A Handful of Sand: The Gurindji Struggle, After the Walk-off (Aug 2016)

Charlie Ward

Fifty years ago, a group of striking Aboriginal stockmen in the remote Northern Territory of Australia heralded a revolution in the cattle industry and a massive shift in Aboriginal affairs. Now, A Handful of Sand tells the story behind the Gurindji people’s famous Wave Hill Walk-off in 1966. This book reveals the path Vincent Lingiari and other Gurindji elders took to achieve their land rights victory, and how their struggles in fact began, rather than ended, with Gough Whitlam’s handback in 1975.

A Handful of Sand makes a crucial contribution to understanding the complex challenges confronting both ‘white’ Australian policy makers and remote Aboriginal community leaders.

Eloquent, perceptive and finely honed … a major work in Australian history.

- Mark McKenna

The definitive work on the Walk-off and the Gurindji struggle.

- Ted Egan, AO

A narrative rich in ironies, well structured, much like a campfire tale… unfurling, exploring side channels, circling round.

- Nicolas Rothwell, The Australian

Release: Aug-2016

ISBN: 9781925377163

RRP (AUD): $29.95

Pages: 400

Format: Paperback & ebook

Category: History

Charlie Ward

Charlie Ward is a writer and historian, based in Darwin. He worked in the Gurindji communities of Kalkaringi and Daguragu between 2004 and 2006 and then as a researcher with the Stolen Generations’ Link-up program in Alice Springs. His writing has appeared in numerous Australian journals.

Monash University Publishing

Monash University Publishing publishes books of the highest standard across the humanities and social sciences, with special interest in books that specialise in Asian studies, politics, education, communications, Australian history, Indigenous issues, culture and society.