Alngindabu

Alngindabu, also spelt Alyandabu and also known as Lucy McGinness, (c.1874 – 23 September 1961), was a female senior elder (Almiyuk) from Chapana, near the Finniss River in the Northern Territory of Australia.

The Lucy Mine was named after her, and her descendants include prominent leaders and activists Joe McGinness, Val McGinness, Jack McGinness and Kathy Mills.

Early life Trained as a domestic servant from childhood, Alngindabu was named Lucy by her white bosses. She became an expert seamstress and cook. She spoke the Kungarakany language and belonged to the Kungarakany people, a group whom the Europeans called the "Paperbark People".

As a young woman Alngindabu was one of the few survivors of the Stapleton Siding massacre in 1895, which killed approximately 80 Kungarakany people. Many people were given poisoned damper in which weed killer was supposedly mistaken for baking powder. and Val was known for his musical talent.

John Francis "Jack" McGinness, was an activist and the Northern Territory's and Australia's first elected Aboriginal union leader in 1955, holding the position of NAWU (North Australian Workers' Union) president over three stints until 1963. He married Polly, and was the father of Kathy Mills, a prominent leader and the first woman to be elected to the Northern Land Council.

Resources about Alngindabu's son Joe McGinness wrote: Son of Alyandabu : my fight for Aboriginal rights / Joe McGinness (1991).

Detailed information about Alngindabu's life is also available through the following oral history interviews with the National Library of Australia.

Valentine McGinness interviewed by Ann McGrath (1982) (Alngindabu's son) Kathy Mills interviewed by Rob Willis (2017) (her granddaughter)

Footnotes