Bob Randall
Encyclopedia
Bob Randall is a member of the Stolen Generations and former Indigenous Person of the Year. He is credited with bringing to light the issue of forced removal of Aboriginal children from their families, in 1970. His song, "My Brown Skin Baby They Take Him Away," written at the time, is described as an "anthem" for the Stolen Generations.
and other places in the Northern Territory
. At age seven, Bob was removed from his family in the vicinity of Uluru
and taken to Alice Springs
.
Later he created the first Aboriginal Centre at the University of Wollongong
, south of Sydney
. He then moved to the Australian National University
in Canberra
to create a similar Centre called the Jabal Centre at the ANU in Canberra.
He has returned to Central Australia. He is a member of the Luritja
Tribe from the Western End of the MacDonnell Ranges
.
In 2006, Bob's life became the subject of the documentary Kanyini
.
Uncle Bob Randall was born around 1927 in the bush of the Central Desert region of the Northern Territory (NT), Australia. He is a“Tjilpi” (special teaching uncle) of the Yankunytjatjara Nation and one of the listed traditional keepers of the great monolith, Uluru. At about age 7, Bob was taken away from his mother and family under government policy which forcibly removed all half-caste (half-Aboriginal) children from their families.
He was one of thousands of Aboriginal children who were placed in institutions throughout Australia and came to be known as the “Stolen Generation.” Like so many, he grew up alone, away from his family, and never saw his mother again. He was taken to a receiving home for indigenous children in Alice Springs, NT, then later was moved to Croker Island Reservation in Arnhem Land where he, like the other children, was given a new identity and birth date.
No records were kept of the Aboriginal nation, family name, or identity of the Aboriginal children who were stolen. Young Bob was kept in government institutions until he was twenty when he, with new wife and baby, was banished for questioning white authorities. He moved to Darwin and later to Adelaide, South Australia, working, studying, and looking for his family and country of belonging. After many years of heart-wrenching searches, he found his roots and returned to his mother’s country where he lives today at Mutitjulu Community beside Uluru (Ayers Rock).
Throughout his life, Uncle Bob has worked as an educator and leader for equal rights of all living, land rights and responsibility to the environment, Indigenous cultural awareness and preservation, and community development. He established Croker Island Night and several organisations in Darwin including the RRT Pony Club, Boxing Club, Folk Club, the Aboriginal Development Foundation. He worked as a Counsellor through the Methodist Uniting Church and led a country music band that serviced regional Aboriginal communities. Later, Uncle Bob helped establish the Adelaide Community College for Aboriginal people, served as the Director of the Australian Northern Territory Legal Aid Service, performed on stage in “Child of the Night” and “Dream of Reconciliation” and established Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Centres at Australian National University, University of Canberra, and University of Wollongong.
In the early 1970s, Uncle Bob earned widespread recognition for his song, “My Brown Skin Baby, They Take ‘Im Away,” which focused national and international attention on the issues of the Stolen Generation. This song exposed the government’s policy of stealing Aboriginal children and opened the door for indigenous story songwriters throughout Australia. It led to the filming of a documentary by the same name that won the Bronze Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and subsequently, the Australian government stopped taking children away from their families. His lifelong efforts to retain Aboriginal culture and restore equal rights for all living were recognised in 1999 when he was named Indigenous Person of the Year. In 2004, Uncle Bob Randall was inducted into the NT Indigenous Music Hall of Fame, recognising the historical significance of his classic story songs, "My Brown Skin Baby, They Take ‘Im Away" and "Red Sun, Black Moon." Uncle Bob has authored four books, including his autobiography, "Songman", and three books for children: "Tracker Tjuginji", "Stories From Country", and "Nyuntu Ninti". He contributed his personal story of being stolen to the anthology, "Stories of Belonging: Finding Where Your True Self Lives", edited by Kelly Wendorf, published in 2009.
In 2006, Uncle Bob co-produced and narrated the award-winning documentary, “Kanyini”. “Kanyini” was voted "best documentary" at the London Australian Film Festival 2007, winner of the “Inside Film Independent Spirit Award”, and winner of the Discovery Channel Best Documentary Award in 2006. Uncle Bob continues to write and teach throughout the world, presenting teachings based on the Anangu (central desert Aboriginal nation) “Kanyini” principles of caring for the environment and each other with unconditional love and responsibility. His tireless dedication calls indigenous people to reclaim their Aboriginal identities and re-gain lives of purpose, so that the relevance of ancient wisdom to modern living is understood. Uncle Bob Randall is a living bridge between cultures and between world nations, creating lines of understanding so that indigenous and non-indigenous people can live and learn together, heal the past through shared experience in the present, sharing a way of being that allows us, once again, to live in oneness and harmony with each other and all things.
Compilations
Biography
He spent some time on Elcho IslandElcho Island
Elcho Island is an island off the coast of Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia. It is located at the southern end of the Wessel Islands group located in the East Arnhem Region. The island's largest community is the settlement of Galiwin'ku....
and other places in the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
. At age seven, Bob was removed from his family in the vicinity of Uluru
Uluru
Uluru , also known as Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone rock formation in the southern part of the Northern Territory, central Australia. It lies south west of the nearest large town, Alice Springs; by road. Kata Tjuta and Uluru are the two major features of the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park....
and taken to Alice Springs
Alice Springs, Northern Territory
Alice Springs is the second largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Popularly known as "the Alice" or simply "Alice", Alice Springs is situated in the geographic centre of Australia near the southern border of the Northern Territory...
