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Coastal Custodians 1

COASTAL CUSTODIANS

Volume 3, Issue 3 February/March 2007

Introducing:

Deanna (Aunty Daught) Davison.

I was born on the 23rd

of December 1941 in Page

Avenue North Nowra in a run down old house.

The day I was born Dad was going around

saying “I’ve got a daughter, I’ve got a daughter”.

My brother Alex picked up on what Dad was

saying and then he was running around telling all

the kids that he had a daughter so that’s how I

got the nick name “Daught”.

My father is Reginald Oswald Walker; a

Walbunja man born 9th

February 1909 at

Wallaga Lake (registered as Tilba Tilba) and

died of congestive cardial failure on the 16th

of

December 1971 at Bega, his usual residence was

Wallaga Lake. My mother is Iris Elizabeth

Walker nee Brindle she was a Monaro Ngarigo

woman born on Delegate Mission in 1909. Mum

wasn’t a well person, she used to suffer from

asthma, which she didn’t have until after she had

Dennis. She died on the 18th

of February 1961 at

Moruya at fifty-two years of age. Usual place of

residence was Nerrigundah.

Dad’s father was Edward Walker born 1873 in

Bodalla. Dad’s mother was Mary Jane Walker

nee Johnson who was a Broulee woman; she was

born in 1880 at Ulladulla. They were married at

Turlinjah, in the presence of Henry Chapman

and Alice Bolloway on the 29th

of July 1898.

Grandfather Edward Walkers nickname was

“Feather”. Edward Walker swallowed a bone

with his food and it perforated his bowel. He

died on the 8th

of December 1937 at the David

Berry Hospital in Berry. Granny Mary Jane later

married Bert Penrith at the All Saints Church in

Nowra on the 7th

of February 1942. His children

were Charley and Ruby. Charley was father to

Burnum Burnum and Ruby is Mervyn Penrith’s

mother. I really loved Aunty Ruby.

Grandfather Edward’s mother was Jane

Hoskins/Austin; his father was James Walker

born 1846, they were married at Kianga. James

died in 1921 at Batemans Bay. James father,

Edward Walker was born in 1815 and died on

the 4th

of February 1900 at Wallaga Lake

Aboriginal Station. He owned the white bullock

team. Dad said that the bullock teams were the

carriers from Tilba to Bateman’s Bay and back.

Edward was the son of Tunungeranbrun.

Tunungeranbrun was born in the Moruya district

(exact locality is unknown); They are both

mentioned in an article in the Moruya Examiner

of February 9th

1900 as follows:

Death of an Aboriginal. Just as we are going to press, we regret to

say that we have received news of the

death of Edward Walker, aged 85, son of

Tunungeranbrun, king of the Moruya

aboriginals, at Wallaga Lake Station. He

must have seen many strange sights in his

time and could remember the district

before the first white man came. He leaves

two children; Murrins aged 65 and

Jimmey walker, aged 60, to mourn their

loss.

(The ‘Murrins’ referred to is actually ‘Murrina’,

which is the tribal name of Louisa Walker who

married Richard Bolloway).

Mary Jane Johnson’s parents were Donald

Johnson born 1845 at Broulee and Mary O’Brien

born 1860 at majors Creek. They were married

on the 22nd

of June 1895 at Turlinjah. Donald

Johnson’s parents were Henry Johnson and Mary


DISCLAIMER

Information provided in the Coastal Custodian is

not necessarily the views of the Department of

Environment & Conservation (NPWS). DEC

takes no responsibility for errors or omissions of

fact based on information provided by third

parties.

Johnson nee (unknown). Mary O’Brien’s parents

were John O’Brien and Sarah Cook.

Grandfather Edward had a brother Robert (Bob)

and sisters Emily who married a Stewart, Dolly

who married a Cruse and Vicki who married a

Lang. Grandfather Edwards’s sister, Aunty

Emily Stewart, had a big mob, they are: James,

Frank, Christie, Mable, Laddie, Arthur, Werge,

Aunty Glady, Percy, Richard, Aunty Ruth, Alan,

Emily and Robert. Aunty Ruth married Donnie

Walker senior, they had Patsy, Donnie junior and

June. Aunty Ruth and Uncle Donnie Walker split

up and Aunty Ruth got with Uncle Alf Penrith, I

lived with them for a while as a teenager when

they lived in Sydney, they moved to Tomerong

then Mogo. Their home was open to anyone and

everyone. We always visited Aunty Ruth, June

and Patsy in Mogo, by this time Patsy was

married to Keith Smith.

Picture taken outside Bodalla Pub: Jimmy Little senior,

Dora Williams, unknown women and Reg Walker.

Dad’s older sister was Ethel his older brother

was Ernest, then there was Dad, his younger

brother, was Miles, (nickname “Smiler”). Dad

saw the last corroboree on Wallaga; he was only

a boy at the time. It was held down the side of

the hill behind the hall. Dad’s family moved

from Mosquito Bay, Wallaga Lake to Hilltop

Farm at Tilba when Dad was young. While in his

teens Dad got hit in the knee with a cricket ball

and ended up in Sydney Hospital for a long time.

