Alan Griffiths
Alan Griffiths
BORN
1933, VICTORIA RIVER DOWNS STATION, NT
DIED
2018, GOONOONOORRANG (KUNUNURRA), WA
COUNTRY
NGARINYMAN, NGALIWURRU
COMMUNITY
MAKALAMAYI (TIMBER CREEK), NT
LANGUAGE
NGARINYMAN
About
Alan Griffiths was a multimedia artist and highly respected lawman, his authority reaching throughout the Kimberley regions. Griffiths was born at Victoria River Downs Station in 1933. At age seven he worked with the camel train from Makalamayi (Timber Creek) to depots in the NT. He then worked on numerous stations across the top end before he moved to Western Australia, settling on Newry Station as a stockman and a cook. In 1965 he settled in Galberang (Kununurra), after he married his promised bride Peggy Griffiths and worked at Ivanhoe Station.
It was after his retirement in the early 1980s that Alan began painting, reflecting on his intimate knowledge of Country as well as preserving traditional stories and corroborees, cattle mustering and camel treks. He was an accomplished painter, woodcarver, maker of cultural artefacts, song-man and dancer. Together with Peggy, he was dedicated to teaching traditional dances to his community and family and was a leading performer at traditional events.
WORK
This painting, rendered in natural ochres and pigments, carries the weight of a lifetime’s custodianship — a living document of Country, story and cultural authority. His mapping and naming of Country is evidence of his intimate knowledge of a vast landscape and ultimately his ownership of traditional lands.
Goongoolooloo depicts Wickham River country, part of Alan’s traditional Country near Timber Creek in the Northern Territory. The work maps the intricate waterways and landmarks with intimate detail, including Karnaranni (Runaway Creek), Thoogarni (Wally Creek), and Warwal (Quart Pot Creek) flowing towards the Victoria River. Between the creeks lie significant places: Cowboy Knob and Billabong, Warwal Hill with its small rocky knob, and Warrwi Hill. Alan recalled “Long time ago a bloke got hit on the head here by a billy can” at Thjamarroo — Billy Can Creek. His paintings document a vast Country with precision and affection, carrying forward the stories entrusted to him.
