Big river country

Stories from Elsey Station Told by Amy Dirngayg, Betty Lardy, Jackeroo Lirrawi, Jessie Roberts, Lulu Jilimbirrnga, Mary Nurniyn, Rita Morgan, Sheila Conway, Splinter Harris and compiled by Francesca Merlan. Elsey Station has long been famous as the setting for We of the Never-Never, Jeannie Gunn's Australian classic of pioneering outback life. In Big River Country, the Elsey is revealed through the words of the country's original inhabitants, the Mangarrayi and Yangman people of the Roper River area. Their stories are of creator figures - the barramundi, the brown goshawk, the red parrot - who travelled the region and endowed the country with meaning; they describe clashes and accommodations with the station and its bosses; and speak of hopes for better times to come, when Aboriginal people can 'fixem up and run everything properly'. Elsey Station famous as the setting for We of the Never-Never is revealed through the words of the country's original inhabitants the Mangarrayi and Yangman people of the Roper River area. Their stories are of creator figures who travelled the region and endowed the country with meaning; they describe clashes and accommodations with the station and its bosses and speak of hopes for better times to come when Aboriginal people can 'fixem up and run everything properly'.