Artist | JANICE NIXON

Artist | JANICE NIXON


Janice Nixon (bush name Yuwali) was born in the desert at Yulpu soak around 1947.

Her father was Manyjilyjarra and her mother was Mangala.

Her family walked around Wirnpa in the Percival Lakes area.

Yuwali was contacted by whitefellas for the first time in 1964 when rockets fired from Woomera (for a testing program) were programmed to land in the Percival Lakes area.

After a lengthy pursuit by a Patrol Officer who was trying to remove Martu from the rocket target area, Yuwali's family were eventually contacted and taken to Jigalong Mission.

Yuwali later worked on a number of stations close to Jigalong.

She moved to Punmu in 1982 to be closer to her country. Yuwali has told her story in much greater detail in a book, 'Cleared Out: First Contact in the Western Desert', which she co-authored with Sue Davenport and Peter Johnson (Aboriginal Studies Press, 2005)..



Janice Nixon (bush name Yuwali) was born in the desert at Yulpu soak around 1947.

Her father was Manyjilyjarra and her mother was Mangala.

Her family walked around Wirnpa in the Percival Lakes area.

Yuwali was contacted by whitefellas for the first time in 1964 when rockets fired from Woomera (for a testing program) were programmed to land in the Percival Lakes area.

After a lengthy pursuit by a Patrol Officer who was trying to remove Martu from the rocket target area, Yuwali's family were eventually contacted and taken to Jigalong Mission.

Yuwali later worked on a number of stations close to Jigalong.

She moved to Punmu in 1982 to be closer to her country. Yuwali has told her story in much greater detail in a book, 'Cleared Out: First Contact in the Western Desert', which she co-authored with Sue Davenport and Peter Johnson (Aboriginal Studies Press, 2005)..