Gordon Lansden

One of the Barkly's well known artists,
Gordon tells his story about some of
the issues of concern to Aboriginal people

John Howard never listening to us, because I don't know, he don't like the colour of us. I dunno, because we don't know him, you know, and we want something what Aboriginal people wants, because a lot of Aboriginal people got land now to establish.
The land should be occupied from us, and we don't know who running it for us. We got coordinator to running it, but some distant one day get answer from the government well they go alright, and they listen to the government and talk to the government and when they get all the things from government they [the coordinators] take 'em to Aboriginal people and they won't talk that part what they bin heard about government, they'll talk what they know, you know.
They will talk what they know and then we'll start from their dealing, you know.
It's not right for us.
We want to go, we Aboriginal people together, and go to the government and talk about it, and we'll know exactly what should be happening for us. You know?
No good just go and some local whitefella will using you, what they want to say, we don't like that game.
We know Howard. He's Prime Minister; he should look back to Aboriginal people. We voted him there and why, why he doing this to us?
Rubbish us, you know. That's not right. Fair dinkum. Don't matter what government election put in there, well he's the government, and so he got to support us, please, very strongly, not just go along what he want to do by his own way, he got to look after 'im people. That's what we put him there in the seat, that's what I can talk, you know.
I come from Borroloola.
Borroloola born, in Borroloola. Because the way that I bin starting working, in cattle station. Stockman, all kind of thing that, you know, for branding, work bore.
My father used to be policeman, and I bin policemen too, working.
Up longa Finke River. I bin go all around the place and find out how I can get on the idea proper way. So when I started from the beginning, well I said, I can't make money in the station, I'll have to start my own job.
So I got painting, I'm a painter now, I'm a artist, and I can make money without somebody else work me. I can work myself, you know, I got my own thing been registered now, all the job one.
I can do what I like. No one can't tell me, "You do this and you do that now". I'm doing it by meself now.
That's why I'm trying to learning all the young boys and student for this - teach what I'm doing in the arts, because arts you can make a couple of quid on 'im. And that's why they young boys, great grandson and little daughters, we got to learning them this way. When we old people finish off, well they got the title to work, and make their own money then, you know.
I go to Batchelor College and do some training for the student there too, and whatever job they want me to paint, well I go to every town and they give me job to paint what they want, and that's why I made my own living.
We need some support from government for the fund you know, and some of the people we working them in the CDEP program, and the Aboriginal, all the people can't even buy the shirt, can't even buy the good clothes, can't even buy nothing because CDEP money not worth it. They want a good money to work, you know. That's why they say they can't work for CDEP, CDEP not enough. I don't know who made that rule, you know.
That's why they want a good job, they want to try to get contract job, and they want to try to get they own private job, and run the contract. Then they might do something, because they're good stockmen them young boys, you know. And that's why the learning coming from the elders. We the elders that got all the structure to learn them proper way.
Sometimes when the young boys want to go and work on the starting program on cattle, well we old people got to learn them how to brand 'im, and how to shoe a horse and how to draft all the weaners and put 'im in the weaner paddocks, and how to be handyman, and how to be expert on a bore jobs, and to do all this sort of things, because we old people bin learn them sort of jobs, and getting from us now because we bin learn white society and this sort of life, well we got to show back to our children.
I learnt on the job, because he's a hard work, to take all the rods and when they breaking down. I used to take about 100 bit of rods and welding all the links, you know, and put it down all the barrel and through the water pumping again, and take all the old trough, throw it away and put all the new trough in and cattle got water. That's the sort of job I bin doing, in the past, you know.
And we want to try to learn these kids now to do this. Somebody coming pretty good, you know, only the drugs and ganja, all these things, spoil everything today, in the whole world. You can't even get close to them young boys now, you can't grab it, he's too slippery, you know you can't grab it. They all gone. Might be they work one day and go, you know. When they make big money they go to town and get drunk. But we want to try and stop this grog in Borroloola because Borroloola is the worsest place ever going with the drugs you know.