Munda Nyuringu cartoons
Bruce Petty (Illustrator), Robert Bropho
These drawings (six originals and three prints) by prominent artist and satirist Bruce Petty, were created for the 1983 film Munda Nyuringu: he's taken the land, he believes it is his, he won't give it back; a film of the fringe dwellers of the goldfields. Using only dramatic red and black and drawn in his bold, distinctive style, the series of nine drawings illustrate the crushing effect that white settlement and the exploitation of resources in the Kalgoorlie region had on the local Aboriginal people. Figuratively tracing events from white arrival and using the start and end dates of 1890 and 1980, the series succinctly portrays the relentless and ruthless pursuit of money at great cost to the Aboriginal people. Fortunes are made but conditions deteriorate for the original owners of the land
Manuscript, English, 1983