Why Warriors take on Peterson

Why Warriors take on Peterson

‘Why Warriors’ take on Peterson
August 2011
A portable sawmill might be the last thing you’d expect a warrior to use, but that is exactly what the
Northern Territory Nhulunbuy Warriors are currently working with.
Richard Trudgen has been working with the Arnhem Land Aboriginals of Australia’s Northern Territory for
over 20 years now. His main focus has been in restoring the Yolngu
Community’s ability to cope and succeed alongside the ‘western’ world. For
decades the indigenous peoples of Australia have been terrorised and
victimised, mainly because they were mis-understood by western peoples.
Richard Trudgen has written a book on the history and culture of the
Arnhem Land peoples, titled ‘Why Warriors Lie Down and Die’. Peterson
CEO Kerris Browne says “The book is extremely enlightening, and at times
very, very sad. I had no idea the Yolngu Aboriginals had been so blatantly
massacred, and I am amazed they have still managed to survive. Richard has
done a great job with the book, and an even greater job helping their culture
and plight to be understood.”
Richard’s vision is to empower Indigenous Australians through private clan
based business development. Many earlier Government schemes have failed
because the Aboriginal culture was not fully understood, and ‘western’
projects were just not suited to their way of living. Richard explains
“Mining town influences draw the indigenous peoples away from their culture with false opportunities. At
the moment, many family businesses are involved in drug running or welfare. We’ve got to help them set up
community businesses that can actually work for them, so they can move away from their dependency on
welfare.” So Richard first began looking at portable sawmills several years ago, identifying that timber
harvesting and woodworking could be a sustainable and workable community project. Richard has looked at
many types of portable sawmills on the market. He says “I’ve used both a Lucas and a Westford mill, and I
needed something easier. My research on the web kept coming back to Peterson, as it’s specifications
seemed to match what I was looking for”. Richard first contacted Peterson in 2005. However it took much
longer than he expected to obtain government funding for the project. In early 2011, a frustrated Richard
took the bull by the horns and decided to invest in the project himself.