Robert Tudawali (1929 – 26 July 1967), also known as Bobby Wilson and Bob Wilson, was an Australian actor and

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

activist. He is known for his leading role in the 1955 Australian film ''

Jedda ''Jedda'', released in the UK as ''Jedda the Uncivilized'', is a 1955 Australian film written, produced and directed by Charles Chauvel. His last film, it is notable for being the first to star two Aboriginal actors, Robert Tudawali and Ngarl ...

'', which made him the first

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

film star, and also his position as Vice-President of the Northern Territory Council for Aboriginal Rights. The Tudawali Indigenous Film and Television Awards (Tudawali Awards) continue to recognise outstanding achievements of Indigenous people in the

Australian film industry The cinema of Australia had its beginnings with the 1906 production of '' The Story of the Kelly Gang'', arguably the world's first feature film. Since then, Australian crews have produced many films, a number of which have received internat ...

Early life

Tudawali was born and raised on Melville Island in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

to Tiwi parents. Although he had only a basic education in Kahlin Compound and Half Caste Home in Darwin, Tudawali gained a rich English vocabulary. He was a leading

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er as a youth, and he alternated several times between Aboriginal and white society. He used the name Bobby Wilson in Darwin when he travelled there by canoe in the late 1930s, using the surname of his father's employer. He was an orderly with the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

, worked briefly in an army store and mechanical workshop, and also as a waiter before becoming an actor.

Actor and activist

Tudawali became the first Indigenous Australian film star as a result of playing the lead role, Marbuck, in the 1955 Australian film ''

''. In 1958 he played the role of Emu Foot in ''

Dust in the Sun ''Dust in the Sun'' is a 1958 Australian mystery film adapted from the 1955 novel '' Justin Bayard'' by Jon Cleary and produced by the team of Lee Robinson and Chips Rafferty. The film stars British actress Jill Adams and an indigenous-Australian ...

'', a mystery film adapted from the novel

Justin Bayard ''Justin Bayard'' is a 1955 novel by Australian author Jon Cleary about a policeman working in the Kimberley region. It was Cleary's sixth novel. Plot Justin Bayard is a mounted policeman in the Kimberley escorting an aboriginal warrior, Emu Foot ...

Jon Cleary Jon Stephen Cleary (22 November 191719 July 2010) was an Australian writer and novelist. He wrote numerous books, including '' The Sundowners'' (1951), a portrait of a rural family in the 1920s as they move from one job to the next, and '' The ...

and produced by the team of Lee Robinson and

Chips Rafferty John William Pilbean Goffage MBE (26 March 190927 May 1971), known professionally as Chips Rafferty, was an Australian actor. Called "the living symbol of the typical Australian", Rafferty's career stretched from the late 1930s until his death ...

. Under the name Bobby Wilson, he took part in various episodes of the 1960 TV series ''

Whiplash Whiplash may refer to: * The long flexible part of a whip * Whiplash (medicine), a neck injury ** Whiplash Injury Protection System (WHIPS), in automobiles Film and television * ''Whiplash'' (1948 film), a US film noir about a boxer * ''Whiplas ...

'', and featured in the ABC television play, ''

Burst of Summer ''Burst of Summer'' is a 1959 play by Oriel Gray. It won the 1959 J. C. Williamson's Little Theatre Guild Award, and was later adapted for radio and TV. It was Gray's last produced play. Plot In 1955, racial tensions erupt in a small t ...

'', in 1961. It has been argued Tudawali's role in the latter was closest to his real personality. Tudawali served as Vice-President of the Northern Territory Council for Aboriginal Rights in 1966 and, working with activist

Dexter Daniels Dexter Daniels may refer to: * Dexter Daniels (American football) (1973–), American football linebacker * Dexter Daniels (Aboriginal activist) (1932–c. 1990), Australian Aboriginal activist {{hndis, Daniels, Dexter ...

trade unionist A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...

and activist Brian Manning and author

Frank Hardy Francis Joseph Hardy (21 March 1917 – 28 January 1994), published as Frank J. Hardy and also under the pseudonym Ross Franklyn, was an Australian novelist and writer. He is best known for his 1950 novel '' Power Without Glory'', and for his ...