The family moved to Kiama to be close to the

trains so that they could visit him in Sydney

Hospital after he injured his knee. That injury

left him with a limp but it was never a handicap.

Dad met Mum in Sydney and they were married

in Kiama on the 30th

of March 1931. He worked

in the mills cutting timber, he did seasonal work

picking peas and beans, he cut sleepers in the

bush and he was also a fisherman. He used to

joke that he was a jack-of-all-trades, master of

none

Inside this Issue

Page

Introducing Deanna (Aunty Daught) Davison 1 to 5 Inside this Issue & editors Comments

2

Regional Managers Report NSW Department of Environment and Conservation Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Advisory committee. South Coast Voices CD ROM Dannielle Towers is Back on Board Koalas New Amenities Block – Tilba Sports Ground Calling Aboriginal Artists to Exhibit

6

7 & 8 9 10

10 to 13

13 to 15 16

National Parks Discovery School Education Program Bingie Dreaming Track – Official Opening NPWS Aboriginal Network Meeting Kioloa

17 18 19

Calendar of Events & Subscription form

20


Mum’s father was Alexander (Alex) Brindle and

her mother was Daisy Bradshaw/Rutherford (she

used both names). Grandfather Alex was born in

the Snowy Mountains at Jindabyne about 1888,

and he died of pneumonia at eighty years of age,

on the 29th

of August 1963 at Lidcombe State

Hospital and Home, Lidcombe. As a young man

Grandfather Alex Brindle became a black tracker

and he worked with the Cooma, Dalgety and

Bombala Police. Grandmother Daisy was born in

1887 at Delegate and died on the 22nd

of

September 1915 at Cooma District Hospital.

Grandfather Alex’s mother was Emily Ellis-

Peters born 1853 and died about 1905. His father

was James Brindle born 1852 in Victoria at Cann

River or Monaro. James died on the 14th

of

August 1906 in Gippsland Hospital.

Grandmother Daisy’s father was (Black Harry)

Henry Brad(y)sh born 1860 and died before

1925. Her mother was Lucy Bradshaw; Lucy

was born in 1862 on ‘Cobbin Station’ at

Jindabyne. Lucy later married Billy Rutherford,

hence Daisy’s use of the name. Lucy died on the

27th

of July 1935.

When Grandmother Daisy passed on,

Grandfather Alex married Ethel Pegram (a non-

Aboriginal woman) on the 17th

of April 1920,

and they had a big family. Grandfather Alex was

registered on the Eden-Monaro (Cooma)

electoral roll since 1906.

When my Mum Iris and her sister Mary were ten

and eight years old they were taken by the

welfare to Cootamundra Girls Home. When

mum turned fifteen she was put out with a

wealthy family in Sydney and worked as a

domestic servant. Aunty Mary, when she left

Cootamundra Homes she was put out around

Cootamundra area where she fell pregnant and

had cousin Kenny Brindle. By the time she met

up with Mum again (must have been on the

South Coast) Mum was married and had Dennis,

my older brother. When mum would baby-sit

Kenny she would breast-feed both Kenny and

Dennis. There were eight other children to

follow Dennis, they are Ronald, Margaret, Alex,

myself, Mary, Billy, Bobby and Regina.

We lived at North Nowra on a property

belonging to my Uncle Ernie Walker. He was

George Brown’s father. Dad used to take my

brother Dennis out sleeper cutting. Dennis cut

his leg while they were out in the bush; he got

tetanus in the wound, Dad got him back to the

hospital where he passed away. He was only a

young man, seventeen years of age when that

happened. He was a well-liked person in the

Nowra community; the scouts formed a guard of

honour at his funeral. They said that Dad went

grey in a week. Mum lost three other children,

Ronald, Margaret and Mary. They were only

young when they passed away. Mary got

gastroenteritis. That left Alex, myself, Billy,

Bobby and Regina.

Pictured: Regina and Iris Walker

I started school at Nowra Primary School and

shortly after that we moved from Nowra to

Wreck Bay, when I was about six or seven.

While we were living at Wreck Bay, Mum’s

sister Mary Brindle passed away, she was living

at Cooper’s Island at the time. She was at the

camp and had a heart attack that was in 1952.

She was buried in Moruya cemetery but we don’t

know where. We have tried to find her but there

doesn’t seem to be any records.

At Wreck Bay I went to school. It was the best

years of my life living on Wreck Bay. All the

things we had to do, we’d run through the bush,

pick flowers, run round the rocks, all the kids

around my age would go for walks on the

weekends. I remember some of them: they were


Fay, Ronny and John Ardler, Mary Roberts,

Lurline Moore, Neville and Patsy Bloxsome and

Amby Brown. We’d take matches to make a fire,

eat berries out of the bush, and catch pipis’. We

could go away all day and just live off the land

or the ocean and never go hungry. I loved the

school there; we would do all sorts of craft as

well as schoolwork. I remember the day we left

Wreck I was twelve and the manager took us in

his truck to catch the train. As we were leaving

Wreck, Alex and me were on the back of the

truck. I was crying my eyes out, broken hearted.

