Yunupiŋu played the long game on native title – and has finally won | Clare Wright

Yunupiu was 15 years old when the Yolu Bark Petitions were sent to Canberra from his home in north-east Arnhem Land and presented to the House of Representatives in August 1963 .

The petitions sought parliamentary intervention after the Menzies government issued licences to a French company to mine bauxite on land.

He was deemed too young to be a signatory by the clan elders, including his father, Mungurruway , who appointed nine men and three women between the age of 18 and 36 to sign the petitions.

Yunupu was one of only a handful of boys sent away to bible school in Brisbane to learn about the games that they played’.

Clare Wright is professor of history at La Trobe University .

Her latest book is äku Dhäruk The Bark Petitions: How the People of Yirrkala Changed the Course of Australian Democracy (Text, 2024 ) Yunupiu was not in the high court of Australia to see the government's appeal quashed.