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Gulpilil ‘will go to the Dreamtime’

Indigenous actor David Gulpilil Ridjimiraril Dalaithngu has died aged 68.

The famous Yolngu actor, from Ramingining in Arnhem Land, and a member of the Mandjalpingu clan, died on Monday.

In his later years, Dalaithngu lived in Murray Bridge, South Australia.

For a man who defined Indigenous Australians in movies for half a century, it seemed fitting that Dalaithngu’s last known public farewell was delivered on film.

‘‘Thank you very much for watching me,’’ the 66-year-old actor said in a 2019 video after receiving a lifetime achievement award from NAIDOC, the National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee.

‘‘Never forget me. While I am here, I will never forget you. I will still remember you, even though I am gone forever,

I will still remember,’’ said the actor, whose daughters Phoebe and MaKia accepted the award on his behalf in Canberra, revealing he had lung cancer.

‘‘One day soon he will go to the Dreamtime,’’ said Phoebe Marson, fighting back tears.

Born at Maningrida in Arnhem Land on July 1, 1953, David Dalaithngu grew up among the Yolngu people, far from the white man’s world, becoming a skilled tracker, hunter and ceremonial dancer.

It was his ability as a dancer that gave him his big break as a 16-year-old. It brought him to the notice of visiting British filmmaker Nicolas Roeg, who handed him a leading role in the 1971 movie Walkabout.

The film and Dalaithngu were smash hits, and the actor travelled the world to promote the film, meeting famous entertainers like John Lennon and Bob Marley along the way.

He went on to star in a string of Australian box office hits including his ‘‘favourite’’ Storm Boy in 1976, The Last

Wave a year later, Crocodile Dundee in

1986 and Rabbit-Proof Fence in 2002. He also appeared in Baz Luhrmann’s

Australia in 2008 after acclaimed performances in arthouse films got his stalled career back on track.

Variety described him as ‘‘an actor capable of mischievousness and gravitas, often within the same shot’’ and Screen International said he had crowned his career with ‘‘a mesmeric portrait’’.

Dalaithngu was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 1987 and was awarded the Centenary Medal in 2001.

In 2005 he was named Northern Territory Australian of the year.

He was also celebrated in art when Craig Ruddy’s portrait of him won the 2004 Archibald Prize.

But along with the accolades came problems with alcohol and depression, and a string of court appearances that landed him in jail twice.

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2021-12-01T08:00:00.0000000Z

2021-12-01T08:00:00.0000000Z

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