The formal hearing commenced in Tennant Creek on November 1, 1982. The surrounding political context, fueled by the Country-Liberal party government, was hostile. ("Land claims ring bark town." etc).The weather was hot, and there were bush-fires outside of the town.
A formidable team of lawyers arrived representing interests opposed to the recognition of the rights of First Peoples, including Michael Maurice QC representing Australian National University. The ANU had an extremely sensitive seismic station on land under claim. This was believed by some to be a front for a CIA spy station monitoring distant nuclear testing programs.
I was not present at the opening as the research team (now assisted by some very able linguists) was busy preparing materials such as the site map (showing some of the Warumungu and Alyawarra site names) and claimant family details which would be needed by the Commissioner and the lawyers during the hearing of evidence from First Peoples. Word arrived back to where we were working that there had been objection to the acceptance of the Warumungu land claim book as an exhibit and it had been identified for reference. I expected that there would be ample opportunity to provide corrections and supplementary materials as the hearing progressed. Nothing new in that.
When events took a nasty turn a few days later we thought we had gained a reprieve from the enormous pressure we were working under. It wasn't to be.
After opening in the Tennant Creek Country Womens Association Hall the formal hearing next moved to the Mulga town camp on the northern edges of town to begin taking evidence from 'claimants'.
Senior law men were preparing a most important ground painting in the scrub nearby. I later came to regard this ground painting as being akin to life's Grand Seal on deeds of title which come from an original Australian system of law.
Immediately prior to a male-only viewing of this most important painting, we were shocked (but not completely surprised) to be informed by Graham Hiley acting on behalf of the Country-Liberal Party N.T. government that his 'client' had advised him that it had jumped the claim.
Michael Maurice, who went on to become the Aboriginal Land Commissioner in the subsequent 1985 Warumungu land claim, reports: "1982 Inquiry 1.5.1 The application then proceeded to a hearing before Kearney J. on 1 November 1982. On 5 November 1982, the Minister of Lands purported to grant leases in perpetuity over all the areas then under claim, save for Area 1, to the Northern Territory Development Land Corporation ... a statutory body established by the Territory Development Act. Kearney J. then ruled that he had no jurisdiction to continue to deal with the claim to those areas, and the hearing was adjourned indefinitely." (Maurice 1988:4)
In other words, since land claims were restricted to unalienated Crown land, the Crown (in the form of the northern Territory government) had moved to 'alienate' many of the parts of the 'vacant' land under claim to itself!
On instruction from the claimants, it was decided to oppose the CLP claim jumpers and the formal hearing process was suspended to challenge the CLP land grab in the High Court of Australia.
By the time the High Court decided that the Aboriginal Land Commissioner could hear the claim to those areas (but not the Devils Marbles - which is a story in itself) and a second hearing commenced in 1985, the original research team had been successfully removed or brought under effective control by those who align with the modern state.
A story was put around that there was something seriously 'wrong' with the original claim. It had offended the norms of the modern Anglo-Australian state. I was identified as one of the main people who, in the eyes of others, had got it 'wrong'. (see Parts 1 and 2 of "Wrong Way Land Claim" for a different interpretation.) Being 'unreliable' my anthropological vocation came to a premature end. All that is history, and minor history at that.