Notice of Waanyi Native Title Holders Community Meeting
Waanyi Joint Venture Training Update
C During July, the Red Koral Café started to look at options for employee training. A number of courses are being considered as a base ‘curriculum’ for new employees, including: Basic Food Safety; Food Safety Supervisor; Responsible Service of Alcohol; and Effective Conflict Resolution. It is anticipated that portions of this training will commence in August.
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Higher Education Funding- Cameron Callope
Cameron Callope is a full-time medical student at the University of Queensland who was accepted to study a portion of his course at Harvard University in Boston.
Unfortunately for Cameron, the US Consulate has been backlogged for six months with processing Australian student visas, meaning there are currently around 40 Australian students waiting for visa approval, Cameron being one of them. This means that instead of being on-site in Boston, Cameron has to attend the lectures virtually in real-time, meaning his daily lectures start at 3 a.m.
You will see from the photo below that this has done nothing to curb his enthusiasm for his studies though!
30th of May, 2022
A win for the Waanyi people
Today marks a very significant milestone for the Waanyi People. Today we celebrate the handover of the Boodjamulla National Park back to its rightful owners.
Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) National Park is one of Queensland's most significant geological parks, with interesting rocks and landscapes spanning hundreds of millions of years.
Aboriginal occupation at Lawn Hill dates back at least 17,000 years and may extend beyond 30,000 years, possibly the longest continual occupation of an area in Australia. The Aboriginal Traditional Owners, the Waanyi people, know this country as Boodjamulla or the Rainbow Serpent country. According to the Waanyi people, Boodjamulla—the Rainbow Serpent—formed the Lawn Hill Gorge area and created the permanent spring water. To the Waanyi people, Lawn Hill Gorge is a sacred place used only for ceremonial and celebratory purposes. They believe that if you tamper with the water, pollute it or take it for granted, the Rainbow Serpent will leave and take all the water with him. During the wet season, the Waanyi people would gather under overhanging rocks and in caves, while in the dry months they would camp in paperbark shelters along the creek banks. They made paperbark canoes for travelling short distances and used a shield-shaped wooden dish, called a coolaman, to carry babies, prepare food or transport fire and food. The Waanyi people were hunters and gatherers. Men hunted while the women and children gathered edible plants. Boomerangs and spears were used for hunting while grass-woven nets were used for catching fish. Boodjamulla country provided plenty of food for the Waanyi people. Their staple diet consisted of fish (wirigatyigatyi), turtle (wabungara), kangaroo (mailadyi), and goanna (dyambapna), and was supplemented with berries, mussels (mulla mulla), pandanus fruit (bulalula), wild banana and cabbage palms cores (wodidy). They used stones to grind lily seeds for damper and used earth ovens (dundee) of hot coals and rocks for cooking. Evidence of Aboriginal occupation can still be found today in the remaining mussel middens, grindstone relics, and rock art. Waanyi Elders have interpreted some of these sites, providing visitors with an understanding of their traditional lifestyle.
For more information click on the link below.
Site Content
May 20th, 2022
The Burke Shire Council has kindly agreed to provide land, infrastructure, and utilities to the newly formed Ngumari Waanyi Ranger t to use as a temporary ranger base. An area beside the Council works depot in Gregory has been offered and will allow the development of temporary offices, accommodation units and work area from which rangers can operate. The council has also provided demountables as well as access to water and power. This temporary facility will allow the new ranger unit to commence work immediately upon joining the Ngumari Waanyi team. We thank the Burke Shire Mayor, Ernie Camp, CEO Dan McKinlay and Councillor John Clarke for their support. The development of a permanent, built-for-purpose, ranger station is planned for Gregory and will commence once a site has been secured. Negotiations are currently underway
APRIL 6TH, 2022
Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) National Park brochure-Inaugural joint development
The Waanyi PBC and Waanyi Joint Venture are pleased to release the first jointly developed Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) National Park (BNP) brochure.
Through the joint management of the Park, the Cooperative Management Council (CMC) comprising QPWS and Waanyi PBC representatives, designed the BNP brochure which represents the integration of Waanyi culture and knowledge into the Park. The strong integration of the Waanyi culture in the Brochure represents the development of the CMC and Waanyi into Park management through the Boodjamulla Management Plan planned for gazettal in June 2022.
