arrived in Daguragu on 16 August 1975. This was a symbolic moment in the land rights movement in Australia for Indigenous Australians, although only an initial step towards the final land handback; it was only a 30-year pastoral lease over a very small area. Whitlam poured a handful of soil through Lingiari’s fingers addressed him and the Gurindji people, saying: Mervyn Bishop's photograph of Whitlam pouring sand into Lingiari's hand on that day, has become an iconic one in Australian history. Significance and legacy of the strike As a result of the recommendations of the Woodward Inquiry, the Whitlam government drafted the Aboriginal Land Rights Bill. The legislation was not passed by parliament prior to the Whitlam government's dismissal in 1975, but the subsequent Fraser government passed effectively similar legislation – the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976 (ALRA) – on 9 December 1976. This was the first legislation in Australia which allows for a claim of land title if the claimants can provide evidence of their traditional connection to the land (i.e. via native title). Vincent Lingiari confronted the vast economic and political forces arrayed against him and his people. The walk-off and strike were landmark events in the struggle for Aboriginal land rights in Australia. The Gurindji strike was not the first or the only demand by Aboriginal people for the return of their lands – but it was the first one to attract wide public support within Australia for land rights. For the first time recognition was given of Indigenous people, their rights and responsibilities for the land, and their ability to practise their law, language and culture. In August every year, a large celebration is held at Kalkaringi to mark the anniversary of the strike and walk-off. Known as Freedom Day, people gather from many parts of Australia to celebrate and re-enact the walk-off. However, it wasn’t until May 1986 that the Gurindji won a more significant claim under the ALRA, when the Hawke government at last handed over the inalienable Aboriginal freehold title deeds to the Gurindji. Also, the ALRA was limited to the NT, and explicitly excluded urban claims such those made by the Larrakia people of Darwin. In 2006 an Australian Senate report looked into the matter of underpayment of Indigenous workers in the past. A group of those involved in the Wave Hill walk-off have said that they would be prepared to make