In this engaging narrative, Wright follows the story of petitions on bark created by the Yirrkala community in Arnhem Land in 1963, protesting bauxite mining on traditional lands.

‘A masterpiece.’ Thomas Mayo

In 1963-a year of agitation for civil rights worldwide-the Yolŋu of northeast Arnhem Land created the Yirrkala Bark Petitions- N ku Dh ruk. ‘The land grew a tongue’ and the land-rights movement was born.

N ku Dh ruk is the story of a founding document in Australian democracy and the trailblazers who made it. It is also a pulsating picture of the ancient and enduring culture of Australia’s first peoples.

And it is a masterful, groundbreaking history.

Clare Wright’s Democracy Trilogy began with The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka and continued with You Daughters of Freedom. It concludes with this compulsively readable account of a momentous episode in our shared story.

‘A landmark history.’ Mark McKenna

“Clare Wright is the most remarkable and striking voice working on recovering the lost and forgotten pages of Australian history. Her work, as accessible as it is scholarly, is of the greatest importance.” William Dalrymple

‘A masterful and definitive account of one of the most important political documents in Australian history. Wright brings to life this moving story of unwavering Yolngu resistance and the enduring legacy of their political actions.’ Larissa Behrendt, Distinguished Professor, UTS

Professor Clare Wright OAM is an award-winning historian, author, broadcaster and public commentator who has worked in politics, academia and the media. Clare is currently Professor of History and Professor of Public Engagement at La Trobe University. In 2020, Clare was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for ‘services to literature and to historical research’. She is the author of four works of history, including the best-selling The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka and You Daughters of Freedom, the first two instalments of her Democracy Trilogy. She is popular public speaker, panellist and interviewer and makes frequent appearances at literary festivals and on radio and television.