Indigenous

A partnership between the Aboriginal Carbon Foundation and a major bank has helped preserve Cape York country and employ a number of Traditional Owners. As part of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s carbon neutrality, the bank supports traditional Aboriginal fire management generating Australian Carbon Credit Units for the second year running.

The Napranum Bulldogs will dust off the cobwebs this weekend when they play their first competitive game for two years at the Gordonvale Indigenous Rugby League Carnival. With no organised competition in Cape York this year and COVID-19 killing off games in 2020, the Bulldogs have been training for a long time to prepare for a string of carnivals.

The Northern Australia Committee has tabled the final report of its  Inquiry into the destruction of 46,000 year old caves at the Juukan Gorge in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.  The report follows on from the work of the Committee’s interim report  Never Again  tabled on the 9 December 2020.

Mark Knowles. A Forum in Cairns last week highlighted the need to improve disaster resilience in Cape York and the Torres Strait. Organised by the Torres Cape Indigenous Council Alliance, the forum connected local councils, key government agencies, critical service providers, and non-government organisations from across North Queensland in order to improve disaster preparedness.

In many ways this captivating book describes the relationship between the author, Lachlan Hughson, and his much loved Australian Outback. In travels rivalling those of Odysseus in extent, the author takes us across the vast expanse of the ancient Australian continent, mixing geological insights, historical background, and personal experiences with vivid descriptions of nature in all its forms.

News that Tennant Creek’s only gym is set to close at the end of the year has local fitness and wellbeing fans up in arms. Anyinginyi Health Aboriginal Corporation’s Sports and Recreation Centre announced it will shut its doors permanently on 24 December ... “Anyinginyi has been at the heart of sport and recreation in Tennant Creek for most of its 37-year history”: CEO Barb Shaw.

Bendigo’s Telstra Exchange building and neighbouring Bendigo Creek will be transformed in early November with the spectacular night time display Djaara Lights, featuring neon artworks, street art and digital experiences telling stories from Dja Dja Wurrung People.

The professional association representing some 1,000 forest scientists, researchers and forest land managers in Australia has welcomed the paper  Indigenous knowledge and the shackles of wilderness  by Associate Professor and Wiradjuri man Michael-Shawn Fletcher. The Institute of Foresters of Australia and Australian Forest Growers President Bob Gordon said the paper provided an opportunity for solution focused dialogue regarding how we manage our forests, and highlighted the need to engage and work closely with Traditional Owners.

The world-famous Daintree National Park has been handed back to the Eastern Kuku Yalanji people, part of 160,000 hectares of land in Cape York that is again in the hands of traditional owners following an agreement with the Queensland government. The planet’s oldest rainforest joins Uluru and Kakadu as UNESCO world heritage sites under management of First Nations people.

QRAM would like to invite you to check out and use the eSafety resources we’ve developed with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people and other community members from remote communities.

Mark Knowles. A new scientific project, dubbed SpaceCows, aims to help Indigenous rangers track and manage feral herds on their land in Cape York and northern Australia. The joint project, a partnership between Aboriginal land management groups, universities, CSIRO, a satellite company and Microsoft, uses artificial intelligence and data from satellite tracking to predict herd movements.

Mark Knowles. The life and legacy of a Far North adventurer who, together with Traditional Owners, fought for the protection of the ancient Quinkan rock art near Laura, is being showcased in an exhibition at Cairns Museum ... “Percy Trezise was a force and an amazingly talented man who raised awareness on the national stage and beyond of Queensland’s significant indigenous cultural heritage in the rock art of Cape York” : Fleur Anderson, Cairns Historical Society.

Geoff Helisma. It wasn’t too long ago, Dheran Young was kicking a football around a vacant lot in Young Street, Wooloweyah, along with a lot of other kids from the neighbourhood – on Saturday September 11, Mr Young, 33, was elected to the Northern Territory Government as the Member for Daly.

Colourful Indigenous artwork will be splashed across the Batavia Coast Marina this Sunday night thanks to unique projection show “COVE” that forms part of the inaugural Shore Leave Festival.

Thursday Island has put on a spectacular display of Torres Strait Islander culture for the Winds of Zenadth festival ... “It may have been limited to only a two-day festival, but reached deep into our hearts as the sounds of the warup (island drum) and trum/luumoot, combined with our songs, brought joyful tears to all who attended" : Torres Shire CEO Dalassa Yorkston.

A popular East Kimberley event held in May this year, and supported by the McGowan Government, injected around $6 million into the local economy and recorded its highest-ever ticket sales.

Nancy Schmidt, who was fondly known as Aunty Nancy because she was such a lovely mumma to everyone, leaves a legacy of kindness and compassion, and a trail of goodwill. Nancy’s story began in the Central Desert, west of Alice Springs where she lived with her Aboriginal family until she was taken away by authorities and sent to the Bungalow in Alice Springs. When the Government handed over care of all Aboriginal children to missionaries, Nancy was transferred to the Methodist Mission on Goulburn Island and then on to Croker Island along with other children who were members of what has become the Stolen Generation.