Pastor Roy Yaltjanki

Roy was born c.1933 in the bush near present day Kaltukatjara (Docker River). Roy grew up in the Kaltukatjara area with his family, and remembers this as a time of plenty when the abundance of bush food and fresh water sustained many Anangu. In around 1942, he and his family walked for days across a vast salt lake to the Areyonga Mission. Roy went to school at the Mission, but as a young man returned to his home country. He married his first wife and they had several children together; when she passed away, he remarried with renowned ngangkari Pantjiti McKenzie AO. He now lives in Kaltukatjara (Docker River) community with many generations of his family. Roy has been painting and carving punu (wooden artefacts) for decades. Pastor Roy has a strong love for his country, underpinned by his deep spiritual knowledge. Roy is also an ordained Christian minister, and continues to be a spiritual guide and leader for his community. With his paintings, Pastor Roy offers viewers visions of his country as he saw it as a young man: beautiful, bountiful, lively, and full of joy.