
Badger Bates, Barkandji people, New South Wales, born 1947, Wilcannia, New South Wales, Life coming back to Moon Lake, Wilcannia, 2011, Broken Hill, New South Wales, linocut on paper, 72.0 x 42.7 cm (image), 90.8 x 57.8 cm (sheet); Acquisition through Tarnanthi: Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art supported by BHP 2019, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, © Badger Bates, photo: Alexandra Rosenblum.
Badger Bates
Barks means river and is the home of the Barkandji or Barkanji people
Badger (William Brian) Bates is a Barkandji Elder who was born in Wilcannia, NSW, in 1947. As a child he travelled up and down the Barka (Darling River) with his grandmother. ‘Granny Moysey’ taught Bates about his Barkandji culture and showed him how to carve.
Bates often works within the media of linocut printing, wood, emu egg and stone carving and metalwork. His lino prints show his connection to Country and the interconnected ecosystems of the Barka.
Barka, meaning river, is the home of the Barkandji or Barkanji people, the traditional owners of land around the lower Darling River, stretching from far west New South Wales to the South Australian border just above Broken Hill.
The Darling River, Australia’s third largest river, and the surrounding area are home to many different plants and animals, such as yabbies, shrimps, fish, mussels, turtles, birds and old River Red Gums. These animals and plants have been an important food source for the Barkandji people, who have relied on the Barka’s interconnected ecosystem.
In his works of art, Bates often depicts these food sources as well as other plants and animals that live along the Barka
‘As an artist I always tell the stories that are important to me and my people, and I use any medium to do this, although there is always a strong element of traditional Barkandji motifs and lines weaving through the work’
Getting Started
Bring the artists into the classroom.

Badger Bates, Tarnanthi 2019, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide,; photo: Saul Steed.
Making & Responding
Create a tribute to an extinct or endangered Australian Animal.

Badger Bates, Barkandji people, New South Wales, born 1947, Wilcannia, New South Wales, Yuku (sun) detail: Ngatji parripaningku (Rainbow serpent travelling about), 2019, Broken Hill, New South Wales, wood, shell (dimensions variable); © Badger Bates, photo:Saul Steed.
Education Resource
See our Badger Bates Education Resource for more ideas for the classroom.