The Man Fighting to Stay on His Remote Australian Island Home

How often do you come up to Lockhart River? Uh when I'm meeting people or usually go in the wet season not that often because the roads are cut and stuff. But otherwise um every couple of weeks probably. While Dave attends the Aboriginal Council meeting, I head off to explore the town and meet the people who are helping Dave to stop his island eviction. Lockhart River is one of the most remote indigenous communities in Australia. And it's this isolation that means facilities and services are difficult to come by. Here is an indigenous group, a native group, struggling to find its place in the 21st century. Two-thirds of Restoration Island is owned by the Kuku Yalanji people. But they don't live there.

Now the lease of the other third is up for sale. Both them and Dave hope they can find a buyer to develop the island for the future generations of this community. I meet with Mayor Wayne Butcher on the town's local beach. He has been evicted from the island according to the court ruling of the process that he went through. He's saying he's going to stay put. I mean what are your thoughts on that? I think this is a prime opportunity for Kuku Yalanji people to get that land back off the lease, you know. And translate it back into an opportunity between Dave and the Kuku

Yalanji people. I think this is a prime opportunity. Life isn't all about business and Dave saving his island. He loves spending time with the people here. 40,000 years of Aboriginal culture and traditions are passed down from generation to generation. And dance is an important part of this. This afternoon, the kids are rehearsing for a festival. And I fancy having a go. So given that I'm a terrible dancer, do you think you can show me the basics? I have no rhythm.

I will let me show him the rhythms. Can you show me the rhythms? will show him how to dance. Yeah, the kids. Can they show me how? Yeah, I think they should. Who's going to come and show me how? Everyone. Come on, let's all come in here. So? That's it. I don't think you want to see much more of that to tell you the truth. No, you're right. You just need some more practice.

You're telling me. Spending time with Dave and now spending time with the Kukuyalan people, I can understand why they've been drawn to one another. This bond he's created with the Kukuyalan people, he is seeing this as not just a battle for him to stay on the island, but a battle for that island to be rightly seen as part of the land owned by the people here.