Warri and Yatungka

Warri (1909–1979) and Yatungka (1919–1979) were an aboriginal couple from the Mandildjara tribe of the Gibson Desert.[1]

The pair met and subsequently fell in love in the 1930s.[2] They chose to elope due to their relationship being against tribal law.[3] They spent approximately forty years living nomadically in the Gibson Desert.[2] Attempts were made by Warri and Yatungka's tribe to find the pair but these attempts proved futile.[2] They were left to live in the desert as they had moved into the territory of the neighbouring Budijara tribe.[4] In 1976, Local aboriginal elders in Wiluna approached Australian explorer Stan Gratte to mount an expedition to rescue the couple. Gratte led a search with tribal elder Mudjon for the couple which managed to locate them and bring them to Wiluna where they would both die two years later.[5][6]

At the time, Warri and Yatungka were thought to be the last people living nomadically in the Australian desert.[4] In reality there were a handful more nomadic aborigines who came out of the desert after Warri and Yatungka with the final group being the Pintupi Nine who first contacted the western world in 1984.[4][7]

Warri and Yatungka have been referred to as "star crossed lovers" by the press who saw their story as Romeo and Juliet-like.[4][6][8][9][10] Peasley's The Last of the Nomads (published 1990) is an international best-selling non-fiction book that documents the life of Warri and Yatungka.[5][3] In 1997, Matthew Kelley produced a documentary inspired by Peasley's book that described Peasley's journey to find Warri and Yatungka.[3] The documentary, that shares the name of Peasley's book, received a nomination for the 1997 Australian Film Institute Award for Best Television Documentary.[11] The name "Last of the Nomads" was again used in 2007 as a monument was built in Wiluna to commemorate the life of Warri and Yatungka.[1] Warri and Yatungka's names were used by Paul Jarman as a song title for a piece he composed in 2002 to commemorate the year of the outback.[12]

References
  1. "Warri & Yatungka". Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  2. Peasley, W. J. (1990). The Last of the Nomads. Fremantle: Fremantle Press. ISBN 1458763064.
  3. Maddox, Garry (7 May 2007). "Director inspired to tell it like it was". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  4. Letford, Tony (27 February 2016). "Warri and Yatungka". Spectator Australia. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  5. Powell, Renee (30 July 2015). "A doctor's life". Forbes Advocate. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  6. Mills, Vanessa (11 March 2014). "A doctor finds himself on the frontier of medicine and cultures". ABC News. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  7. Mahony, Alana (23 December 2014). "The day the Pintupi Nine entered the modern world". BBC News. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  8. "Outback Romeo and Juliet brought to life". Murdoch University. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  9. "Film follows in footsteps of last Aboriginal nomads". The New Zealand Herald. 8 May 2007. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  10. Conley, Margaret. "Love on the Run". ABC News. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  11. "Past Awards - 1997 - Television". Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  12. "Warri and Yatungka". pauljarman.com. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
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