Passions High At Arnhem's Murder Trial

Sydney Morning Herald

Tuesday February 14, 1989

By TONY HEWETT

JABIRU: Arnhem Land, steamy and wet, is stirring.

It is as if Dennis Dumbiri Rostron, 25, the boyish-looking man charged with murdering five members of his family with a single-load shotgun last September, has returned not to face white justice, but the inflamed passions of Arnhem Land - where the notions of retribution and payback have survived thousands of years.

He has come back to face the feelings of rage, shock, anguish and wonder; among his own family, the kin of those he allegedly killed and the many people who knew the dead.

The thought of his arrival has harped at the minds of the people whom his alleged crimes have altered for life.

Each night, three voices, loud and intriguing, tear at the silence -Maningrida men, among them half-blind "Jimmy" Singleton, daring to leave their hotel rooms at Jabiru's Crocodile Resort, a four-star oddity in this harsh mining-inspired town.

"Jimmy" is a close relative of Rostron and has come to Jabiru with five others to give evidence to the Northern Territory Court of Summary Jurisdiction, in which the committal proceedings will be conducted.

But the six dare not go much further than their hotel, fearful that they will encounter relatives of those who died - Rostron's father-in-law and acclaimed artist Dick Murrumurru, 67; mother-in-law Dolly; wife Cecily and their two children, Preston, 3, and Zorac, 21 months.

A sixth man, Andrew Narrorga, died of a heart attack as he fled the Marlgawo Outstation, the desolate scene of the tragedy on September 25 last year.

Since the charges - unprecedented in this area's modern history - Arnhem Land's Aboriginal people have been expecting payback against Rostron's family. It hasn't happened yet.

Despite clandestine meetings between a messenger from Rostron's family and the Djandjomerr family, close relatives of Dick Murrumurru, nothing has been resolved. It may not be for some time - years even.

But as the Maningrida men are well aware as they tread carefully at Jabiru, unless something transpires in time, payback might well begin. And it may take the form of sorcery.

Esau Djandjomerr, a slim boy of 13, looked at his father a few days ago and said: "I'll never forget."

Esau is terrified of his own memory of September 25. He saw the victims die. So did his adopted brother Abraham and his sister Shirley as well as Lena Narrorga and her daughter Patricia.

This group has been waiting outside the Jabiru police station over the past few days, facing constant questioning from police, questions which draw long periods of silence. They are dreading having to give evidence.

George Djandjomerr, Esau's uncle, said: "It's so hard for them because they saw what really happened. They are still worried and really sad."

The Crown will call 13 Aboriginal witnesses during the Jabiru sitting of Rostron's committal, which will start today and is expected to last two days.

Old Lofty Najambrrek, artist and a minder of the country that is the soul of Arnhem Land's Bolmo people, squatted on the edge of the Jabiru airstrip yesterday afternoon, muttering: "I want to see that fella."

He had just flown in from a remote outstation not far from Marlgawo, which is in the heart of Bolmo country - the stone country.

© 1989 Sydney Morning Herald

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