Celebrated Indigenous musician Dr G Yunupingu will be farewelled at a memorial service in Darwin today.
The world-famous singer passed away in July at the age of 46 after struggling with liver and kidney disease for most of his life.
More than a dozen musicians and dance groups will perform in tribute at the Darwin Convention Centre while five eulogies will be delivered at the service.
Dr Yunupingu’s death brought renewed scrutiny on the burden of kidney disease and dialysis in remote and rural areas of Australia.
It was revealed after his death that Dr Yunupingu had chosen to stop undergoing dialysis and had remained in his community of Galiwin’ku on Elcho Island.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people remain overepresented for kidney disease, suffering at rates up to 50 times higher than the non-Indigenous population.
(IMAGE: Andee Duncan)
