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Batchelor airstrip story

Lulu Martin Dalpbalngali

Yaha-ny-ma biyakgin nganing-gin luwi-yan gay-gu mamin-gu. Mamin white man, whitefella-gu mamin, ngi-yama-jan borroju. Lari lagarra ma-bak-ga-yin, gay-ga aeroplane-leying ba-di-jan, jorro-ma-wu, meny-gunda ba-bu-ji-jan magu-mal an. Jorro-wuy ba-ga-jan may-leying.	My sister cried for those white men. 'Mamin' means 'white man'. (It is also the word for 'ghost'.) We used to call the white men 'mamin'. With their arms and legs broken, they came to the airstrip in planes. They used to come back from fighting in the war, a long way away. The army used to bring them back here.
Marluga! Lagiban larima ngi-gondo-yi-guju, Kaiser, Tommy Taylor.	My sister and I both had husbands, Kaiser and Tommy Taylor.
"Marluga! Mu-nanda-guju mamin gahan ma-bak-ga-yin lagarra!"	"Old men!" we sung out to them, "look at the white man with a broken leg!"
"Barri?" ba-yama-ny-guju ngerreju.	"Where?" they asked us.
"Mahan!"	"Here."
Ba-ya-nggi let ba-nanda-ny. "Ah no good" ba-yama-jan ngerreju. "That bad war, no good" im reckon.	They went and looked. "No good," they said, "the war's no good."
Stephen: Lihwa?	Stephen: No good?
Yawey. "Lihwa ganyimiyan," yaha-jan, ba-yama-jan-guju lagiban-giwu.	Yes. "That sort of thing is no good", the two men used to say.
Stephen: Yawey.	Stephen: Yes.
Yow. "Ah, gi-nga-n, gu-ba-ga-min-yarra, youngfella-youngfella-gu meny-gu menuny" ba-yama-ji-ng. "Wihya-ngala ngagun, marluga ngaley" ba-yama-ny-guju.	Yes. "Ah listen, they will take all the young men for fighting, might be" they said to each other.
Kaiser yaha-ny "wihya-ngala ngagun. Lihwa-tjjondony nga-ya-ma. Jamba nga-nga-yu meny-gu. Ngi-bu-jan-ngana mamin gahan-di wihya" yaha-ny. "Lihwa ganyimiyan," ba-yama-jan.	"Not me, I'm an old man!" said Kaiser. "Not me, I'm no good. I don't want to fight. We used to fight with white men, but this war I won't fight in" he said. "That kind of fighting is no good" they used to say.
"Ah ngego-ngana-di, gi-ya-ngana-yarra yerdeng-nga bush-leying" yaha-jan ngerreju, Tommy Taylor. Lagiban nganing-gin gahan. Mayiwa-gu Kaiser.	"Ah, us mob, instead of fighting we should go and hide in the bush," Tommy Taylor said to us. Tommy Taylor was my husband. Kaiser was my sister's husband.
Ba-yama-ji-na-guju ngono-ngonong "oh gi-ya-ngana now. Yerdeng-nga gay-gu. Wihya wuji gi-laikgi-ma-ja meny-gu ga-ya."	They used to talk to each other like that. "Oh we should go now. We should hide from the war. We don't like fighting."
Stephen: Where you been hide then?	Stephen: Where did you hide then?
Ngi-ya-nggi jorro-ma magu-malan, Burrell Creek-gama. Yawey. Yimbama-wu gahan-di. Ya-nggi jorro-ma, Kaiser ya-nggi jorro-ma magu-malan. Warren nung-gin, gondo-yi Harold, labingan nung-gin. Yawey.	We went back that way, to Burrell Creek. Yes. We were there for ages. Kaiser went back another way. He had a little baby called Harold. Yes.
Yawey. Gay-gunda ngi-ya-nggi-guju magu. Ngagun nga-ya-nggi jorro-ma magu, Oolloo-leying-ma ngagun-di. Buyh ngi-ya-ngga-jan wilh-ma magu. Douglas, werrh.	Yes. We left there. Me, I went back to Oolloo. We used to set off walkabout, and come out at Douglas.
May-gorden jumbany ba-di-nginy wayi-wayi. Wihya mahan. Jololok-binyju lega-ndi buluman ngal-martdiwa-yi, bobo-yi. Mahan-di wihya gokgo yet. Ale? Yawey gay-ba ngi-yu-nginy then… Gulp ngi-rinyi-ng gay-ba. And mayiwa ngonggo-gin.	This lot (Clara and her mob) used come behind. Not this one (Clara). The big old auntie only used to bring Jololok (Lena) at that time. This one (Clara) wasn't born yet. Okay? Yes, we sat down there. You (Clara) were born there. And your sister too.
Nga-ya-nggi jorro-ma gahan. Dup nga-yu-nginy, nga-yu-nginy gaaahan. Marluga dorh yaha-ny nganung.	I went back. I stopped there. The old man picked me up.