We moved out to Cowra. Mum and Dad lived

there for four years. I went to high school there

then moved to Sydney. I lived at La Perouse with

Uncle Benny and Aunty Sarah Cruse.

I worked at the Prince Henry Hospital as a

domestic. Mum and Dad moved to Falls Creek

outside Nowra and asked me to come home. I

had my daughter Iris just before my eighteenth

birthday in 1959 at Paddington Hospital in

Sydney. Then I moved home with Mum and Dad

at Falls Creek.

I met Jimmy Davison in 1960. Jimmy was born

in 1937 at Armidale. His father is Colin James

Davison and his mother is Kathleen Jane

Callaghan. We married in 1966. Our children are

Colin, Derek and Dennis; they were born at

Crown Street, Hospital in Sydney. We moved to

Wallaga when Dennis was a baby in 1963.

Michelle and Cheryl were born at Bega Hospital

and Jason, Leslie and Lucy were born at Moruya

Hospital. Jimmy worked as a handyman on

Wallaga for the Manager George Budworth.

Jimmy also worked on the Forestry at Bermagui.

Leading up to the 1967 Referendum, Cousin

Kenny Brindle bought Uni students down to

Wallaga from Sydney. This was when we started

to get involved in politics. Kenny was a regular

visitor to Wallaga and we told him about the

treatment that the Aboriginal people got from the

police and some of the Managers. They use to

have a gate outside the Managers residence,

when you had a visitor you had to report to the

Manager, visitors were only allowed for a set

time. When Kenny visited with the Uni students

they purposefully set up sound recordings for

when the Manager came in with the Police and

the whole conversation was recorded about them

being told to remove themselves from my house

and off the mission. Just after that we left

Wallaga and moved to Nowra. Iris was going to

Narooma High School and Derek and Colin were

old enough now to go to high school as well.

There were more opportunities for them in

Nowra and we wanted to get off the mission.

Pictured at Wallaga are Iris, Cheryl, Michelle, Collin,

Derek and Dennis.

We got a house in Bomaderry for a few years

then we moved to Tamworth. Jimmy was

working for the Family Resettlement Program.

We were there for about four years.

Then we moved back to East Nowra. Aunty Jane

Ardler approached me and asked me, if they got

the Medical Centre going would I work for them.

I worked there for over twenty years on and off.

When we first got the Centre going we worked

for nothing but we needed to set the service up.

Redfern Medical Services gave us a vehicle, a

Doctor and some office equipment. There was

Aunty Jane, myself, Debbie Luland, May

Roberts and Gracy Coombes. We had a room at

the Aboriginal Culture Centre, then

demountables in the Culture Centre car park, we

moved to a building in Berry Street then another

in Junction Street. We were in a half a dozen

different places before the new Medical Centre

was built in Berry Street and that’s where it is

today.


I live with Jimmy and Regina at Jerrabomberra;

it’s just outside Queanbeyan. . I look after

Regina I’m her carer and Jimmy doesn’t work

anymore. There are only Regina and me left of

my family. Now the kids have all grown up.

Iris married David White; he is a painter by trade

but is working with Anglicare in Moruya at the

moment. Iris is a Manager with TAFE; she has

also worked for the Aboriginal Legal Service,

the Lands Department and ATSIC. Iris won a

scholarship in high school and went to the

Presbyterian Ladies College in Sydney. She has

a Bachelor in Adult Education. They live in

Broulee. Their children are Jesse, Zac and

Jordon. Jesse has a little girl, Teleah.

Colin has two teenage girls, Acacia and Kalinda.

He lives at Batemans Bay with Acacia and

Kalinda lives in Nowra with her mother Michelle

Ferguson. Collin works as a labourer. He does a

lot of writing and has a lot of knowledge; some

of it was passed down to him from my Dad.

Derek has four children they are: Melanie, Hope,

William and Jemma. Melanie is married with

two girls, Alysa and Gypsy Rose. They live in

Canberra. Hope, William and Jemma live with

their mother Susan Loyd in Narrabundah. Derek

loves gardening; he worked in the Botanic

Gardens in Sydney and as an electrician at

Parliament House. He drove the bus for

Winnunga Aboriginal Medical Centre in

Canberra until recently. He is a labourer now

doing contract work with archaeologists. He has

moved to Batemans Bay from Canberra.

Dennis passed away four years ago from motor

neuron disease. He was married to Kim

Longbottom. They had three children: Aaron,

Alyse and Nicki. Kim and the girls still live in

Canberra. Kim runs the Aboriginal Youth Centre

in Erindale. Her and Dennis set that up, he used

to work there as well. Before that he worked

with Telecom and before that he was one of

Charlies Angels, he worked with Charles

Perkins. Dennis did a lot of work with kids. He

was a football coach and manager. He also

worked in the different agencies and the lockup

with youth.

Michelle has two boys Stewart and Shane they

are men now. Their father is Bernie (Buddy)

Luland. Shane and Jessica Maynard have two

daughters Laela and Kadie, they live in Nowra.

