(dramatic orchestral music) (bright orchestral music) - I'm standing on the western
edge of the Gibson Desert. It covers an area of 15 million hectares, or 150,000 square kilometres, making it the fifth largest
desert in Australia. It's a vast region of
undulating red sand plains, rocky ridges, dunes, scrubby
trees, and desert grass. This harsh and inhospitable environment provides the setting for a
deeply moving love story, an Australian version of Romeo and Juliet. This is a story about landscape and a people whose existence and identity is dependent on their
connection to their land, their country. It's the story of a young
couple who fall in love, but are forbidden to marry by tribal law. So against the wishes of their elders, they elope and run away
into the deep desert, the most inaccessible of regions. After many years of living alone, they became possibly
Australia's last desert nomads living the traditional
indigenous lifestyle. In the 1970s, they were
forced by severe drought to move into a town on
the fringes of the desert. They thought they were the last of their line of desert nomads, and that the time of their
people caring for their lands had come to an end. This is their story, the
story of Warri and Yatungka. Don't miss it, because it
carries an important message for all of us today. (gentle dramatic orchestral music) Wiluna is an old gold rush town in the northern region of West
Australia's Golden Outback, with a real bush atmosphere. It's located on the edge
of the Western Deserts at the gateway to two
iconic Australian journeys, the Canning Stock Route
and the Gunbarrel Highway. The town is located on the
tribal lands of the Mardu people, who have lived here in this
desert region for centuries. At its peak, Wiluna was home
to the biggest gold mine in Western Australia, and had a population
of about 10,000 people. Most of them were fortune-seekers who came here hoping to strike
it rich in the gold mines. But today, Wiluna is primarily
a Mardu indigenous community. It has an active administrative centre, and its young people are
being trained to be leaders and rangers to care for their lands. Any history of Wiluna
has two parallel streams, European history, that started with surveyor
Lawrence Wells in 1892, and centres around cattle and gold; and then indigenous history,
which is infinitely longer, and centres around the
story of the Mardu people and their attachment to this land. To understand the Mardu story, it's important to understand
their relationship to the land. When speaking English, aboriginal people often
talk about the landscape using the name country. It's a name, not a description. An anthropologist describes it this way. - [Deborah] People talk about country in the same way that they
would talk about a person. They speak to country, sing to country, visit country, worry about country, feel sorry for country,
and long for country. Country is a living
entity with a yesterday, today, and tomorrow, with consciousness and a will toward life. Because of this richness,
country is home and peace, nourishment for body, mind, and spirit. Heart's ease. - The original inhabitants of this region were the Mardu people. These indigenous people have a very deep
relationship with the land. Every aspect of their
lives is connected to it. They have a spiritual, physical, social, and cultural
connection with the land. And this vital connection is expressed in every aboriginal artform
and ceremonial performance, whether it be dance, music, or painting. - I like to paint about my people, and most of all about my country. It's where we live and where my people lived for generations. Well, this painting is
about my grandfather. He wanted to find the two old people. This is my grandfather. And this is the Canning Stock Route. And these are the water
holes along the way. And these two are the, this is the old lady
and that's the old man. I just think that it's important to know these stories
about the old people. People go out there now, it'll be good to know
where those rock holes are to find water. So my painting tells
a very important story to my people. (gentle music) - This is the Wiluna Cemetery on the edge of the Western Deserts. This is the land of the Mardu peoples. Mardu culture is one of
the oldest in the world. For thousands of years, three of Australia's Western Deserts have come under the stewardship
of the Mardu peoples. Their country includes
parts of the Great Sandy, Little Sandy, and Gibson Deserts. And here on the edge of their country are the graves of Warri and Yatungka. It is possible that this couple were Australia's last true desert nomads. Long after the Mardu people had gravitated to urban settlements, this couple survived for
decades living in their country, their ancestral lands,
their promised land, travelling between the water holes, hunting and gathering wild
fruits and bush tucker. Warri and Yatungka met in
the 1930s and fell in love, but indigenous tribal law
forbade them to marry. However, their love was strong and their commitment to
each other unbreakable. They just had to be together. So to avoid severe physical
punishment or even death, the star-crossed lovers
eloped and ran away together in the middle of the night, to live in exile in the
desert lands of another tribe. Nothing could keep them apart. They were prepared to suffer isolation, banishment, and the
harshness of the desert in order to stay together. Warri and Yatungka remained in
exile for a great many years. They had two sons, but
were not completely happy because they couldn't live in
the country of their birth, to hunt, gather food, or
participate in social gatherings. Eventually, the longing for their country became too strong to bear, their sadness so profound that they chose to return back across the barren plains and sand hills, until once more they stood
in their own country. They were back in their promised land. But they found that great
changes had happened during their absence. There had been an exodus of
people from the desert lands. Warri and Yatungka returned to a land that was almost empty of people. They weren't punished for their defiance of tribal marriage laws because there were no council
elders left to judge them. The couple and their sons
became just another family moving up and down their country. They were home, but it wasn't the home they left when they ran away. Now, there was hardly anyone around. In the years that
