Cirrus@Austlit

'…ngabaya painted all this, you know when we were kids we would come here and look and sometimes the paintings would change, they were always changing.” Annie a-Karrakayny

'Fully illustrated, Jakarda Wuka (Too Many Stories) draws on a combined 70+ years of collaborative research involving Yanyuwa Elders, anthropologists, and an archaeologist to tell a unique story about the rock art from Yanyuwa Country in northern Australia’s southwest Gulf of Carpentaria.  

'Australia’s rock art is recognised globally for its antiquity, abundance, distinctive motifs and the deep and abiding knowledge Indigenous people continue to hold for these powerful symbols. However, books about Australian rock art jointly written by Indigenous communities, anthropologists, and archaeologists are extremely rare.

'Combining Yanyuwa and western knowledge, the authors embark on a journey to reveal the true meaning of Yanyuwa rock art. At the heart of this book is the understanding that a painting is not just a painting, nor is it an isolated phenomenon or a static representation. What underpins Yanyuwa perceptions of their rock art is kinship, because people are kin to everything and everywhere on Country.

'Jakarda Wuka highlights the multidimensional nature of Yanyuwa rock art: it is an active social agent in the landscape, capable of changing according to different circumstances and events, connected to the epic travels and songs of Ancestral Beings (Dreamings), and related to various aspects of Yanyuwa life such as ceremony, health and wellbeing, identity, and narratives concerning past and present-day events.

'In a time where Indigenous communities, archaeologists, and anthropologists are seeking new ways to work together and better engage with Indigenous knowledges to interpret the “archaeological record”, Jakarda Wuka delivers a masterful and profound narrative of Yanyuwa Country and its rock art.' (Publication summary)

'Born and raised in Sydney, Dick Dakeyne, survived 48 missions and 500 hours flying over Japanese enemy territory during World War Two, both as a gunner and radar countermeasures operator. Most of his service was spent living and flying with US Army Air Force bomb squadrons based at Fenton airstrip 140 kilometers south of Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia. Dick's account describes living with the Americans and flying in B-24 Liberator long-range heavy bombers, on record-breaking missions lasting 16 hours. Death surrounded him, with the loss of fellow servicemen from Japanese ack-ack (anti-aircraft) guns, machine gun fire from enemy planes, and bombing raids on northern Australia. Aircraft were lost from the hazards of flying vast distances over empty oceans, through tropical storms and into massive weather fronts.For his military service and bravery, Dick was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) from Australia. The United States also offered him one of their highest awards, the Medal of Freedom. However, the Australian Government's policy at the time barred Australians from receiving this American award, and on Dick's behalf, refused acceptance.' (Source: Google Books)