| 1939 |
Start of WWII. Royal
Australian Air Force, Army and Naval bases set up over
the following years in various parts of the Northern Territory
including Milingimbi, Yirrkala, the Wessel Islands, North
Goulburn Island, and near Oenpelli. |
| 1946 |
R. M. and C. H. Berndt
commenced anthropological research work in Arnhem Land,
and continued field trips into the area for a number of
years. A large number of art works and artifacts were
collected, now housed at the Anthropology Museum of the
University of Western Australia. |
| 1948 |
American Australian
Scientific Expedition to Arnhem Land. |
| 1953 |
'Tribal Music of Australia'
LP, the first commercially available recording of the
didgeridoo and field recorded by A. P. Elkin in Arnhem
Land, released by Folkway Records. |
| 1957 |
Maningrida established
as a 'trading post'. |
| 1961 |
Establishment of the
Australian Institue of Aboriginal Studies, a statutory
body devoted to Indigenous studies, later re-named the
Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Studies. |
| 1960s |
Launch of self-determination
policy of the Commonwealth Government. End of the missionary
era. Aboriginal Councils take over the responsibility
of running of communities in Arnhem Land. |
| 1960s |
Alice M. Moyle and
Trevor A. Jones conducted ethnomusicological research
in Arnhem Land, later publishing numerous articles on
Arnhem Land music and the didgeridoo. |
| 1960s |
The start of historically
important art collections created by Tony Tuckson, Dr
Stuart Scougall, Karel Kupka, Louis Allen, Prof. Ed Ruhe,
Jerome Gould, Jim Davidson and Dorothy Bennett |
| 1963 |
'The Art of the Didgeridoo'
by Trevor A. Jones released on LP by Wattle Recordings.
This was the first demonstration of the traditional Aboriginal
playing techniques of the didgeridoo by a non-Aboriginal
person. |
| 1967 |
Aboriginal Artists
Agency established. Aboriginal music made more accessible
through commercial recordings, radio and TV. |
| 1971 |
Federal Government
established a centralised marketing company for Aboriginal
arts. |
| 1973 |
Community-based art
centres in Arnhem Land funded by the Aboriginal Arts Board
of the Australia Council. |
| 1976 |
Passing of the Aboriginal
Land Rights (NT) Act 1976, which paved the way for Aboriginal
people in the Northern Territory to win back their land. |
| 1977 |
'Bamyili Corroboree,
Songs of Djoli Laiwanga' cassette released by Greville
Records featuring David Bl*n*s* on didgeridoo. Bl*n*s*
was regarded as the best player of the didgeridoo in the
Western Arnhem Land style. |
| 1977 |
'Wandjuk Marika in
Port Moresby' EP released by Larrakin Records, the first
studio recording of an Aboriginal didgeridoo player. |
| 1986 |
Formation of the Yothu
Yindi band from north-east Arnhem Land, Northern Territory. |
| 1990s |
The World Wide Web
(WWW) is born. |
| 1990s |
A number of cassettes
released on playing the didgeridoo including Alastair
Black's "Didgeridoo - How to Play". |
| 1991 |
'Bloodwood, the Art
of the Didjeridu' by Alan Dargin with Michael Atherton
released by Natural Symphonies. 'Bloodwood' received critical
acclaim worldwide, and Alan's virtuosity with the instrument
set the standard for many didgeridoo players and recording
artists for the next decade. |
| 1993 |
Mandawuy Yunupingu,
singer songwriter for the Yothu Yindi band, named Australian
of the Year. |
| 1993 |
Passing of the Native
Title Act 1993, following the Mabo judgement handed down
by the High Court of Australia that put the legal fiction
of terra nullius to rest. |
| 1996 |
'Didjeridu Techniques
of an Aboriginal Tribe': first website on the yidaki and
the traditional playing techniques of the Yolngu people.
|
| 1999 |
Inaugural Garma Festival
in Gove, Northern Territory. |
| 2000 |
Sydney Olympic Games.
The start of mass produced didgeridoos. |
| 2001 |
Establishment and
launch of Rripangu Yirdaki, Djalu Gurruwiwi's family enterprise. |
| 2001 |
1st issue of Didgeridoo
& Co Magazine. |
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