BNP is one of Queensland’s most scenic national parks which is situated within the remote northwest highlands of Queensland on Waanyi country. The park features spectacular gorge country, sandstone ranges and World Heritage fossils. BNP acknowledges the Waanyi People as the First Australians and the Custodians of Boodjamulla. They pay respect to Elders of the past, present, and emerging in maintaining the culture, country and spiritual connection to the land. The Waanyi Aboriginal people welcome you to their country and ask that you respect their special place.
Click here to download the Boodjamulla National Park Brochure
mARCH 24, 2022
MARCH 17, 2022
National Close The Gap Day 17 of March 2022
For more than a decade now, Australians from every corner of the country, in schools, businesses and community groups, have shown their support for Close the Gap by marking National Close the Gap Day on the third Thursday of March each year. This National Close the Gap Day, we have an opportunity to send our governments a clear message that Australians value health equality as a fundamental right for all. On National Close the Gap Day we encourage you to get involved and host an activity in your workplace, home, community or school. Our aim is to bring people together to share information, and most importantly, to take meaningful action in support of achieving health equality for First Nations Peoples.
March 13, 2022
CLCAC’s Land & Sea Management Unit has two (2) very successful Indigenous Land & Sea Ranger Groups located in Burketown and Normanton which employs 19 full time Rangers and two Ranger Coordinators who are responsible for activities that protect and manage the natural and cultural resources of the southern Gulf of Carpentaria for the long-term benefits of Traditional Owner Groups and Communities.
Meet the team
Name: Glendon Connolly
Position Title: Ngumari Waanyi Ranger Coordinator
CLCAC start date: 11/01/2022
What do you enjoy most about your role? Working on Country and looking after it for the future for our kids.
Hobby: Going bush with the family
Favourite food: Bush Tucker
Favourite music: Country-reggae
Favourite sport: NRL- GO THE BRONCOS!
Have your say on the draft Boodjamulla Managment Plan
Riversleigh Fossil kits showcased to Gulf schools
December 24, 2021
Kids from Doomadgee and Gununa recently had a hands-on opportunity to learn about some of the amazing animals that existed on Waanyi Country millions of years ago.
Claudette Albert, Waanyi PBC Director and member of the Riversleigh World Heritage Advisory Committee along with Tanya Bougoure and Renee Wilson of Waanyi Joint Venture and Ellen Thyer of the World Heritage Unit, recently visited schools in the region to show students the specially prepared Fossil kits from the Riversleigh World Heritage Area. Over two days, Claudette, Tanya, Renee and Ellen talked with over 500 students from Doomadgee and Gununa. The Fossil kits contain fossils from animals that existed millions years ago and showcase some of the special creatures still preserved in limestone rock at Riversleigh.
Riversleigh, part of the Australian Fossil Mammal Sites World Heritage Area is a 10,000ha patch within Boodjamulla National Park. It was World Heritage listed 28 years ago and has uncovered exceptional examples of Australia’s ancient animals including meat-eating kangaroos, giant 5-metre-long freshwater crocodiles and pouched lions the size of large dogs.
Riversleigh’s fossils were formed in the mineral rich limestone landscape around 25 million years ago when the area was a lush rainforest with huge freshwater lakes. The ancient animals fell into the lakes or were dragged in by giant crocs where their remains became buried and preserved in the sediments that hardened over time as the landscape dried out.
The huge rock you can see from the road at Riversleigh’s D Site is the partial remains of the muddy bottom of a huge lake and provides knowledge on the science of how mammals evolved in Australia. The site was coined by Sir David Attenborough as one of the best fossil sites in the world.
It’s not all about the science though, it’s also a cultural story. The Waanyi Joint Venture is working with the PBC and the World Heritage Unit on capturing knowledge to add to Riversleigh’s international significance and rich fossil story.
“It was an honour to be welcomed by the young people of Gununa and Doomadgee and hope this helps to empower young people to be future World Heritage leaders”-Claudette Albert
Waanyi celebrate long-fought Native Title win
Waanyi celebrate long-fought Native Title win
Waanyi celebrate long-fought Native Title win
The latest Waanyi Native Title determination may only have taken four years to get through a court process, but it's part of a much longer fight for Waanyi people
By Keira Jenkins
Source: NITV News 28 SEP 2021
Waanyi people in Queensland's gulf country are celebrating a significant Native Title win this week.
The Federal Court formally recognised Waanyi Native Title over a 441 square kilometre area between the Northern Territory border and Bourketown.