followed their homecoming, Warri and Yatungka saw
their remaining kinsfolk leave their country, their land. And as their own children became adults, they also left to find wives, and didn't return except for brief visits. The time came when Warri and Yatungka were the only human
occupants of their country, the only people living in a vast expanse of the Western Gibson Desert. They were left to wander as their ancestors had done for centuries, moving from one water hole to another, hunting and gathering food, two people alone in the desert. When the rains fall and
the seasons are good, there's an abundance of water
in the soaks and rock pools. And there are plenty of animals to hunt. Life is good in the desert. But back in 1977, it had been three years since there had been any rain. And the water holes were drying up, the animals were dying,
and there was no food. The drought became more severe, and Warri and Yatungka's
situation became desperate. Despite Warri and
Yatungka's early defiance, the tribal elders were constantly worried about how Warri and Yatungka were surviving alone in the desert, and decided to send out a search party. The search for Warri
and Yatungka began here where the Canning Stock
Route starts near Wiluna. The Canning Stock Route is an
1,850-kilometer chain of wells that operated for a few short decades as a moderately-successful way for drovers to drive
cattle through the desert. It's the longest stock route in the world. The line of wells crossed
the ancestral land or countries of many desert peoples. It's the road that many of
Warri and Yatungka's tribe followed out of their desert lives and into the fringes of urban life. A childhood friend of Warri,
and now a senior tribal elder, set out with a local doctor and others to search for the last of the nomads. The elder's name was Mudjon. He desperately wanted
to find his old friends and rescue them from
their desperate situation. - My uncle was one of the senior and well-respected elders at the time throughout the Western and Central Desert. A lot of the families and people knew him as a wise man, and he knew the desert so well. So he knew exactly where to go, even though there was
no tracks to lead him. He relied on the desert knowledge that was passed on for generations down through the time, that our people used to
survive this harsh country. - They searched the barren desert for days and covered hundreds of
kilometres in their search, but found no sign of Warri and Yatungka. They went from water hole to water hole, hoping to find some evidence
of the desert nomads. But not a sign. When they were about to
reluctantly give up their search, Mudjon lit a grass fire
to send up a smoke signal, with a fierce plume of smoke. And then they waited to see
if there would be an answer. Suddenly, Mudjon shouted and
pointed excitedly to the north. And there it was. In the distance, a faint wisp of smoke, spiralling into the blue sky. Someone was alive out there. Somebody had made the long
journey to the last water hole. Could it be Warri and Yatungka? Excitedly, the team set off behind Mudjon in the direction of the distant smoke. And near a dried-up claypan, Warri and Yatungka were found
by their old friend Mudjon. He had searched tirelessly with
his knowledge of the desert that no white man could ever possess, and he found them just in time. The frail old couple had no food and were barely alive. Warri was debilitated with a leg injury and was unable to hunt. Yatungka was the sole food provider. Warri was kept alive only
by the skill of the woman that he had supposedly
wrongfully taken as his wife many years ago. Without Yatungka's devotion, Warri would've died long ago. He was utterly dependent
on her for survival. Mudjon asked whether they
wanted to stay in the desert or return with the rescue team. They said they would come. They were weak and could no longer live alone in their country without the help and
support of young people. Warri and Yatungka wanted
to see their sons again, but they wondered what kind
of welcome they would get from those who knew that
they had broken tribal law. Mudjon assured them that they had discussed
the matter many times with the elders, and it had been agreed that
no punishment would be given. The old couple gathered together
a few meagre possessions, their spears and spear-thrower,
a carrying dish, an axe. They walked towards the vehicle
without a backward glance. Then Warri walked away a short distance to stand and gaze about, having one last look at
the country, their country, then climbed onto the back of the vehicle. Slowly, the vehicle headed toward Wiluna. The last of the nomads were
leaving their desert lands. In Wiluna, Warri and Yatungka faced confusion in their new surroundings, sitting among their own people once more. They found communication difficult. After 40 years all alone in the desert, they weren't used to long conversations or the hustle and bustle of a busy town. They were already homesick
for their country, their desert lands. They longed for the freedom
of the great open spaces. They longed to feel the
red sand under their feet, and to hear the howl
of the dingo at night. They were separated from their
land, and they were lost. In April 1979, less than two years after leaving his ancestral
lands, Warri became ill, and despite treatment
died on the 28th of April. Yatungka was shattered
by her husband's death. She was profoundly depressed, unable to accept the fact that
the man she'd eloped with, the man who had been by her side as her sole companion in the
desert for over 40 years, was gone. She lost all interest in life. She refused to take food. She just couldn't live without Warri, and died less than a month
later on the 23rd of May, 1979. She was buried here next
to her beloved Warri. They couldn't be separated in life, and not even death could separate them. They lie here, beside each
other in the local cemetery, on the edge of their country. When Warri and Yatungka,
the last of the nomads, came into Wiluna from the desert, their friend Mudjon,
the Mardu tribal elder, despaired for his people and for his land. With the last guardians of the land gone, who would clear the water holes and burn the spinifex grass
to bring fresh regrowth? Mudjon despaired. Would his people ever return