.
Later he created the first Aboriginal Centre at the University of Wollongong
University of Wollongong
The University of Wollongong is a public university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney...
, south of Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. He then moved to the Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
in Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
to create a similar Centre called the Jabal Centre at the ANU in Canberra.
He has returned to Central Australia. He is a member of the Luritja
Luritja
Luritja is a name used to refer to several dialects of the Indigenous Australian Western Desert Language, and thereby also to the people who speak these varieties, and their traditional lands.-Origin and meaning of Luritja:...
Tribe from the Western End of the MacDonnell Ranges
MacDonnell Ranges
The MacDonnell Ranges of the Northern Territory, are a long series of mountain ranges located in the centre of Australia , and consist of parallel ridges running to the east and west of Alice Springs...
.
In 2006, Bob's life became the subject of the documentary Kanyini
Kanyini (film)
Kanyini is a 2006 documentary film which explores the philosophy and the life of Bob Randall, an Aboriginal man who lives beside the world's greatest monolith, Uluru, in Central Australia. He is an elder of the Pitjantjatjara people and a member of the Stolen Generations...
.
Uncle Bob Randall was born around 1927 in the bush of the Central Desert region of the Northern Territory (NT), Australia. He is a“Tjilpi” (special teaching uncle) of the Yankunytjatjara Nation and one of the listed traditional keepers of the great monolith, Uluru. At about age 7, Bob was taken away from his mother and family under government policy which forcibly removed all half-caste (half-Aboriginal) children from their families.
He was one of thousands of Aboriginal children who were placed in institutions throughout Australia and came to be known as the “Stolen Generation.” Like so many, he grew up alone, away from his family, and never saw his mother again. He was taken to a receiving home for indigenous children in Alice Springs, NT, then later was moved to Croker Island Reservation in Arnhem Land where he, like the other children, was given a new identity and birth date.
No records were kept of the Aboriginal nation, family name, or identity of the Aboriginal children who were stolen. Young Bob was kept in government institutions until he was twenty when he, with new wife and baby, was banished for questioning white authorities. He moved to Darwin and later to Adelaide, South Australia, working, studying, and looking for his family and country of belonging. After many years of heart-wrenching searches, he found his roots and returned to his mother’s country where he lives today at Mutitjulu Community beside Uluru (Ayers Rock).
Throughout his life, Uncle Bob has worked as an educator and leader for equal rights of all living, land rights and responsibility to the environment, Indigenous cultural awareness and preservation, and community development. He established Croker Island Night and several organisations in Darwin including the RRT Pony Club, Boxing Club, Folk Club, the Aboriginal Development Foundation. He worked as a Counsellor through the Methodist Uniting Church and led a country music band that serviced regional Aboriginal communities. Later, Uncle Bob helped establish the Adelaide Community College for Aboriginal people, served as the Director of the Australian Northern Territory Legal Aid Service, performed on stage in “Child of the Night” and “Dream of Reconciliation” and established Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Centres at Australian National University, University of Canberra, and University of Wollongong.
In the early 1970s, Uncle Bob earned widespread recognition for his song, “My Brown Skin Baby, They Take ‘Im Away,” which focused national and international attention on the issues of the Stolen Generation. This song exposed the government’s policy of stealing Aboriginal children and opened the door for indigenous story songwriters throughout Australia. It led to the filming of a documentary by the same name that won the Bronze Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and subsequently, the Australian government stopped taking children away from their families. His lifelong efforts to retain Aboriginal culture and restore equal rights for all living were recognised in 1999 when he was named Indigenous Person of the Year. In 2004, Uncle Bob Randall was inducted into the NT Indigenous Music Hall of Fame, recognising the historical significance of his classic story songs, "My Brown Skin Baby, They Take ‘Im Away" and "Red Sun, Black Moon." Uncle Bob has authored four books, including his autobiography, "Songman", and three books for children: "Tracker Tjuginji", "Stories From Country", and "Nyuntu Ninti". He contributed his personal story of being stolen to the anthology, "Stories of Belonging: Finding Where Your True Self Lives", edited by Kelly Wendorf, published in 2009.
In 2006, Uncle Bob co-produced and narrated the award-winning documentary, “Kanyini”. “Kanyini” was voted "best documentary" at the London Australian Film Festival 2007, winner of the “Inside Film Independent Spirit Award”, and winner of the Discovery Channel Best Documentary Award in 2006. Uncle Bob continues to write and teach throughout the world, presenting teachings based on the Anangu (central desert Aboriginal nation) “Kanyini” principles of caring for the environment and each other with unconditional love and responsibility. His tireless dedication calls indigenous people to reclaim their Aboriginal identities and re-gain lives of purpose, so that the relevance of ancient wisdom to modern living is understood. Uncle Bob Randall is a living bridge between cultures and between world nations, creating lines of understanding so that indigenous and non-indigenous people can live and learn together, heal the past through shared experience in the present, sharing a way of being that allows us, once again, to live in oneness and harmony with each other and all things.
Discography
Albums- Ballads by Bob Randall (1983) - CAAMA
- Bob Randall (1984) - Imparja
Compilations
- Desert Songs 1 (1982) - CAAMA
- First Australians: Songs by Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders (1978) - Aboriginal Artists Agency
- Rebel Voices From Black Australia (1990) - Imparja
- Ted Egan Presents the Aboriginals (1987) - EMIEMIThe EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...