Wave Hill’s location in the Northern Territory

On 23 August 1966, 200 Gurindji stockmen, domestic workers and their families — led by Vincent Lingiari — initiated strike action at Wave Hill station in the Northern Territory. Negotiations with the station owners, the international food company Vestey Brothers, broke down, leading to a seven-year dispute.

This eventually led to the return of a portion of their homelands to the Gurindji people in 1974, and the passing of the first legislation that allowed for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to claim land title if they could prove a traditional relationship to the country.