to their ancestral lands, their promised land? Well, the drought was hard, and the Mardu faced decades of social and political challenges. But Mudjon's dream is
being fulfilled today. The Mardu lands are now part of the most intact arid
ecosystem anywhere on Earth, and are home to many of Australia's
most threatened species, like the greater bilby, the black-flanked rock wallaby, and the brush-tailed mulgara. Men's and women's Mardu ranger teams are restoring traditional
burning practises, controlling feral animals, rehabilitating water holes, and working with scientists
to protect threatened species like bilbies and rock wallabies. And to fulfil Mudjon's dream, the association also has a
fantastic leadership programme. - Ranger programme has taught me a lot and gave me a knowledge of understanding of how country is, and how you connect with country, because the elders have got stories to tell younger generation
about what country is all about. And with this job, I sort of came closer to being part of my ancestors, I guess. You know, when you go to country, you feel that connection that
you have been there before, because we connect with
country as Mardu people. - The story of the Mardu people is a story of contact, conflict, exile, and survival, of exodus and return. Above all, it's a story of
family, culture, and country. Warri, Yatungka, and Mudjon believed they were seeing the end of their people's cultural
relationship with the land, that was so precious to them. But it wasn't the end, as new generations of Mardu have returned to their
country, their promised land. Today, we have learned just a fraction of the long history of the Mardu people, and how their identity
is tied to the land. After many years away on the
fringes of their country, the Mardu have now returned to actively caring for
their traditional lands, and are growing their
young people as leaders. Mudjon, the Mardu elder with a dream of bringing his people back to their land, their promised land, and Warri and Yatungka, the last nomads, would be pleased. There is a wonderful
and appropriate promise found in Genesis chapter 28, in verse 15. Here's what it says. "Behold, I am with you, "and will keep you wherever you go, "and will bring you back to this land. "For I will not leave
you until I have done "what I have promised you." It's a promise made to the patriarch Jacob
and his descendants, but it also applies to
each one of us as well. And what about us? What is the source of
our spiritual identity? As you consider this question, you can take comfort from
the words of the Bible. "For I will not leave you "until I have done what I promised you." You see, we too have a promised land. Yes, God has a plan for your life, and He has a promised land
in store for each of us. And He wants to see you
enter your promised land. Your immediate promised land could be the renewing of your marriage, the salvation of your children, breaking some bad habit, being set free from some addiction, or just freedom from negative thinking. Whatever it is, God will give you victory and He will lead you to a better place, your promised land. But more importantly, there's an ultimate promised land that God is preparing for us. Do you remember the
wonderful promise He made in John chapter 14, verses one to three? Here's what He said. "In my father's house are many mansions. "If it were not so, I would've told you. "I go to prepare a place for you. "And if I go and prepare a place for you, "I will come again and
receive you to myself, "that where I am, there you may be also." Yes. Jesus is preparing a place for you in that ultimate promised land. All you've gotta do is
accept Him and follow Him, and He'll lead you there. Why not decide right now that you're going to
possess your promised land? God is good. He will lead you there. Why not ask Him to do
that right now as we pray? Dear Heavenly Father, today we have learned a little of the long history of the Mardu people, and how their identity
is tied to the land. We've also heard the moving love story of Warri and Yatungka, and
their passion for their land. Father, our spiritual identity
is also tied to the land, the promised land, the heavenly place that
you are preparing for us. And today we want to
accept and follow Jesus, and have Him lead us there. We ask this in Jesus's name, amen. The story of Warri and Yatungka, their moving love story and
their survival in the outback, has captured the interests
of people all over the world. And it's so encouraging to
find that the Mardu people have now returned to actively caring for their traditional
lands, their promised land. But perhaps even more importantly, it's reassuring to know that
we too have a promised land, and that God has a plan for
our lives here and beyond. If you'd like to know
more about God's plan for you and our planet, then I'd like to tell you
about the free gift we have for all our viewers today. It's an inspiring book
called Eternal Endings. This popular book shares the secret of finding true happiness in our lives. It shows us ways to deal
with the challenges we face in every day life. This book is our gift to
you and is absolutely free. There is no cost and no
obligation whatsoever. So please don't miss this
wonderful opportunity to receive this gift
we have for you today. Here's the information you need. Phone or text us as 0436 333 555, or visit our website, www.tij.tv, to request today's free offer, and we'll send it to you
totally free of charge and with no obligation. So don't delay. Call or text 0436 333 555 in Australia, or 020 422 2042 in New Zealand. Or visit our website, www.tij.tv, to request today's offer. Write to us at PO Box 5101, Dora Creek, New South
Wales, 2264, Australia. Or PO Box 76673, Manukau, Auckland, 2241, New Zealand. Don't delay. Call or text us now. If you've enjoyed today's journey, be sure to join us again next week when we will share another
of life's journeys together, and experience another new and
thought-provoking perspective on the peace, insight,
understanding, and hope that only the Bible can give us. The Incredible Journey truly is television that changes lives. Until next week, remember
the ultimate destination of life's journey. Now I saw a new Heaven and a new Earth, and God will wipe away
every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death,
nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. (bright orchestral music)
