FOR "Black Hat" Leslie Foster, almost three decades of struggle over the Karlu Karlu - land he regards as so sacred that it cannot be talked about - came to a conclusion yesterday with a simple "thank you".

In a ceremony celebrated with tears, laughter, traditional dancing and song, the Indigenous Affairs Minister, Jenny Macklin, handed over the title to the "Devils Marbles", and the vast expanse of land that surrounds it, to the traditional owners.

"Nobody can ever know what the significance of this land is, not even him," Black Hat said pointing to another traditional owner sitting close by. Each year big mobs gather on the sacred country to turn boys into men.

But yesterday was a day of celebration and of giving thanks for returning the land that Black Hat had wandered as a boy and now lectures "grey nomad" tourists about.

He thanked his father, his father's father, his family, his people and the Central Land Council who fought successive territory and federal governments in the courts to have the land handed back.

Shelia Braden, his daughter, said it had been an extraordinary battle for her father, who never thought of giving up. "Dad fought all his life for this - I am so proud of him. Many of those who started out with him passed away."

The handover also marks a new beginning. Under the terms of the settlement enshrined in legislation under the land rights act, Aboriginal land trusts that now own the land will lease it back to the Northern Territory government for 99 years as national parkland.

Management of the park will be split between Aboriginal people and the Government.

The director of the Central Land Council, David Ross, said Aboriginal people had fought for years to preserve these sacred places. "The proposed [Davenport Range National Park] has had a painful past, especially in its establishment when sites were bulldozed and desecrated and the traditional owners completely disregarded during the clearing of park boundaries."