Gulpilil

By: Derek Rielly

Narrated by: Trevor Jamieson

Length: 6 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners are advised that content in this audiobook, contains the name and images of a person who has died.

It's been almost 50 years since a teenage David Gulpilil Ridjimiraril Dalaithngu illuminated screens worldwide with his breakout role in Walkabout. It was one of the first times we'd seen an Aboriginal person cast in a significant role and only four years after Holt's referendum to alter the constitution and give Indigenous people citizenship and, subsequently, the right to vote.

Gulpilil quickly became the face of the Indigenous world to white Australian audiences. Charisma. Good looks. A competent, strong, mysterious man starring in films ranging from Crocodile Dundee to Rabbit-Proof Fence.

But what marked Gulpilil, despite his fame and popularity, was the feeling that he was forever stuck between two worlds: a Yolngu man, a hunter, a tracker, who grew up in the bush in Arnhem Land outside any white influence; and a movie star flitting from movie sets to festivals.

Able to exist in both worlds, but never truly home.

From the author of the bestselling Wednesdays with Bob, Derek Rielly builds a narrative around his attempt to encapsulate the most beguiling and unconventional of Australian entertainers, observing Gulpilil’s own attempt to find a place in the world. With interviews from notable icons and friends - such as Jack Thompson, Paul Hogan, Phillip Noyce, Craig Ruddy, George Gittoes, Gary Sweet and Damon Gameau - this book unriddles a famous enigma at last.    

©2019 Derek Rielly (P)2019 Macmillan Australia Audio

Critic reviews

"David is a gateway to a history that we've so far denied and not embraced. In this country, he's more important than Ned Kelly...He has an extraordinary presence, what ever that word means. It's very real. Some people have it and some people don't. And David has it - he knows how to feed the camera." (Jack Thompson) 

Must listen

A stunning account of a true Australian icon who has lived more lives than ordinarily humanly possible. An important Aboriginal voice and man.