Michelle has made her home in Moruya. She

works for Family Support but usually works with

youth.

Cheryl has a daughter Tamsin to Raymond

Doyle of Kempsey. Her partner now is Donald

Atkinson, they lived in Eden for ten years but

they just moved to Kalaru just outside Tathra.

Cheryl is a well-known Aboriginal artist, she

runs an art co-op called Kari Yalla and works

with Auswide in Bega.

All the girls are really good cooks.

Jason is a labourer, his partner is Rachel

Wellington, and they have seven children.

Adam, Raygan, Issacc, Caleb, Emily, Iris and

Seth. They live in Nowra. Jason has been doing

some work with archaeologists in Bungendore.

Leslie has worked with the Aboriginal Legal

Service as the Senior Youth Officer. He did a

Diploma in Law at Tranby College. He worked

with Gadu Wadja as an Aboriginal Support

Worker for men in Eden. He has worked with

youth in Canberra and the Department of

Housing in Queanbeyan. He lives in Canberra

now.

Lucy is the youngest of nine. Her partner is Peter

Thomas, they have three children, Peter junior

who will be seventeen next month, Mia who will

be ten in May and they’ve just had a new baby

Thomas John Dennis Davison. They live at East

Nowra. Lucy’s first job was in Coles in Nowra.

I want to move back to Moruya to be close to my

kids and grand kids.

I would like to see all our people get on together.

We just have to save our energy to fight the

system, the racism and the negativity instead of

fighting one another.

I also want people to know that Iris represents

my family with my endorsement.

Daught Davison

Edward Walkers famous Bullock Team


Regional Managers Report

This is the first Coastal Custodians for 2007. It

should be a big year for us all.

There’s plenty to catch up on. Summer was

good – really good rain at the end and not too

many fires, those that we did have were certainly

challenging. We had a few lightning strikes in

really inaccessible country, which we had to

attack using remote fire fighting techniques.

The Brogo fires were the most difficult;

lightning strikes in January started a number of

fires in really rough country upstream of the

Brogo Dam. They were eventually put out after

burning about 450ha over a couple of weeks.

Trisha Ellis and others were there and some of

her photos are in this edition.

Refuelling the Helicopters at Brogo Helipad

We’ve now started our autumn hazard reduction

program. For local readers, some of the smoke

(but by no means all) of the smoke you are

seeing is coming from fires in the park.

There’s one burn planned for Biamanga this

autumn, but it’s a bit wet at the moment and we

might not get it in. If we don’t the Board will

need to decide whether it should go ahead next

year.

We are also planning to do a cultural burn at

Stanton Rocks in South East Forests National

Park. On the advice of elders, this burn has

been planned to look after country.

Helicopter with bucket

Speaking of Trisha, she’s off to Sydney on

Monday to be awarded a Bachelor of

Community Management from Macquarie

University. She will also be presented with an

award for academic achievement.

Congratulations Trisha, this is huge effort,

especially given your work and community

commitments. I don’t know how you have the

time to do it all.

After the election, National Parks is now part of

a bigger department called the Department of

Environment and Climate Change. Its only just

happening and I’ll be able to say some more in

the next edition.

Our new Minister is Phil Koperberg who up to

recently was head of the Rural Fire Service.

He’s taken over Bob Debus’s seat of Blue

Mountains.

The appointment of the Boards of Management

for Gulaga and Biamanga was held up slightly

because of the election. Now that it’s over it will

be Minister Koperberg rather than Minister

Debus who will be responsible for appointing the

Boards. I know its been a while it but it should

be finalised soon.

Tim Shepherd

Regional Manager


NSW Department of Environment and Conservation Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Advisory Committee

Top row left to right: Stephen Ryan, James Ingram, Glenda Chalker, Victor Perry , Jason Field Bottom row left to right: Maureen O’Donnell, Viola Brown, Mary Duroux and Lavinia Duroux. (Yvonne Stewart is the other ACHAC member, but was unable to attend).

The Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Advisory Committee was established in 2006 with the primary role of advising the Minister for the Environment and the Director General of the Department of Environment and Conservation on any matter relating to the identification, assessment and management of Aboriginal cultural heritage in NSW. The Department of Environment and Conservation sought nominations of Aboriginal people involved in cultural heritage matters in their local communities and who have an understanding of cultural heritage management issues.

The Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Advisory Committee was appointed by the Minister for the Environment in March 2006. Committee members serve a term of three years and the Committees consists of one representative from the NSW Aboriginal Land Council and ten representatives nominated from either: Aboriginal Elders groups; registered native title claimants;

and/or registered Aboriginal owners under the NSW Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983.

The Minister for the Environment inducted the Committee at their first workshop together at NSW Parliament House in May 2006. Since


the initial induction workshop the Committee has held three business meetings with the most recent held at Batemans Bay on 2nd April 2007 to 3rd April 2007.