, fought to highlight the poor wages and conditions of Aboriginal stockmen in the Northern Territory, which culminated in the

Wave Hill walk-off The Wave Hill walk-off, also known as the Gurindji strike, was a walk-off and strike by 200 Gurindji stockmen, house servants and their families, starting on 23 August 1966 and lasting for seven years. It took place at Wave Hill, a cattle stati ...

in 1966. Snowdon, W., "“Sometime we bin get extra salt on the beef.” Heroes of the Northern Territory", ''Crikey'', http://blogs.crikey.com.au/northern/2012/08/16/sometime-we-bin-get-extra-salt-on-the-beef-heroes-of-the-northern-territory/ Accessed 18 August 2012. Tudawali had organised to give a series of talks to unionists throughout Australia in support of the stockmen when the Northern Territory administration banned any travel by Tudawali due to the

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

he was suffering at the time.

Personal and later life

Tudawali was married to Peggy Wogait in 1948 and they lived at the

Bagot Aboriginal Reserve Bagot Community is an Australian Aboriginal, Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory of Australia located in Ludmilla, Northern Territory, Ludmilla, a northern suburb of the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin. It was established ...

(where all of the residents of Kahlin had been moved in 1938); later he married a woman named Nancy. He died of tuberculosis and severe burns at

Darwin Hospital The Darwin Hospital was a former hospital that was located at Myilly Point in Larrakeyah, an inner suburb of Darwin, Northern Territory in Australia. It was the second public hospital to be built in the city, replacing a facility that had origin ...

on 26 July 1967, following an incident at Bagot; an argument had broken out when he refused to offer his 11-year-old daughter Christine for marriage. His funeral took place at

Nightcliff, Northern Territory Nightcliff is a northern suburb of the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. History Although the origin of the name Nightcliff has always been surrounded by conjecture and controversy, the naming can be tracked back to 8 September 1 ...

Filmography

*''

'' (1955) as Marbuck *''

'' (1955) as Emu Foot *''

'' (1959–1960,

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

, TV series) as Kuanspa / Kuraba / Mundaru / Kogarah / Dalgowlie / Native Boy / Roonga (final appearance) *TV adaptation of the play ''

'' (1961,

ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to: *ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or *ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia ABC Television or ABC ...

), by

Oriel Gray Oriel Holland Bennett (26 March 1920 – 30 June 2003) known by pen name Oriel Gray, was an Australian dramatist, playwright and screenwriter who wrote from the 1940s to 1990s. The major themes of her work were gender equality and "social and po ...

, based on the story of

Ngarla Kunoth Rosalie Lynette Kunoth-Monks (4 January 193726 January 2022), also known as Ngarla Kunoth, was an Australian film actress, Aboriginal activist and politician. Early life Rosalie Lynette Kunoth was born on 4 January 1937 in Utopia, Northern ...

, who played the lead role in ''Jedda''. Tudawali was flown from Darwin to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

to make this first appearance in a live television drama."TV Merry Go Round", ''Sydney Morning Herald'', 8 October 1961 p 84 as Don Reynolds

Legacy

In 1987, Steve Jodrell directed '' Tudawali'', a made for television

docu-drama Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television and film, which features dramatized re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of documentary and drama and "a fact-based representation of real event". Docudramas typi ...

about the man, with Ernie Dingo in the title role.''Tudawali''
, Australian feature films shot in or set in or first shown in or partly financed by Western Australia.Ed. Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970–1995'', Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p156 In about 1993, the

Media Resource Centre Mercury CX, formerly Media Resource Centre (MRC), is a not-for-profit film and television training organisation based in the Lion Arts Centre on the corner of Morphett Street and North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia, which aims to give scre ...

announced a new award for Indigenous film-making, called the Tudawali Award.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tudawali, Robert 1929 births 1967 deaths 20th-century Australian male actors 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Australian male film actors Australian murder victims Australian rules footballers from the Northern Territory Deaths from fire Male actors from the Northern Territory Indigenous Australian male actors People murdered in the Northern Territory Royal Australian Air Force airmen Tuberculosis deaths in Australia