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Ted of the Territory

Posted on September 16, 2011

MEMORIES: Ted has many Aboriginal friends in the Territory, including Kakudu Man, Bill Neidji, and is pushing the use of indigenous languages.

COUNTRY folk singer Ted Egan is well known here in Sunraysia. He has visited and performed here many times, most recently for last year’s Mildura Country Music Festival.

He had a sister who lived here for many years, and Ted himself picked grapes at Red Cliffs when passing through the region on his way to Darwin in 1949. He was just 17.

Ted was born in Melbourne, but has lived most of his life in the Northern Territory. From 1949 until 1973 he worked as a patrol officer, reserve superintendent and a teacher.

He was also an outstanding sportsman.

Ted began a second career as an entertainer, writer, historian and TV presenter in 1974. He has produced 30 albums, and has been one of a rare few able to bridge the gap between country and folk music, becoming one of Australia’s most enduring and popular artists.

Ted’s first degree – a Bachelor of Arts – was achieved the hard way, studying in the bush by the light of a Tilley lamp.

He completed his masters with a study of the series of killings in Arnhem Land in the 1930s, and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Literature from Charles Darwin University.

He is currently doing his PhD, researching the life of Dr John Gilruth – the Scottish-born veterinary scientist who was appointed by the Commonwealth in 1912 as the first Administrator of the Northern Territory.

Gilruth is best known for his forced resignation. He was forced to escape Darwin under escort in 1918 after an angry group of union-led protesters demanded his resignation.

This incident is known as the Darwin Rebellion.

Listed as a ‘Living National Treasure’ in 2002, Ted has also been named Territorian of the Year, and has been awarded an AO for “outstanding record of service to the Aboriginal people and ongoing contribution to the literary heritage of Australia through song and verse.”

Ironically, Ted Egan served as Administrator (Governor) of the Northern Territory from 2003-2007, but with more success it seems than the predecessor he is now studying.

Ted has been a champion of the First Australians, as he believes they should be called, from almost his early days in the Territory, and writes in his fascinating autobiography how, when he was passionately defending in court an Aboriginal’s right to walk in the street, the judge told him: “You’ll learn.”

He says: “Thank God, I never did!”

His autobiography, ‘Sitdown Up North’ is a fascinating read, mingling adventure with heart-felt, and often brutally honest, accounts of the Aboriginal way of life.

Ted writes about his introduction to footy (Australian Rules) at which he excelled. He also starred on the cricket field, and on the basketball court.

It wasn’t long before he came under the watchful eye of Darwin’s Catholic Bishop John O’Loughlin who asked Ted if he would like to be involved in starting up a football team – mainly to offer the Tiwi Islanders the opportunity to play.

The Darwin football season at the time began in October and finished in March. His team, which he began coaching when he was just 20, became the Saints, and had what Ted described as an inauspicious start.

He writes that although the Tiwi were (and still are) very skilful, they had no idea of playing as a team, or any thing connected with rough play. They also considered wearing boots as a handicap.

The main problem was that the Tiwis saw no sense whatever in playing in the rain which was a bit of problem with the footy being played during the wet season!

But persistence paid off, and it wasn’t long before the team became a formidable force, winning premierships and continuing to be successful to this day.

Many Aboriginal players in the AFL today can trace their roots back to this team, and other teams in that early league.

It was football that introduced Ted to his love for the Aboriginal languages. An old Aboriginal man who often sat watching Ted coaching and interacting with his team, told him, in the early days, that he needed to learn to speak Tiwi.

The old fella explained that the Tiwi players “thought in their native tongue rather than English.”

The elder took Ted under his wing, and after a few months of weekly lessons Ted’s command of Tiwi was such that he was able to coach using the language.

It was at a footy match that Sir Paul Hasluck, Minister for Territories at the time, heard him speaking Tiwi, saw his interaction with the players and offered him a job working in Aboriginal Affairs.

Ted became proficient enough to teach the language at local schools.

He believes that Australia’s traditional languages must be taught in schools or “we all run the risk of losing them,” a fate that has befallen about 200 languages already.

On his website, Ted argues that it was generally accepted that there were about 300 separate languages in Australia in 1788, and just 40 of those still survive.

About 30,000 First Australians have a traditional language as their first means of communication, Ted claims.

And he believes that Aboriginal children learn to speak, read and write English better if they are encouraged to also be fluent in their first language.

He suggests that school children from all backgrounds should be taught a native language, pproach. With this in mind Ted, with the co operation of

Alison Anderson, has developed the Kutju Australia project as a guide to schools, Scout, Guide and other groups and organisations.

The Kutju Kit includes a beautiful colour book with CD and DVD featuring nine-year-old Carmelina Mulkatana teaching viewers the words of Kutju Australia – a translation of Advance Australia Fair.

Ted describes Kutju Australia as a happy, productive exercise. He was particularly touchedwhen a Korean child Kelly Choo, who was one of the singers, immediately translated the words into her family’s first language and was able to sing Advance Australia Fair in Korean!

Ted hopes that from this humble beginning, Australians of all backgrounds will one day have the opportunity of singing the anthem in both Australian and English.

The Commonwealth of Australia, which owns the copyright, would have the authority to decree that a new, desirable option might be to have a traditional, approved, opening verse followed by the first verse of the one we are more familiar with.

How exciting if that was to take place before the London Olympics!

As Ted said, Kutju might well be used as the “thin edge of the wedge” to encourage further study of the old languages so they may be written down, spoken and respected by future generations.

It is hoped that Sunraysia, which as Ted points out has a not insignificant First Australian community, may introduce Kutju Australia into schools here.

He acknowledges the song is not in the language of the traditional tribal groups of this area, but contends it would be, at the very least, a start.

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