David Dalaithngu: Murray Bridge remembers actor, dancer, singer and painter with love and respect
From the Prime Minister to the South Australian community where he spent his final days, David Dalaithngu is remembered with love, respect and gratitude for his art.
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Australian cinema trailblazer David Dalaithngu is being remembered as a private man who still made time for everyone.
The legendary Yolŋu man, who was an actor, dancer, singer and painter, died at age 68 at his home at Murray Bridge. His death was announced on Monday night.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison is among those to have paid tribute to the star of such films as the original Storm Boy, The Tracker and Ten Canoes.
“He was a gift from our country, a gift to our country, who through dance, song, art and the stage allowed our country to see a better self,” Mr Morrison said.
“He was a mirror to the soul of Australia. On stage, television and the big screen, David shone and reflected something massive of the 60,000 year history of Indigenous people in this country.
“He understood story and meaning, he carried himself with elegance, grace, dignity and beauty.”
Dalaithngu’s family has given permission for his name and image to continue to be used after his death, in accordance with his wishes. He was known by another surname during his lifetime.
AT PEACE
Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute released a statement saying the world had “lost a legend of our lifetime, a national and global treasure”.
“Our love and deepest condolences to his family, friends and all others grieving his passing whilst honouring his remarkable life and contribution,” it said.
While Tandanya, in the Adelaide CBD, was closed to the public yesterday as a mark of respect, it became a site to reflect upon an extraordinary life and remarkable career spanning 50 years.
Flowers were placed at a mural of Dalaithngu by South Australian artist Thomas Readett, a Ngarrindjeri man, in collaboration with Apparition Media.
“I did one design, David approved, and that design is what you see on the mural,” Readett said.
“David gave me creative freedom and trusted in me as an artist, which meant a lot to me.
“I believe David’s incredible work in film over his many years has paved the way for other First Nations creatives. Being one of the first groundbreaking Indigenous actors, he was able to educate audiences, create opportunities for First Nations peoples and, of course, bring smiles to his audiences. His work and legacy will live on forever.”
Murray Bridge Mayor Brenton Lewis said Dalaithngu had lived “an amazing life”.
“He chose to live here as his final home and he would have been very much aware it would be his final home,” Mr Lewis said.
Mr Lewis said Dalaithngu, who had struggled to balance living and working between First Nations and Western cultures, had said in recent interviews that he had finally found peace within himself.
“I think he had come to grips with his whole life... that he did that within our community, we can be very proud of that,” Mr Lewis said.
LOCAL LEGEND
Other members of the Murray Bridge community, where the council’s Aboriginal and Australian flags were flying at half mast, were also paying their respects to the star, who they knew to be an extremely private man.
Dalaithngu appreciated them too – giving them the first look at his last film, a documentary about his life.
My Name is Gulpilil, which was directed by Molly Reynolds, was released earlier this year as part of the Adelaide Festival.
It premiered in March at Murray Bridge’s Cameo Cinema over two nights, with Dalaithngu appearing at both screenings despite his deteriorating health as he battled lung cancer.
The cinema’s owner, Daryl Kennett, said it was a “wonderful honour” to meet him.
“I knew him from the movies,” Mr Kennett said. “It was an honour for him to select our cinema for his screenings.”
Dalaithngu, who lived with his friend and carer Mary Hood, was a very private person, he said.
“He spent a lot of time in their little unit,” he said. “He didn’t go out much.”
Mr Kennett said his family’s business opened in 1976, the year Storm Boy was released.
“We screened all his movies,” Mr Kennett said, also recalling how Dalaithngu, who was an internationally acclaimed dancer, made his acting debut in UK director Nicholas Roeg’s 1971 film Walkabout.
“For the cinema industry to pick him as a dancer from Ramingining Arnhem Land... it’s history.”
MISSING POP
Murray Bridge local Jess Hefford is a distant relative of Colin Thiele, the author of the novel Storm Boy on which the acclaimed film was based.
While she grew up watching Storm Boy, Ms Hefford didn’t realise the regular at her workplace, the Swanport Hotel, was the actor who had played Fingerbone Bill, until someone told her.
“It was amazing to meet the man who was in the movie and Crocodile Dundee,” Ms Hefford said, referring to Dalaithngu’s 1986 film with Paul Hogan.
“He was honestly the most gentle, kind man.”
Ms Hefford said she had got to know Dalaithngu well during the past four years.
“I was always the one who brought him his meals,” she said.
“His favourite thing from our restaurant menu was barramundi and after it was taken off the menu it was put back on it, just for him – that’s how much we appreciated him.
“He would always have a cup of tea with milk on the side and a dish of cranberry sauce for his chips.”
Ms Hefford said Dalaithngu always greeted her with “hello, my baby” and was like her “missing pop”.
“He was the grandpa you didn’t have,” she said.
“He was just a gem and had time for everyone who wanted an autograph or a photo and was always happy and kind about it.
“It’s definitely a big loss.”
Dalaithngu had also visited the Murray Bridge Hotel over the years.
One of the hotel’s managers, Bec Kessels, said while she had not seen him for about four or five years, he would visit to “do the rounds” and sometimes have a meal.
“He’d pop in every now and again to chat to family... he was definitely not a showy person,” she said. “He would just quietly come in and move around and people would come up and talk to him.”
SUPERSTAR QUALITY
South Australian Film Corporation chief executive Kate Croser said Dalaithngu was a “bold and brave trailblazer” who had changed the way Australian film represented First Nations people and their cultural heritage.
“His contribution to South Australian and Australian arts and culture cannot be overstated,” she said.
Greg Rowe, who made his film debut at 11 in Storm Boy, has said Dalaithngu was keen to share his language with the child actor calling him “little brother”.
“He was fantastic – an incredible presence,’ Rowe said.
Dalaithngu’s biographer Derek Rielly agreed he was a superstar and a character in every sense of the word.
“It’s sad that Australia has lost a genuine international movie star,” Mr Rielly said.
“We make plenty of B-list actors, but David was glamorous and larger than life and all those great things.”
Mr Rielly, a Sydney-based writer, travelled to Murray Bridge to interview Dalaithngu, who
was suffering from lung cancer and the effects of medication. It was a challenging interview.
“And you have to remember that English is something like his sixth language, but when he did talk it was in this beautiful, melodic, poetic way,” Mr Rielly said.
Neil Armfield directed Dalaithngu in his one-man work for the theatre, Gulpilil, which premiered at the 2004 Adelaide Festival.
Dalaithngu would create his performance every night and asked to be prompted if he ever became “boring” on stage, said Armfield, who is now the festival’s joint artistic director.
“He adored his audience as a dancer, actor, storyteller,” he said, highlighting Dalaithngu’s mesmerising screen presence.
“He had a face that the camera just adored and he adored the camera.
“He knew that beyond that glass black eye there were millions of people watching him and, in a sense, eternity.”
- with Nathan Davies
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