Gatjil Djerrkura

Donald Gatjil Djerrkura OAM (Yolŋu Matha:Gätjil Djerrkura) (1949 – 26 May 2004) was an Aboriginal Australian leader and Indigenous spokesman in the Northern Territory and Australia.

Early life and education Gätjil Djerrkura was born in Yirrkala, in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, in 1949.

He attended school at the Yirrkala Mission School and later attended bible college in Brisbane.

Career Djerrkura was a senior elder of the Wangurri clan of the Yolngu people. He was responsible for a number of traditional and ceremonial activities on behalf of his clan and the East Arnhem Land/Yirrkala Aboriginal community.

Positions Chairman of the Batchelor College Council, NT Director of the Board of the Indigenous Land Corporation Director of the Board of the Land Enterprise Australia Member of the Council for Aboriginal reconciliation General Manager of Yirrkala Business Enterprises in Nhulunbuy Chairperson of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commercial Development Corporation Director of the Henry Walker Group

Publications At the Crossroads : Native Title, Economic Development and their Impact on Reconciliation. South Australia : Kaurna Higher Education Centre. Aboriginal Studies Centre. University of South Australia, 1997. (essay)

His son Nathan Djerrkura played for Geelong and the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League.

Djerrkura's oral history, recorded 18 July 2000 with Peter Read, is available at the National Library of Australia.