Yugul: And Arnhem Land Cattle Station

Abstract

This is a study of the formation and collapse of the Yugul Cattle Company (YCC) an Aboriginal-owned pastoral company set up at Ngukurr in south-eastern Arhhem Land. The involvement of remote Aborigines in a non-traditional enterprise has been little studied with the result that this important area of Aboriginal activity has been neglected in many current explanations and descriptions of the Aborigines’ society and their position in Australia. The scope of this work is strongly influenced by the belief that what happens on settlements can only be adequately explained by reference to Aboriginal European relations in Australia as a whole, and especially to the role of governments which have played such a major part in determining the lives of Aborigines living in remote settlements. I have shown that the formation, establishment and collapse of the YCC were all heavily influenced by factors external to Ngukurr.