From little things,

Big things grow, was a song written and sung by Paul Kelly and Kev Carmody, describing the 1966 Gurindji Tribal strike led by aboriginal activist Vincent Lingiari, that sparked the indigenous land rights movement in Australia. The strike lasted 8 years and ended with the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act of 1976, giving indigenous Australians freehold title to traditional lands in the Northern Territory, the power to negotiate over mining and development on those lands and also what type of compensation they could receive. Lingiari was eventually recognised with an Order of Australia for his efforts, that started with a small strike no one took notice of and no one believed would end with such an achievement.

The power of the individual is never stronger than when it is required for social change and Vincent Lingiari was the perfect lightning rod for change in the Northern Territory and his legacy lives on in the land rights movement and in the recognition he attained, having one of Australia's largest electorates named after him. The division of Lingiari encompasses most of the Northern Territory as well as Christmas and Cocos Islands and the fact the land has remained unchanged is a testament to him.

Yet not everyone can change the course of history like Vincent but everyone has the opportunity to bring about change, even in a small way, for the things they are passionate about. In 1949, Reyn Spooner, a young man from California, entranced with the Pacific, set up a small haberdashery store on Catalina Island. An inauspicious start to a lasting legacy that saw him move to Hawaii in 1956 to set up the "Little Grass Shack" with one sewing machine, in due time ending up at the shopping mecca that became Ala Moana Centre and to ubiquitous status as the "Brooks Brothers of the Pacific". Reyn pioneered the incarnation of the Aloha Shirt, known everywhere as the Hawaiian Shirt with his innovative washed out reverse print fabrics known as "Spooner Kloth". For someone with an array of Spooner originals in my closet, that would have been enough to have Reyn enter the hall of fame for casual shirts.

Yet there is more to be thankful for, as his influence would soon reach the far corners of the globe with his activist membership of the Hawaiian Fashion Guild, who in the mid 60s took the unorthodox method of distributing two Hawaiian shirts to every member of the Hawaiian House of Representative and Senate to promote what they considered was the spirit of Aloha. "Operation Liberation" had the desired effect and a resolution was passed in the Hawaiian Senate the aloha attire be worn over a summer and eventually the campaign lobbying for "Aloha Friday" was successful in seeing the aloha shirt replacing business shirts for the corporate sector on the last day of the week. By the 1970s, Hawaii's tradition of "Aloha Friday" had become the the norm in business attire and the custom eventually spread to California and beyond, to see "Casual Friday" accepted globally by the 1990s.

Two men, one an activist, one a sun worshiper, from different worlds, in their own ways affected their tribes and made the world a better place. So next time you pull on your favourite comfy jeans for casual Friday, think about Reyn and his passion for loud shirts with palm trees and hula dancers and if you ever get the chance to visit the majestic Top End, consider Vincent Lingiari and his achievements to keep the land pristine for all to enjoy. Change does not need a large stage, in fact if you can change things for the better, one handshake at a time, you'll be surprised what you can accomplish. From little things.....