‘Gapala Bawaka’ is an audio documentary about the songline that joins Yolngu country in north-east Arnhem Land to Makassar, in Sulawesi, Indonesia. I was lucky to interview Timmy Burarrwanga of Yirrkala, who makes clear that ‘Australia’ already interacted with the world outside for thousands of years before colonisation – economically, linguistically, ecologically, culturally, and spiritually.

Dharripa (sea cucumber) and pearlshell drew Makassan sailors to northern ‘Australia’ to harvest for sale on the international market, working alongside Yolngu in this shared industry. Significantly, it also represents the arrival of Islam on this continent, long before Christianity, and a history of mutual exchange and agency.

It’s a huge counterpoint to the colonial pearl and pearlshell trade. Recently, Scott Morrison claimed that slavery never existed here, prompting sharing of confronting historical photos of Indigenous enslavement – most were from the colonial pearl industry of the Top End. When Earfest asked me to make a work for their festival based on their theme of “pearl”, this work was my response.

I was lucky to first learn about these histories as a guest in Arnhem Land and Sulawesi, and as a student at Darwin Uni’s Yolngu language program. A huge thanks to Timmy for his time and the Mulka Project in Yirrkala for making this possible, and Bree Blakeman for your advice and feedback.

A note on the work’s blurb: Earfest describe it as “Bridget Chappell tells an important untold story” - Timmy tells the story, not me, and as he says in the doco, it’s a story that’s been told for thousands of years.