The Committee has developed and endorsed the Committee Procedures, Terms of Reference and Code of Conduct at their last business meeting. The Committee also developed and endorsed a Strategic Agenda with the primary vision of ensuring:

“Healthy Country cared for and respected by all people, to maintain Aboriginal people’s spiritual and physical connection from the past to the present and into the future”.

To achieve their vision the Committee developed the following three goals:

1. To make Aboriginal culture and heritage front and centre in the development of policies to support the social and human development of Aboriginal people in NSW.

2. To contribute to DEC being a culturally aware and respectful, credible, efficient and effective organisation.

3. To provide sound advice based on the needs and aspirations of the Aboriginal people of NSW.

The Committee has established seven principles around which they will conduct their business:

1. The Committee, in being representative of the Aboriginal community of NSW, acts as a voice in the interests and aspirations of Aboriginal people in NSW and their cultural heritage.

2. Aboriginal people have the right to self-determination – that is the right to determine the direction of their own social, cultural, economic and political development.

3. Given Aboriginal peoples’ custodial interests in Country, Aboriginal people have a responsibility to care for the landscape of NSW, its biodiversity and places of particular cultural significance.

4. Access to Country and its resources is essential so Aboriginal people can continue cultural practices, maintain links with the land and care for Country.

5. Aboriginal communities obtain cultural, social and economic benefits through being involved in environmental management and conservation.

6. ACHAC promotes and supports partnerships between Aboriginal communities and DEC.

7. ACHAC acts as advocate to promote awareness of Aboriginal culture and heritage to other government agencies.

The Committee has identified five priority areas they will consider that relate to the:

• protection of Aboriginal cultural heritage,

• understanding Aboriginal cultural heritage and managing heritage information/knowledge,

• cultural identity/renewal,

• managing lands, gardens, terrestrial and marine parks,

• building a working environment that affirms and respect Aboriginal culture.


Community Meetings

to discuss

“South Coast Voices”

CD-ROM

The Australian Institute of Aboriginal

and Torres Strait Islander Studies

(AIATSIS) is seeking community

support for a new version of “South

Coast Voices”. This CD-ROM

showcases a small part of the AIATSIS

collection relating to Aboriginal people

on the south coast of NSW. It includes

pictures (including those shown

opposite), video and audio clips as well

as printed text.

“South Coast Voices” contains

information from Aboriginal people

who lived mainly at Wreck Bay,

Roseby Park and Wallaga Lake and so

I will be talking with representatives

from those places to arrange meeting

venues and times.

Where: To be advised.

When: June /July (See next issue of

Coastal Custodians.)

Everyone is welcome

Please come and have your say

about the future of this

important cultural resource!

Pictured: Aunty Eileen Morgan with Gulaga in

the background.

Pictured: Uncle Percy and Frank Mumbler.

Contact: Daphne Nash

Email: [email protected]

Ph: 02 6125 4731


Dannielle Towers is

Back on Board

Hello everyone, I’m back and I now have a

beautiful little girl Jarni Jo Marie who is 15

months old. My goodness how time flies.

I hope you all stayed well in my absence.

Once again we are heading towards another new

financial year (starts 1 July) which means we

need your ideas for Aboriginal Heritage

Conservation Projects program and nominations

for Aboriginal place declarations. If you have

ideas for projects and nominations give the

relevant Aboriginal Heritage Conservation

Officer in your area a call.

If you have concerns regarding Aboriginal sites

please call and we can discuss.

NAIDOC is coming up and activities are planned

up and down the coast. If we can help with your

event give us a call.

Look forward to seeing you all in the near future,

Take care and stay deadly,

Dannielle Towers

Aboriginal Heritage Conservation Officer

Southern Aboriginal Heritage Unit

Cultural Heritage Division

Ph: 02 44760841

Fax: 02 44761793

[email protected]

In October 2005 the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) and Forests NSW agreed to develop a Koala Management Framework for coastal and hinterland areas of southern NSW between the Tuross River and the Victorian border. The Handback National Parks (Biamanga and Gulaga) and nearby areas are within this study area.

It was agreed that a high level of community consultation should be undertaken prior to producing the Framework. Following consultation with DEC Aboriginal staff a separate project was initiated to gain the views and knowledge of Aboriginal people.

This report summarises information gathered in this process to date. There are some key members of the Aboriginal community who still need be contacted, particularly those now living to the north of the study area. For this reason this document should be considered as a draft interim report, with further consultation needed.

Consultation consisted of meetings, workshops and discussions with Aboriginal people and organisations and was developed around the following questions:

• Do you know where koalas are, or have been in recent times?

• Have you any stories about koalas that you would like to share with us?

• Why do you think koala numbers are so low in this region?

• What support do you think that the Aboriginal community needs to assist the management of koala areas in the Handback National Parks?


