Obituary from the Age:
Wamud Namok, one of the Northern Territory’s most distinguished indigenous figures who was widely known as Lofty Bardayal Nadjamerrek, has died at the remote western Arnhem Land outstation of Kabulwarnamyo. He was 83.
Namok was a rock artist whose knowledge of the land, its history and ceremonies was a great help to anthropologists, botanists and other researchers.
He also led a movement that won for his people in 2002 a vast protected area, the Warddeken and Djelk Indigenous Protected Areas, about one-third the size of Tasmania, which stretches from high rocky country to the islands off northern Australia. It include sandstone gorges, pristine rivers, tropical savanna and coastal wetlands. Under a federal agreement, traditional owners – 137 Aboriginal groups – manage the reserves, helped by indigenous rangers in full-time jobs paid for by Canberra.
Born in the Mann River area of central Arnhem Land, Namok did not attend school. Rater, he spent his early years learning the traditional Aboriginal ways of living and developed his local and traditional knowledge.
