top of page
Explore powerful stories at the intersection of history, culture, and music—from Aboriginal cricket pioneers and war heroes to legendary albums by Hendrix, Miles Davis, and Gurrumul. This blog dives deep into First Nations resilience, iconic protest music, and untold truths that shaped Australia and the world. Engaging, thoughtful, and unapologetically real—where powerful voices from the past meet today's social conversation.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this page contains images and names of deceased persons.
Search
All Posts
Blak History Month: The Pigram Brothers: The Sound of Broome, Family and Country.
Some bands are defined by chart success. Others leave a lasting mark by telling stories that could only come from the place they call home. For more than three decades, The Pigram Brothers have done exactly that, creating music that captures the spirit of Broome, the Kimberley and the rich cultural tapestry of northern Australia. Made up of brothers Stephen, Alan, Philip, Peter and Colin Pigram, the band grew up surrounded by the diverse influences that make Broome unlike any
Groote Broadcasting
3 days ago2 min read
Blak History Month: More Than a Didgeridoo: The Ancient Instrument with a Story to Tell.
It's one of the most recognisable sounds in the world—a deep, earthy drone that seems to echo across the landscape itself. But the didgeridoo is far more than a musical instrument. It's a living expression of culture, ceremony and storytelling that has been part of Aboriginal life for thousands of years. Believed to have originated among the Aboriginal peoples of northern Australia, particularly across Arnhem Land, the didgeridoo is known by many traditional names, including
Groote Broadcasting
5 days ago2 min read
Blak History Month: The Many Languages That Make Australia Home.
Step inside homes across Australia and you'll hear a remarkable chorus of languages. From the oldest living languages on Earth to those carried here by migrants from every corner of the globe, Australia's linguistic landscape tells the story of who we are and where we've come from. Long before English arrived, more than 250 distinct Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages were spoken across the continent, with hundreds of regional dialects reflecting thousands of year
Groote Broadcasting
Jul 142 min read
Blak History Month: The Central Australian Aboriginal Women's Choir. Voices That Carry Culture Across Generations.
Music has always been a powerful way to share stories, preserve culture and bring people together. Few groups embody that spirit more beautifully than the Central Australian Aboriginal Women's Choir. Made up of women from remote communities across Central Australia, the choir is unlike any other. Their performances blend centuries-old Lutheran hymns with the rich sounds of Aboriginal languages including Arrarnta and Pitjantjatjara, creating a musical tradition that is both de
Groote Broadcasting
Jul 112 min read
Blak History Month: Warwick Thornton. Telling Australia's Stories Through a Different Lens.
Filmmaker Warwick Thornton has entertained and challenged audiences, becoming one of Australia's most celebrated and influential Aboriginal directors. Born in Alice Springs and a Kaytetye man, Thornton DJ'd at CAAMA Radio in his early years. He has spent his career telling stories that are deeply personal, unapologetically honest and unmistakably Australian. His films don't rely on spectacle—they draw audiences in through quiet moments, powerful performances and breathtaking
Groote Broadcasting
Jul 102 min read
Blak History Month: David Unaipon. Inventor, writer, orator and campaigner.
David Unaipon, a Ngarrindjeri man born in 1872 at Point McLeay Mission in South Australia, registered patents for 10 inventions between 1909 and 1944 — including an improved handpiece for sheep shearing, a centrifugal motor, a multi-radial wheel and a mechanical propulsion device. His sheep shearing handpiece — patented in 1909 — transformed circular motion into linear motion and delivered significant economic benefits to Australia's wool industry. Its design is still in use
Groote Broadcasting
Jul 82 min read
Blak History Month:Patty Mills — the kid from Canberra who conquered the world.
Patty Mills picked up a basketball at four years old, playing for a little Indigenous club his parents started in Canberra called "The Shadows." From those humble beginnings, he went on to do something no one in this country had ever done. But before the trophies, there's a deeper story...and it matters. Patty's father, Benny, is a Torres Strait Islander. His mother, Yvonne, is an Aboriginal woman of the Kokatha people. As a child, Yvonne was forcibly removed from her family
Groote Broadcasting
Jul 62 min read
Blak History Month: Warumpi Band; The Sound of a New Australia.
Before Indigenous music was regularly heard on mainstream radio, four young men from the remote community of Papunya were quietly changing Australian music forever. Formed in 1980, Warumpi Band became one of the country's first Aboriginal rock bands to achieve national recognition. Their music blended infectious rock rhythms with stories of Country, family and identity, creating a sound that was unmistakably Australian. What made Warumpi Band truly groundbreaking was their fe
Groote Broadcasting
Jul 42 min read
Blak History Month: The hidden history of Aboriginal stockmen and stockwomen.
This is a story that doesn't get told nearly enough — the hidden history of Aboriginal stockmen and stockwomen, and the back-breaking, brilliant, largely unacknowledged role they played in shaping rural Australia as we know it. From the earliest days of European pastoral expansion, Aboriginal people didn't just work the land — they made the industry possible. Station owners conceded they could not survive without Aboriginal knowledge and labour — pastoralists were even willin
Groote Broadcasting
Jul 33 min read
Blak History Month 2026.
