Bardayal Lofty Nadjamerrek

Place: Mann River Region

Death: 2009

Biography:

Bardayal 'Lofty' Nadjamerrek AO (c. 1926–2009) was a Kunwinjku Aboriginal artist of the Mok clan. He belonged to the Duwa moiety and spoke the Kundedjnjenghmi language. 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. 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". He is recognized as being very knowledgeable about country, environment, and the use of ochres. He helped map out places of "Aboriginal cultural significance, sacred sites that may have been lost had they not been documented."