"Mi-ya-ngga woerrkge-ma now!" yaha-ny nganung. Straight away when nga-ya-nggi jorro-ma may-gunda. Woerrkge-ma may-gunda. Nga-ya-nggi jorro-ma woerrkge-ma magu-ba…	"You work now!" he said to me. Straight way when I went back from here (Batchelor). Work straight from here. I went back and worked there…
Stephen: nu-naw-ma woerrkge-ma?	Stephen: Lots of work?
Yaweeey! "Humbug ngan-yaha-ny gahan marlguaaa" ngaha-ny. Gi-ya-ngana magu-malan ngi-ya-nggi, bush ngi-ya-nggi wilh-ma, ngagun, ngala nganing-gin, ngatjja dip… Bort-da-yi yonggorn-na-wu. Ala-binyju nga-ga-ndi. Guwardagun ngi-ya-nggi wilh -ma. Gorrh-ma. And ngalagunin may-gu bobo nganing-gin. Ba-ga-ndi. Ngi-ya-nggi buyh watj-ja-wu. Gahan-di nyarh ngi-yama-ny-guju. Gay-gunda, barri-lan ngi-ya-nggi? Barri-lan ngi-ya-nggi-ngana ngabuju?	Yes! "That old man used to humbug me" I said. We went walkabout in the bush, me, my mother… My father was already dead. I only went with my mother. We walked around the Daly River country. Fishing. And this one's mother, my auntie. We'd all set off together. Then we got tired of that. After that, where did we go? Where did we go, grand-daughter?
Clara: Hey?	Clara: Hey?
Stephen: Where you been go?	Stephen: Where did you go?
Dorisvale now, Dorisvale.	Dorisvale now, Dorisvale
Clara: I never been going that time	Clara: I never been going that time
Wihya ngigun-di, but wambaru ngaha-ma.	No, not you. I'm just talking.
Clara says something.
Yawey. Jorro-jorro ba-ya-nggi. Ngagun gay-ubawu nga-yu-nginy yimbama now woerrkge-ma. Warren larima ngi-gondo-yi-guju. Guweda-giwu. Guweda-yi, Billy Noke, gondoyh ngagun Rankin. Gay-ba ba-yu-nginy-gujuuu, ganan ba-ya-nggi-guju magu-mala n school-leying. Alice. Alice Springs. Queensland, ba-ya-nggi school, gay-giwu warri-giwu.	Yes. They went back. Me, I stayed there working. Two of us had a kid each. Guweda and I. She had Billy Noke and I had Rankin. We kept them there, and then they went off to school. In Alice Springs. No, not Alice Springs, they went to school in Queensland, those two kids.
Watj. Jorro ba-di-nginy-guju. Buluman now ba-di-nginy-guju jorro-ma, dawu-garang.	They finished. And they came back. They came back big, with beards.
Stephen: Aaah.	Stephen: Aaah.
Clara says something.
Yawey. Ngagun-di "barri-miya warren gahan" ngaha-ny nung.	Yes. Me, I said to her, "who are these kids?"
Stephen: You didn't recognise?	Stephen: You didn't recognise them?
Yeah! "Barri-miya gahan warri-giwu? Buluman-ngala ba-na-ni-guju manya" ngaha-ny borroju.	Yeah! "Who are these two kids? They've grown really big," I said.
"Ah gawu-yarra warren gerdo-gin-ngana ba-di-nya-guju jorro-ma!"	"Ah they are our kids and they've come back!"
"Wihya-ngala. Wayiny ba-ga-ndi school-gu" ngaha-ny-ma. "Wayiny ba-ga-ndi-ma."	"No way. They were small when they got taken to school," I said. "They were small then."
Buluman now ba-na-ni-guju ba-di-nya jorro-ma. Ngagun-di ngay "Barri-miya gahan?" Bindal buluman ngaha-ny nung, gahan gajirri ngaha-ny nung, "Barri-miya gahan warri-giwu?"	They had grown big and come back. Me, I said "who are these kids?" I asked the woman with the big belly "who are these two kids?"
"Ah gahan gerdo-gin-ngana warri-giwu gay-giwu-ma. By and by ma-ba-rabu-guju gokgo." Ya-nggiii let.	"Ah, I think they're our kids. I'll go and have a look." She went and looked.
"Hayawayawa mahan now warren ga-di-n!" Luwi-yan! Ba-yu-nginy ngalma-ngal-martdiwa ngego-buga. Luwi-yan ngi-ni-nginy-gujuuu gawurdu.	"Hayawayawa these are our kids who've come back!" Crying! We old women were crying. We cried for a while, then stopped all right.
"Gawurdu-yarra. Mi-bula now, lagiban ga-ba-na-n-guju. Gu-ba-ya-guju now jorro-ma." Magu Oolloo woerrkge-ma ba-yu-nginy-guju.	"Okay now. Leave it now, these two have grown up into men. They'll have to go back now." And so those two went to Oolloo to work.

Batchelor airstrip, 18 July 1997.

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