After his death in 2021, Gulpilil’s family and mob used planes, boats, vans and helicopters to transport his casket, with a documentary crew in tow. As his son reflects: ‘We have to fulfil his wishes – by any means’
Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains images and names of Indigenous Australians who have died
He was a man who danced between two worlds, carried stories across continents and, on his final journey, returned to the land that made him.
Before his death in November 2021, actor David Gulpilil made one final request: to be laid to rest in his ancestral home, deep in remote East Arnhem Land. Honouring that wish became a monumental undertaking and the subject of a documentary releasing across Australia next week called Journey Home, David Gulpilil.
It was a profound repatriation spanning more than 4,000 kilometres, unfolding over almost a year and beginning in Murray Bridge, South Australia, where Gulpilil was receiving treatment for terminal lung cancer. Planes, boats, vans and helicopters were variously commandeered to transport Gulpilil’s casket along the way; there were also long stretches on foot. It traced a path through landscapes that had shaped the actor’s life and legacy, and culminated in the place of his birth: Gupulul, on Yolŋu country, on 20 September 2022, almost 10 months after his death.