This July 2026, we celebrate Blak History Month — a powerful time to honour the strength, survival, and sovereignty of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It’s more than a look back — it’s a spotlight on the truth, brilliance, and resistance that continues to shape this country. Blak History Month is about truth-telling — unfiltered, unapologetic, and proud. This is a time to remember our warriors, our artists, our trailblazers. A time to reflect on injustices, cel
Groote Broadcasting
Jul 11 min read
Music Spotlight: Kendrick Lemar; 'To Pimp A Butterfly' (2015)
By the time Kendrick Lamar released To Pimp a Butterfly in 2015, he had already established himself as one of hip-hop's most gifted storytellers. good kid, m.A.A.d city had cemented his reputation as a lyrical heavyweight with cinematic vision. The expectation was that he'd make another great rap album. Instead, he made something far more ambitious. To Pimp a Butterfly isn't simply an album; it's a sprawling work of art that refuses to stand still. It fuses hip-hop with jazz,
Groote Broadcasting
Jun 272 min read
NAIDOC Week is almost here — and this year is a big one. The 50th.
Most people know NAIDOC Week as a time of celebration. Flags flying, art, dancing, community events, kids learning culture at school. And it absolutely is all of that. But the story of how it began? That's something every Australian should know. Because NAIDOC didn't start as a party. It started as a protest. Back in 1938, on the 150th anniversary of British colonisation, Aboriginal leaders organised what they called the Day of Mourning. While the rest of the country celebrat
Groote Broadcasting
Jun 262 min read
Did you know?
Just off the coast of Groote Eylandt lives one of the ocean’s quiet achievers — the Dugong. They’re often called “sea cows” because they graze slowly on seagrass meadows, shaping the health of the ocean floor as they feed. No rush. No drama. Just steady work that keeps ecosystems in balance. Here’s the part most people miss: if the dugong disappears, the seagrass suffers. And when seagrass declines, so does everything that depends on it. For thousands of years, dugongs have b
Groote Broadcasting
Jun 241 min read
Do you know the story behind the Aboriginal flag?
You've seen it thousands of times. But do you know the story behind the Aboriginal flag? Black, red and yellow. A flag so powerful and so instantly recognised that it's hard to imagine a time before it existed. But it does have a beginning — and a remarkable one. It started with a man named Harold Thomas. Harold Thomas is a Luritja man, born in Alice Springs — and a member of the Stolen Generations. Taken from his family at the age of seven. Despite that brutal start, he went
Groote Broadcasting
Jun 223 min read
Artist Spotlight: Emma Donovan.
Emma Donovan is one of those artists that has the rare ability to make you feel every word they sing. A proud Gumbaynggirr and Yamatji woman, Emma has spent more than two decades establishing herself as one of Australia's most respected and beloved performers. Whether she's singing soul, country, gospel or blues, there's an authenticity to her music that can't be taught. It comes from culture, family, experience and a deep connection to story. Born into the renowned Donovan m
Groote Broadcasting
Jun 201 min read
Refugee Week and the FIFA World Cup.
Refugee Week and the World Cup, all at once. And honestly? You couldn't write a better story. Take a proper look at the Socceroos squad lining up in America right now. The 26 players come from at least 15 different cultural and ethnic backgrounds...a reflection of a modern Australia where nearly one in three people were born overseas. Italian, Burundian, Liberian, Turkish-Cypriot, Dutch, Zimbabwean, Scottish, South Sudanese, Serbian and Sri Lankan. At least three of those pla
Groote Broadcasting
Jun 172 min read
Refugee Week: A Million Stories.
It's not just a nice phrase. There's a real number behind it. Since 1947, when Australia first agreed to take in 4,000 refugees from Central Europe, this country has issued one million permanent humanitarian visas. A million people who turned up here with nothing but what they could carry, and built a life anyway. Think about who those people became. They opened the corner shops and the restaurants we love. They became doctors and nurses and teachers. They drove the trucks, b
Groote Broadcasting
Jun 152 min read
Music Spotlight | Frank Yamma
Central Australia has a sound. It's in the heat that radiates off red rock at dusk, in the dry creek beds, in the silence that stretches further than most people are comfortable with. Frank Yamma somehow put all of that into a guitar and a voice — and the result is some of the most honest music this country has ever produced. Frank was born at a waterhole in Kaltukatjara in Australia's Northern Territory and grew up in Alice Springs. His father, Isaac Yamma, was a pioneer — o
Groote Broadcasting
Jun 132 min read
World Day Against Child Labour.
138 million children around the world, right now, are not in a classroom. Not playing. Not being kids. Working. Since 2000, child labour has almost halved — from 246 million children down to 138 million. That's real progress. Hard-won, decade-by-decade progress that has changed the lives of millions of children. But here's where it gets uncomfortable. The world set a target to eliminate child labour by 2025. We missed it. And to end it within the next five years, current rate
Groote Broadcasting
Jun 122 min read
Barunga Festival: What It Is, Why It Matters, and Why You Should Know About It
If you've never heard of Barunga Festival, you're not alone — but you probably should have. Every King's Birthday long weekend in June, something quietly extraordinary happens in a small Aboriginal community 80 kilometres southeast of Katherine in the Northern Territory. Thousands of people roll in from across Australia — and beyond — set up tents in the red dust, and spend three days immersed in one of the most authentic Indigenous cultural experiences this country has to of
Groote Broadcasting
Jun 84 min read
bottom of page