Warren Snowdon (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for External Territories) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last week, we said goodbye in the Northern Territory to Mr Jack Long, who died at the Royal Darwin Hospital on 9 July, aged 84. Jack was born under a tree near Ti Tree in Anmatjere country in 1937 and was part of the stolen generation. At the age of three, Mr Long was taken from his parents by welfare officers and transported to Alice Springs and then to Darwin. He was forcibly removed from his family and, after travelling on a truck, a train and a lugger boat, where he saw the ocean for the first time, he was placed in a Catholic mission on Melville Island in 1941.

While he was born in Anmatjere country, he became a saltwater man who spoke Tiwi and passed on the language and all his hunting and cultural skills to his children. Refining hunting and gathering skills came naturally to Jack through his early years and was to last throughout his life. Suitably and appropriately, his final job was as a ranger. He had previously worked his whole life driving trucks, on pearl luggers, shooting crocodiles from canoes and in other roles, but his favourite job was his final role as a sea ranger on the Tiwi Islands.

But his proudest achievement, without doubt, was his family. Mr Long married his wife, Agnes, in 1959, and they had nine children. The sons were Steven, Brian, Michael, Noel, Christopher, Patrick and John, and the two daughters were Kathy and Susie. Mr Long's children and their families and extended families were his life. He was a renowned sportsman and a member of St Mary's Football Club. He played in nine grand finals. He played over 200 games and won grand finals in 1965, 1966 and 1972. Mr Long was able to proudly see his son Michael lead the Long Walk to Canberra to confront John Howard about the condition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in this country. He was immensely proud of his family. All seven of his sons followed in their father's footsteps and played for St Mary's, and of course Michael went on to play 190 games for the Essendon Bombers. Retired Hawthorn champion Cyril Rioli is one of three of Mr Long's grandsons to play in the AFL. He played 189 games for Hawthorn, and Ben Long and Jake Long are currently with St Kilda and Essendon.

Mr Long was a wonderful man. He had a huge personality, was a great patriarch and was the epitome of what it was to be a Territorian and what it is to be one in this century. He was a wonderful person and a very good friend.