The determination follows a successful 2018 Native Title claim for Waanyi people of almost 18,000 square kilometres of land west and south of the Northern Territory border.
The latest case took four years, a relatively short time compared to other Native Title applications, but for Waanyi people, it has been a long time coming.
The Native Title wins come as the Commonwealth Government announced the National Native Title Corporation will receive funding for another three years.
"This funding will provide a firm footing for the NNTC to support Traditional Owners navigate the native title system and receive the full range of benefits from their native title holdings," Indigenous Australians Minister Ken Wyatt said.
Indigenous Land and Sea Ranger program
Waanyi celebrate long-fought Native Title win
Waanyi celebrate long-fought Native Title win
Through the Queensland Indigenous Land and Sea Ranger Program, the Queensland Government partners with First Nations communities to care for land and sea country, provide jobs and training and engage future generations.
Indigenous Land and Sea Ranger groups work to conserve Queensland’s important ecosystems and cultural heritage on country, in locations stretching from Cape York to the Bunya Mountains.
The Queensland Indigenous Land and Sea Ranger Program is growing! One hundred new Indigenous Land and Sea ranger positions are being created over the next three years. This will double the number of jobs supported through the Program. Funding for the first 54 of these positions has been allocated across 13 communities. The following organisations have been successful in their grant applications to employ rangers to care for Country.
- Carpentaria Land Council Aboriginal Corporation on behalf of Waanyi Native Title Aboriginal Corporation
Location: Bidunggu (Gregory Downs) - Bidunggu Waanyi Ranger program - Dulabed and Malanbarra Yidinji Aboriginal Corporation
Location: Based out of Gordonvale - Girringun Aboriginal Corporation on behalf of Manbarra Elders Counsel
Location: Palm Island Group - Gunggandji-Mandingalbay Yidinji Peoples PBC Aboriginal Corporation
Location: South of Yarrabah - Indjalandji - Dhidhanu Aboriginal Corporation
Location: Camooweal - Mamu Aboriginal Corporation
Location: Innisfail - Mandubarra Aboriginal Land & Sea Incorporated
Location: Sea country near Mourilyan Harbour - Mithaka Aboriginal Corporation
Location: Windorah - Ngarang-Wal Gold Coast Aboriginal Association
Location: Gold Coast - Western Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation
Location: Palmerville Station, north of Mareeba - Woorabinda Aboriginal Shire Council
Location: Woorabinda - Wuthathi Aboriginal Corporation
Location: Shelburne Bay - Yuwi Aboriginal Corporation
Location: Mackay
Over the next 12 months, the Queensland Government will work with these organisations to establish the new rangers, which will add to the 24 established Queensland Indigenous Land and Sea ranger groups. A second round of grant funding, for further Indigenous Land and Sea ranger positions, is expected to be announced in 2022-23
The Queensland Indigenous Land and Sea Ranger Program assists Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations with grants to employ more than 150 Indigenous Land and Sea rangers across 37 of Queensland’s regional and remote communities. The program provides training, networking and partnership support for ranger groups.
Indigenous Land and Sea rangers deliver negotiated work plans that reflect Traditional Owner, local community, and Queensland Government priorities. Their activities include a wide range of conservation services including cultural burns, feral animal and pest plant control, soil conservation, cultural heritage site protection and biodiversity monitoring. Community engagement activities include Junior Ranger programs and local community events.Minjerribah ranger undertaking prescribed burn.
Traditional Owners employed as Indigenous Land and Sea rangers deliver conservation services that successfully combine traditional knowledge of country and western science. Rangers are skilled in conservation work and bring experience, inter-generational knowledge sharing and formal conservation qualifications to managing country.
Rangers share knowledge at annual Indigenous Land and Sea ranger workshops (PDF, 5 MB), at which ranger teams from across the state gather, hear stories of success, meet with partners and undertake local field trips to broaden their understanding of caring for country approaches.
The program works with ranger groups to diversify their income and attract other investors. Other investors are invited to partner in supporting this highly successful program and a partnership prospectus is available, highlighting the opportunities to sponsor Indigenous ranger groups. The success of Indigenous ranger programs in delivering outcomes for First Nations communities in environmental, social and economic terms has been confirmed through a variety of evaluations and other studies. These include a 2015 evaluation of the program which found that it is delivering on its conservation, First Nations participation and economic objectives