FIGURE 1: BIAMANGA NP, RECENT KOALA RECORDS AND SUGGESTED ROUTE OF THE MUMBULLA/GULAGA ABORIGINAL WAY1

1 Blay, J. (2005) Bega Valley Region Old Path Ways And Trails Mapping Project, Department of

Environment and Conservation PO Box 656 Merimbula 2548

Legend Koala Records 1970-2004

Koala Records 2003 State Forests National Parks

Private Forest Suggested routed of the Mumbulla/Gulaga Aboriginal Way

BIAMANGA

MURRAH

SF

BERMAGUI

SF


Information about a range of koala sightings from a coastal area east of Bodalla to the Victorian border emerged. Some cultural information regarding Aboriginal people’s traditional connections with the Koala was also provided. Aboriginal people consistently provided four reasons why koala numbers had declined in the region: wildfire, predation, illness and logging. It was also suggested that the decline and disappearance of the Koala was because of the high level of environmental and cultural destruction that had occurred since European occupation. Aboriginal people see that the conservation of the Koala is important and they want to support the conservation and recovery of the species in partnership with the white community. But this can only occur through a higher level of Aboriginal involvement in broader conservation and land management work. And to achieve this they need support, particularly in training and employment opportunities. Consistent themes emerged as to what kind of support was needed:

• Educational opportunities for Aboriginal children and teenagers that focus on the local environment and Aboriginal culture should be enhanced through schools, TAFE, the local field studies centre and Culture Camps.

• Educational kits need to be developed for Culture Camps and other educational institutions that focus on past, existing and potential contributions of the Aboriginal community to koala conservation and broader environmental subjects. These should vary in content so as reach young people of all ages.

• Culture Camps provide important educational opportunities in the fields of Aboriginal culture,

environment and leadership. They offer opportunities for the Aboriginal community to teach their children in ways that more closely reflect their traditional culture.

• Aboriginal women have a vital role to play in Culture Camps, particularly in teaching younger children of both sexes, and teenage girls. There should be greater support to encourage their participation. This would be enhanced if Aboriginal women staff employed by DEC and/or the Board of Management for the Handback Parks had specific duties assisting in organising camps.

• Additional training opportunities need to be available to older Aboriginal people in conservation and land management, leadership skills and cultural awareness. Training needs to be based in the bush and reflect Aboriginal culture as much as possible.

• Work should be available for people who have undertaken training. Often, Aboriginal people have undertaken training but then employment in the field of training is not available. This increases disillusionment and alienation.

• Training and ongoing work could be based to some extent on the re-establishment and ongoing management of traditional pathways in Handback national parks, using traditional management approaches (particularly those concerning fire management) as much as reasonably possible.

• The establishment of a sanctuary-based approach to koala reintroduction and recovery should be considered. Aboriginal people working out of Jigamy Farm would particularly like to establish a wildlife sanctuary south of the Farm.


• Aboriginal people’s capacity to contribute to conservation and park management initiatives would be enhanced with the development of resource and visitors centres near to the Handback Parks.

The drawing together of some of these themes raises the possibility that training and ongoing work for Aboriginal people could be focussed in part in the area to the west and north of where the Biamanga NP breeding association of koalas is centred. These activities could be based on developing traditional management approaches (particularly around fire management), re-establishing traditional pathways and undertaking surveys and monitoring for koalas and other threatened fauna. Such an approach would achieve the following outcomes:

• It would broaden and deepen our knowledge of, and capacity to monitor the Biamanga NP breeding association of koalas.

• It would assist in reducing what is probably the greatest threat facing these koalas; that of wildfire and associated back-burning.

• It would provide the Aboriginal community with training opportunities and the prospect of making an important contribution to koala conservation in SENSW.

• It would provide opportunities to trial traditional Aboriginal burning practices in forested areas of SENSW.

• It would provide a range of training opportunities in fire management, wildlife monitoring and associated skills for young and older Aboriginal people.

• It would enhance community-based fire management approaches that are being developed by landholders to the east of this breeding association of koalas.

Acknowledgements

Aboriginal people’s sharing of information and views about koalas and their management is gratefully acknowledged.

Lynne Thomas & Chris Allen

Department of Environment and Conservation.

Readers of Coastal Custodians who travel the Princes Highway south of Tilba will have noticed a new building that has been constructed at the location where the Gulaga / Biamanga Handback took place in May last year. It is an amenities building that contains two toilets that can accommodate persons with disabilities and a sports equipment storage room. It has been built by Eurobodalla Shire Council in order to provide for the needs of people during events at the Tilba Sports field. Trisha Ellis has invited me to tell you about the building and how I see it fitting into the landscape and to the Cultural Plan for our shire. There is no doubt in my mind that the impact of the Handback and the ceremonies that were performed there that day was profoundly felt by everyone who attended. The depth of pride that we all shared will not be forgotten, and it made me appreciate even more keenly the significance of the site. I am thankful that Council entrusted me with the responsibility of designing and building a structure in such a beautiful and important place.


Its position between Gulaga and Najanuga and its obvious presence in the open cultural landscape of the Tilba Valley meant that a modest yet high quality building was the only option. Council has been prepared to go the extra yards by ensuring that the building is a highly durable, stand-alone structure that needs no outside energy or water inputs in order to function. It has a state-of-the-art ‘Biolytix’ effluent disposal system, solar power and an in-ground 5000-litre rainwater storage tank. As such it is the first fully integrated energy and water efficient structure that council has created and it sets a precedent for future public works throughout the shire. Two Wallaga Lake Community men, Hayden Briggs and Mervyn Naylor, apprenticed to plumber Mick Cosgrove from Bermagui, have put a lot of work into the building and were photographed recently whilst doing the final fitting out and water connections to the buildings’ infrastructure.

