Naku Dharuk The Bark Petitions: How the People of Yirrkala Changed the Course of Australian Democracy

‘This is officially the first history of the Uluru Statement era: the very messy story of power, subjugation and co-existence told by a brilliant historian. Clare Wright pioneers a way forward for the nation, starting with voice. The genesis of the right to be heard started with a bark petition.’ Prof. Megan Davis, Scientia Professor and Balnaves Chair in Constitutional Law, UNSW; Harvard Chair in Australian Studies

In 1963—a year of agitation for civil rights worldwide—the Yolŋu of northeast Arnhem Land created the Yirrkala Bark Petitions: Naku Dharuk. ‘The land grew a tongue’ and the land-rights movement was born.

Naku Dharuk is the story of a founding document in Australian democracy and the trailblazers who made it. It is also a pulsating picture of the ancient and enduring culture of Australia’s first peoples.

And it is a masterful, groundbreaking history.

Clare Wright’s Democracy Trilogy began with The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka and continued with You Daughters of Freedom. It concludes with this compulsively readable account of a momentous episode in our shared story.

‘A landmark history.’ Mark McKenna

Professor Clare Wright OAM is an award-winning historian, author, broadcaster, podcaster and public commentator who has worked in politics, academia and the media. Clare is currently Professor of History and Professor of Public Engagement at La Trobe University. She is the author of four works of history, including the best-selling The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka and You Daughters of Freedom. Clare has written and presented history documentaries for ABC TV. She also hosts the ABC Radio National history podcast, Shooting the Past, co-hosts the La Trobe University podcast Archive Fever (with Yves Rees) and is Executive Producer of Hey History! the first Australian history podcast designed for use in the classroom. In 2020, Clare was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in the Australia Day Honours list for ‘services to literature and to historical research’. Clare is Chair of the National Museum of Australia Council and past Board Director of the Wheeler Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas.

‘A masterpiece.’ Thomas Mayo, co-author of The Voice to Parliament Handbook

‘Stunningly beautiful…I am in awe of this book. It’s like nothing I’ve ever read.’ Prof. Frank Bongiorno, author of Dreamers and Schemers: A Political History of Australia

‘A stunning work of history. Deep and rich, complex and expansive.’ Prof. Anna Clark, author of Making Australian History