Artist who sued Reserve Bank over $10 note dies within days of wife
Indigenous leaders around Australia are paying their respects to Arnhem Land elders Mr and Mrs T and C Yumbulul, following their deaths last month.
Aboriginal and Torres Islander readers are advised that this article contains the names and images of people who have died, used with the permission of their family.
Mrs Yumbulul migrated from Italy with her family as a child, before moving to Elcho Island off the coast of north-east Arnhem Land as a young woman.
She went on to marry Mr T Yumbulul, the son of legendary philosopher and diplomat David Burrumarra.
Mr Yumbulul was a world-renowned artist whose work features as a mosaic on the floor of Sydney's Bondi Pavilion and in galleries around the world.
Mr and Mrs Yumbulul are being remembered by Indigenous leaders across Australia. (Supplied)
Marina DeJurnett (Wangurra) was raised by the Yumbululs and described them as "once in a lifetime people".
"They passed away within days of each other … it is like a real love story,"
she said.
"He wouldn't have been able to live without her and she couldn't and wouldn't live without him either."
Family member Marina DeJurnett (Wangurra) described Mr and Mrs Yunbulil as "once in a lifetime people". (ABC News: Michael Franchi)
From Trieste to Arnhem Land
Mrs Yumbulul was born in the city of Trieste in northern Italy and migrated to Adelaide with her family as a 12-year-old.
She travelled to Arnhem Land as a young woman where she met Mr Yumbulul in the community of Galiwin'ku on remote Elcho Island.
After marrying Mr Yumbulul in 1982, she spent the rest of her life with him, learned the local language and became an integral part of the community.
Prominent academic and Aboriginal activist has been friends with the Yumbululs since the 1990s. (Supplied: Potter Museum of Art)
Long-time friend and colleague, academic Marcia Langton, described her as "a delight to speak to".
"She always maintained her own very strong personality, but she was also beautifully integrated into Yolŋu culture," she said.
"She was an extraordinarily elegant woman and observed Yolŋu etiquette and European etiquette at all times."
A landmark court case
One of Mr Yumbulul's artworks featured on the world's first plastic banknote, a special edition $10 note commemorating the bicentenary of European settlement in 1988.
Mr Yumbulul contested the reserve bank's use of his art in the Federal Court. (ABC News)
The image depicted the "highly sacred" morning star poles, which Professor Langton said were "only seen at ceremonies".
It was used without Mr Yumbulul's permission and he sued the Reserve Bank of Australia over it.
While he was unsuccessful, the judge's comments set a new legal precedent.
"This was the case that established that an artist's work could not be used without their permission, particularly in relation to Aboriginal art,"
Professor Langton said.
Preserving culture around the world
Top End historian Mike Owen said Mr Yumbulul played an important role in identifying and recording historical artefacts from around the world.
Mike Owen said the Yumbululs life stories were "just extraordinary". (ABC News: Pete Garnish)
"His parents and grandparents grew up in a pre-iron world … so I was able to ask him about artefacts that he would have heard about as a kid," he said.
Mr Owen said Mr Yumbulul's ability to "engage with all sorts of people" meant he helped identify ancient artefacts from around Australia and as far away as Scotland.
"I was over in the Ness of Brodgar, an important archaeological site in the Orkneys, in 2019," Mr Owen said.
Mr annd Mrs Yumbulul were passionate about preserving and sharing the history of Arnhem Land. (Supplied)
"[Archaeologists] found these artefacts and they didn't know what they were for.
"So I asked [Mr Yumbulul] and he said, 'oh, they're for getting the meat out of crab's legs'.
"To be able to go to someone and talk to them about what we as humans were doing and using in the Stone Age is remarkable."
'Go-to people for everything'
Ms DeJurnett said while art and culture were big parts of the Yumbululs' lives, they "didn't sit in one bucket," and their work with remote communities throughout northern Australia had a big impact.
"They both worked in health," she said.
"[Mr Yumbulul] led the regionalisation of health services.
"This was basically returning back control over health services across the region to Aboriginal control."
Mr and Mrs Yumbulul were married for nearly 45 years. (Supplied)
Former federal minister for Indigenous Affairs Nigel Scullion first met Mr Yumbulul when he was working as a fisherman off the Arnhem Land coast in 1984.
He described him as "a great Australian".
"He was a person without a formalised education, educated in a mission school to primary school and he lectured to professors around the world,"
he said.
He said Mr Yumbulul was "a very fine negotiator and a great diplomat" who regularly gave him advice during his time in politics.
Nigel Scullion first met the Yumbululs in 1984 and they became close friends. (Supplied)
"He had me on speed dial and he used to, from time to time, let me know what he thought about particular matters," he said.
"He made sure that his voice was heard, not by the activist sort of yelling, always through diplomacy."
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