The design fits with the requirements of the Tilba Conservation Area. It follows the model of an outbuilding where hardwood slab construction, rather than the usual weatherboard cladding, has been used. At present the building is still shiny-bright in its newness, but

with time it will become less conspicuous as the timber goes grey in the sun and the zincalume roof softens. Tree planting in the post-and-rail enclosure off the building will also help to lessen its impact by providing a backdrop when viewed from the highway, and will also partly obscure it when viewed from Corkhill Drive. The idea is that as time goes by the building will disappear into the environment, looking like an old slab hut in the middle of a paddock.

However it is only when you get near to it that the building will express its wider cultural story. A protective concrete apron that surrounds the structure and the verandah floors have been painted red, yellow and black by members of the Work-for-the-Dole team who helped me over a three month period. Four Koori men, two from Bodalla, one from Narooma and a Wallaga Lake man were part of that team. The interior of the toilets will feature a Native Flora Display (to a captive audience) that is composed of photographic panels of locally indigenous wildflowers, shrubs and trees photographed between Bermagui and Moruya over the last two years. The common, scientific and family names accompany each image, but in addition to this I have been able to include


names of plants from two language groups, Dhurga and Djirringan, that are immediate to the Handback site. I wish to extend my thanks to Kerry Boyenga, Waine Donovan, Trisha Ellis, Lorraine Naylor, Pam Flanders, Lynne Thomas and Ashley Reid for the assistance they have given in embedding this vital cultural learning into the building. Apart from the sporting and cultural events that the Sports field will provide to the entire community, the building is a point of connection where Aboriginal Cultural Heritage, Natural Heritage and Non-Aboriginal Cultural Heritage can meet.

Pictured: Trevor King, Lynne Thomas & Ashley Reid at Umbarra.

In terms of the recently created Eurobodalla Shire Cultural Plan it can make a positive contribution to some of the identified directions of the plan including:

• Making provision for and promoting cultural use of district/local facilities

• Providing public places and spaces that reflect and celebrate community identity

• Providing opportunities for active participation in expression and celebration of community identity and heritage

• Fostering the development of environmental sustainability that builds on community cultural values and visions

• Conserving, enhancing and protecting biodiversity in Eurobodalla

The Statement of Cultural Values that underpins the plan (which itself underpins all other plans for the shire) includes the Statement of Reconciliation and Commitment that reads: “The particular relationship that Aboriginal communities have with the land and their culture is honoured, respected and recognized as influential for all the community.”

Further on in the document is a cultural value that also influenced the decision to request input from the Aboriginal community. “Recognition that many great cultural events [the Handback] and individual works of art [the building] act as wellsprings that transform and connect us to our common humanity, therefore making a vital contribution to social cohesion.”

Finally in the plan there are principles that place value on respect for differing modes of cultural belonging, knowing and expression and that recognize, respect and encourage the co-existence of differing cultural values. Echoing these sentiments and the importance of the values expressed in the Cultural Plan, I hope that the Tilba Sports field becomes a place of healing, where people come not only to play, but also to enjoy meeting and walking our cultural pathways together in the true spirit of reconciliation.

Trevor King


Eurobodalla Shire Council Media Release - 13 March 2007

Calling Eurobodalla's Aboriginal artists to exhibit

A unique opportunity for Aboriginal artists in the Eurobodalla to display their work is fast approaching. With support from Eurobodalla Shire Council, the Going Public program will present its first Aboriginal Art Exhibition in the Moruya Mechanics Institute in October this year. Local Aboriginal artists over the age of eighteen can bring examples of their artworks to The Mechanics Institute in Page Street Moruya on Saturday 24 March between 1pm and 4pm. Artworks can be in any medium, for example, painting, wood carving, sculpture or weaving. On the day, artists will meet highly acclaimed Eden-based artist, Cheryl Davison in the first of a series of free workshops to prepare for the exhibition. Cheryl has been practicing her work for some 20 years and is a founding member of the Kari Yalla Aboriginal Artists Cooperative in Eden and is in the Eurobodalla to share her expertise with local artists. In this first workshop, Cheryl will find out who wants to be involved and what support is needed for artists to make and present new work for the exhibition. Cheryl wants the workshop program leading up to the exhibition in October to be designed so that participating artists have the appropriate support so that there are as many entries as possible for this exciting exhibition In October. If you want to know more about participating, please contact Cheryl Davison on 0431 736 956. Media Contact: Penny Bonnell, SEAR Ph 4474 1088 or mobile 0429 909 432 Cheryl Davison, Workshop Tutor Ph 0431 736956 Trisha Ellis is a Eurobodalla Artist who is assisting Cheryl and undertaking the networking and liaison in the local communities for the workshops and the exhibition. Phone 0428 660432


NPWS South Coast Region has a comprehensive

and flexible range of educational activities for

primary and secondary school students in the

Illawarra, South Coast and Southern Highlands.

