WHO IS YVONNE MARGARULA OF THE MIRRAR?   Yvonne Margarula is the Senior Traditional Owner of the Mirrar. Mirrar Country is located on the Kakadu region of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is about 320 square km and covers the town of Jabiru, Kakadu National Park, the Ranger Uranium mine and the proposal Jabiluka uranium mine.   Yvonne was born in the bush somewhere between Gunbulunya (Oenpelli) and Jabiru, although at the time of her birth (in the 1950's) there was nothing at Jabiru. At the time her father worked on the Cattle Stations of Munmalary and Mudginberri, both of which covered Mirrar country. Her early years were spent living in the bush, at the Cattle Stations and at Oenpelli Mission.   In her teens her father, Toby Gangale, became a Northern Territory Conservation Commission Ranger. During this time there was a great deal of exploration work and much of Toby Gangale time was spent attending clearance and negotiation meetings with prospectors and miners.   Toby Gangale was not keen on mining in his Country but was coerced into agreeing to the Ranger Mine by endless meetings, negotiations, delegations and instructions from the Federal Government that "your opposition shall not prevail". He was deeply shocked at the impact on Country and Bininj (the name for Aboriginal People of the region) that the mine had. It was on a massive scale and brought thousands of people into the remote and fragile region.   His despair at the desecration of his Country and the unrelenting pressure to permit yet more development drove by Toby Gangale to drink and he died young in 1989. In the two years that followed one of Yvonne's brother was killed in a knife attack during a drunken brawl and her mother died of alcohol related diseases. Yvonne's identifies all of these deaths as relating directly from the impact of the mining on Mirrar Country.   In taking on the position of Senior Traditional Owner she not only undertook responsibility for Country but everything in it. The Country, the Culture, the Law, the Bininj, the animals and plants and even visitors. It is an awesome and all encompassing responsibility that is steeped in precedent and subject to much scrutiny by both the Mirrar and surrounding clans.   As Senior Traditional Owner she has also taken up positions on the Board of Management of Kakadu National Park and various other management committees. Yvonne is Chairperson of the Gundjehmi Aboriginal Corporation.   Whilst it is not uncommon for a woman to hold the position of Senior Traditional Owner, Yvonne had much to prove given the great respect that her father was accorded. Today she is a widely respected leader of her people who has proven herself as a Senior Traditional Owner. The Mirrar look towards her for leadership and expect her to take on all the responsibilities that the position holds.   Yvonne will never stop fighting for her country.   Press conference, Ben Elton on Jabiluka ... Australian Aboriginal Clan Leader brings U-Mine resistance to Britain ... International pressure & the Mirrar fight ... The history of Uranium Mining on Mirrar land ... Mining at Jabiluka - People's comments ...