In 1963, Ngamaru Bidu saw a whitefella for the first time near Wiirnukurrujunu rockhole; surveyor Len Beadell grading a road across the desert as part of a military weapons testing program. Shortly after this meeting Ngamaru, along with the other 28 Martu she had been travelling with, were tracked and pursued by the Native Welfare Department. The group was eventually persuaded to move to Jigalong mission to join their relatives who had already moved in from the desert. Ngamaru has painted with Martumili since its inception in 2006. Ngamaru is known for the complex compositional structures and intricate patterning in her work, through which she very often explores the practice of fire burning in her Country and its related Martu cyclical seasonal changes. Ngamaru’s work has been acquired and exhibited in galleries internationally and throughout Australia.