If you happened to be at the Bermagui Seaside

Fair on Saturday the 10th

of March you would

have had the opportunity to see the National

Parks School Education van. The van features

true to life exhibits of native animals and the

environment. The host of educational displays

attracted a wide audience throughout the day as

did the show bags and free handouts.

Pictured here having a well-deserved rest is Alex

Simpson Project Officer Batemans Marine Park

Marine Parks Authority Narooma, Pat Hall

Manager Education Information and Tourism

based at Nowra and Barbara Allgaier Discovery

Co-ordinator based at Merimbula.

The artwork on the side of the National Parks

School Education van also attracted it’s fair

share of attention and appreciation as it travelled

the coast roads. The artist is Jason Murray a

Wiradjuri man who works in the Nowra area as a

Discovery Ranger. Jason is pictured here with

Deirdre Martin also a Discovery Ranger.

The education program specifically addresses

relevant units of the HSIE and Science &

Technology syllabus. Activities can be located in

national parks, schools or in any suitable natural

environment in accordance with student and

teacher needs.

Trained, experienced Discovery rangers conduct

program activities that produce outcomes aligned

with school syllabus. Flexibility is a major

component of the program. Units may be

delivered in various combinations as required.

Focus day programs can be developed for a

variety of topics to suit individual schools.

Please discuss your particular syllabus topics and

desired outcomes when making enquiry. Fees are

charged for all activities – costs vary according

to requirements. For further information and

bookings contact the Discovery Co-ordinator on

02 4422 2323.


Saturday, 20th of January 2007 by the Honourable

Gary Nairn Member for Eden-Monaro, Special

Minister for State.

Prior to the opening ceremony a number of energetic

enthusiasts walked the Dreaming Track (8.0 kms),

starting from Congo Point in the north and taking in

the scenic views at Meringo Headland, Mulimburra

Point, Grey Rocks and Bingie point.

The track is situated within parts of the Eurobodalla

National Park and features spectacular landscapes.

The geology of the area includes granite platforms,

shale, sandstone and basalt. In areas the basalt is

covered with young quartz-rich sandstone and

gravels, some of which has been cemented to form

silcrete. A large proportion of the Aboriginal stone

artefacts on the South Coast were made from silcrete

and the Congo/Bingie area is home to a number of

silcrete quarries, campsites, shell middens and

occupation sites.

While walking the track you are likely to spot

macropods such as the eastern grey kangaroo, red-

necked wallabies and swamp wallabies. Brush-tailed

and ring-tailed possums inhabit the thick shrub of the

National Park, as does the echidna. Keen eyes may

spot the marsupial rat that is a staple diet of the local

goannas and snakes. Along the estuaries are the

elegant egrets, high-stepping white-faced herons and

wait and watch cormorants.

Threatened species such as the greater broad-nosed

bat, the grey-headed flying fox, both the glossy black

and the gang gang cockatoos, the powerful owl and

the masked owl have all been spotted in the area. You

may also spot some threatened shorebirds including

the red-billed pied oystercatchers, the vulnerable

sanderling or the endangered sooty oystercatcher.

In his opening speech Warwick Stone acknowledged

the efforts and support of Envirofund, NPWS, Bingi

Landcare Group, ESC, Cobowra LALC, Peter

Spurway, Huon Hassall, Rudi Langeveld, John

Fisher, Stuart Whitelaw, and Kathy Peck.

Pictured: Patricia Ellis Chairperson Cobowra LALC, Chris Kowal Councillor ESC, Pam Green Chairperson SR CMA,

Andrew Constance Member for Bega, The Honourable Gary Nairn Member for Eden-Monaro, Special Minister for

State and Warwick Stone Bingie Residents Association.


Calendar of Events

March

Thursday 1st St David’s Day

Saturday 17th

St Patrick’s Day

Saturday 24th

Aboriginal Art

Workshop Mechanics

Institute Page Street

Moruya.

April

Thursday 5th

School Holidays

to (NSW)

Friday 20th

Friday 6th

Good Friday

Sunday 8th

Easter Sunday

Monday 9th

Easter Monday

Monday 23rd

St George’s Day

Wednesday 25th

ANZAC Day

Subscription details

Please fill in the following details to

receive your copy of future quarterly

newsletters and forward them to:

Trisha Ellis

Joint Management Coordinator

Parks & Wildlife Division

Department of Environment &

Conservation

PO Box 282 Narooma NSW 2546

Telephone: 02 44760846

Facsimile: 02 44761793

Mobile: 04 28660432

Email: [email protected]

Name: ___________________________

Address:

_________________________________

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_________________________________

Postcode: _________ State: _________

Telephone:______________________

Facsimile:_______________________

Mobile:_________________________

Note: Photocopies of back issues available on

request or visit the website on:

www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/npws.nsf/conte

nt/coastal_custodian_newsletter

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