This clip shows Arrernte recording artist Warren H Williams with non-Indigenous fellow musicians John Williamson and Ted Egan. Williamson sings part of his song 'A Thousand Feet’ and Williams and Egan work on their song 'Mbantua’. Williams and Egan then are shown singing outside the Pine Gap Joint Defence Facility, located near Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. Williams speaks in English, Aboriginal English and Arrernte (subtitled) about the importance of making expressions of Indigenous culture widely accessible.

Educational value points

• This clip provides a fine example of harmonious race relations, showing the warmth of the relationship between Warren Williams and Ted Egan. The way they go about sharing the development of the song 'Mbantua’ is constructive and even-handed, and it is Egan who suggests singing sections of the song in the Arrernte language. Mbantua is phonetic spelling of Mparntwe, the Arrernte word for Alice Springs and its surrounds.
• The inclusion of John Williamson, a well-known non-Indigenous person, singing his song 'A Thousand Feet (Have Walked through Here)’, prompts reflection on the endless stretch of history represented by Indigenous occupation and stewardship of the land now called Australia.
• Ted Egan AO (1932–) is an 'Australian National Living Treasure’ and was Administrator of the Northern Territory 2003–07. Egan is an author and songwriter with a distinguished career in Aboriginal affairs, historical studies, and the preservation and promotion of Australia’s cultural heritage. He has worked with Indigenous people across Australia, including such places as Borroloola, Groote Eylandt, Maningrida and Yuendumu.
• The scene outside Pine Gap Joint Defence Facility draws a witty yet unstated contrast between the two men cheerily singing the words 'the cluster of roofs that shine in the midday sun’ and the mysterious domes of the Pine Gap Facility that loom behind them. The Facility was jointly established by the Australian and US governments in December 1966 and carries out secretive satellite military surveillance and communication functions.
• Williams is shown communicating in a comfortable way, both in speech and in song, using three different languages – in Arrernte, in the very common dialect Aboriginal English and in English. He suggests that the mixing of languages 'spreads it out, makes the song for everyone’. He also notes that 'we have to include White culture to stop them misunderstanding us’.
• Williams’s discussion of the need to make his culture more widely accessible is accompanied by footage of an Alice Springs street parade, in which students from Yipirinya school are participating. Yipirinya is an independent school for Aboriginal students who learn bilingually and biculturally. In the clip they are shown carrying a version of Yipirinya, the Giant Caterpillar, which is the major Ancestral Being of the area.
• The clip is from a documentary produced by the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA), which is owned by the Aboriginal people of central Australia. CAAMA was established in 1980 for the social, cultural and economic advancement of Aboriginal peoples, through the promotion of Aboriginal culture and the generation of economic benefits in the form of training and employment in media production.

The nature of the collaboration between Warren H Williams, John Williamson and Ted Egan is non-conflictive and respectfully done. One cultural perspective is not made to appear to dominate the other.

Warren H Williams, the stories, the songs Synopsis

A documentary about Arrernte musician Warren H Williams, who shares the source of his musical inspiration and the role of family and culture in his personal and professional life.

Warren H Williams, the stories, the songs is part of the Nganampa Anwernekenhe series produced by Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) Productions. Nganampa Anwernekenhe means 'ours’ in the Pitjantjatjara and Arrernte lanuages, and the series aims to contribute to the preservation of Indigenous languages and cultures.

Curator's Notes

Warren H Williams is an Arrernte musician, and in Warren H Williams, the stories, the songs he shares with us the source of his inspiration and his professional accomplishments. Williams was born in Hermannsburg and, inspired by his musical family, became a singer-songwriter himself.

The power of this documentary is in how the filmmakers communicate the relationship Williams has with his country, as well as the significance of his work being rooted in the cultural beliefs of his people. The landscape in this film is depicted as colourful and vibrant, and Warren H Williams communicates this dynamism through his music. Music, story, country and Williams himself are woven into a tapestry of image and song.

Notes by Romaine Moreton