respect upon arrival.
Rose has described Danayarri’s oral histories as vital contributions to Australian literature that have not received adequate recognition.
Danayarri was critical of the church’s role within his community. On one occasion, he emphatically rejected a Bible with a powerful statement. He championed the observance of Aboriginal law rather than Western religious doctrines imposed upon his people.
He passed away from cancer on 24 March 1988 at Katherine Hospital and was interred at Wave Hill station. Danayarri held the belief that his spirit would become a shooting star, eternally linked to his homeland.