Year Of Birth

1945

Biography

Merv Bishop, Australia’s first indigenous press photographer, captured this monumentally important image of Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam pouring soil into the hand of Traditional Land Owner, Vincent Lingiari in the Northern Territory in 1975. Photojournalist and photographic artist Merv Bishop undertook a four year apprenticeship at the Sydney Morning Herald from 1963 to 1967. One of the highlights of his highly successful career came in 1971 when Bishop won the 'News Photographer of the Year Award’ with his image Life and Death Dash. He began working for the Department of Aboriginal Affairs in Canberra in 1974 during the formative years of the era of Indigenous self-determination. "Here he covered the major developments in Aboriginal communities throughout Australia, including this historical moment in 1975 when the (then) Prime Minister Gough Whitlam poured a handful of earth back into the hand of Vincent Lingiari, Gurindji elder and Traditional Land owner. This image - representing the Australian Government’s recognition of Aboriginal land rights - became an icon of the land rights movement and Australian photography."1 In 1991 The Australian Centre for Photography held a major retrospective for the artist celebrating 30 years of his art and photojournalism. The exhibition was curated by Tracey Moffatt. 1. Jonathan Jones, ‘Tradition Today: Indigenous art in Australia,’ Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2014.