Burnum Burnum

Burnum Burnum (born Henry James “Harry” Penrith, 1936-1997) was a Yuin man and one of the most creative and visible Aboriginal rights advocates of the late 20th century. He was born “under a sacred gum tree at Mosquito Point on Wallaga Lake Aboriginal Reserve” and was removed from his family as an infant, raised in institutions including Kinchela Boys’ Home under policies that taught him “white was good and black bad.” In adulthood he reclaimed his heritage, taking the ancestral name Burnum Burnum — “Great Warrior.”

He campaigned for land, language and justice for decades, supported the Gurindji at Wave Hill, and helped establish the Black Community School in Townsville with Eddie Koiki Mabo. In Sydney he also ran an Indigenous social tennis club in Surry Hills, building cultural solidarity through sport. A gifted athlete, he represented NSW in basketball and rugby union and was selected for Wallaby trials — a rare milestone for an Aboriginal man of his era.

His most famous act occurred on 26 January 1988, when he sailed to England, planted the Aboriginal flag on the cliffs of Dover and read a declaration mirroring colonial language back at Britain: “In claiming this colonial outpost, we wish no harm to you natives…” and “we will not publicly display the skeletal remains of your Royal Highness, as was done to our Queen Truganninni for eighty years.” By wit, theatre and a passion for justice, Burnum Burnum spoke truth to power and was unflinching in his advocacy.