William Thomson, Barunga/Kalkarindji Festivals (Doco/Photojournalism (2019))

Every year, during the winter months of the Northern Territory, many festivals pop up, representing arts, culture, history, local music, films and much much more. I was fortunate enough to be a part of two big festivals of the Territory, the Barunga Festival in Barunga and the Freedom Day Festival in Kalkarindji. The Barunga festival had the 30th year anniversary of the promised Barunga treaty, A treaty promised to the local people of Barunga 30 years ago, yet was never signed by the government. This year saw a change as the Barunga Agreement had been signed, acknowledging the traditional caretakers of the land. A quote I heard during the festival opening has stayed with me: "You won't have anything taken from you, but rather you will have gained thousands of years of history" A 13 hour drive from Tennant Creek leads to Kalkarindji's Freedom day festival, which celebrates the infamous Wave Hill Walk Off in 1966, a strike by the Gurindji stock-men walked off Wave Hill station. Every year, the festival begins by recreating that walk across the bridge to a bluegum tree where the welcome to country happens. It's a touching moment to see locals to be so willing to share history and stories to anyone with a genuine interest in learning.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.