Bardayal lofty nadjamerrek biography of william

Bardayal "Lofty" NadjamerrekAO (c. 1926–2009) was a KunwinjkuAboriginal artist of the Mok clan.

He belonged to the Duwa moiety and spoke the Kundedjnjenghmi language.^[1] He is currently referred to by his skin and clan as "Wamud Namok", following the Kunwinjku custom of avoiding use of the name of deceased persons.^[2]

Bardayal Nadjamerrek was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the 2004 Australia Day Honours for "service to the preservation of Indigenous culture as a Senior Traditional man and significant artist whose work documents the relationship of the land and its ancestral past via the Mimih Spirits of rock art".^[3] He is recognized as being very knowledgeable about country, environment, and the use of ochres.^[4] He helped map out places of "Aboriginal cultural significance, sacred sites that may have been lost had they not been documented."^[5]

Early life

Barday