Country, Culture, People, Future

January 2018

Shark Bay Science Centre brings employment, business opportunities

Posted: January 25th, 2018

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Bush Heritage Australia (Bush Heritage) is seeking to develop a close and productive working relationship with the Malgana community. Bush Heritage is one of Australia’s largest and most effective conservation organisations.

Best-practice science and collaborations with others, particularly Traditional Owners, are what define its approach to conservation.

In 2014, the Malgana native title claim group supported Bush Heritage’s purchase of Hamelin Station Reserve, on the edge of the Shark Bay World Heritage Area. This support was given under the understanding that Bush Heritage would continue to engage with Malgana Traditional Owners to advance their social, economic and cultural interests, including providing training and employment opportunities. Bush Heritage continues to have these discussions with the Malgana community on several fronts.

Now, Bush Heritage is looking to develop a world class research and educational facility on Hamelin Station. Called ‘The Shark Bay Science Centre’, it will offer unique science, business, employment and community engagement opportunities in the Shark Bay region. The Malgana community is invited to express preliminary interest in these opportunities (business, employment and community engagement).

The Shark Bay Science Centre will promote improved knowledge and understanding of this unique landscape. And, it is hoped that, in partnership with the Malgana community, this centre will celebrate and include a strong focus of the region’s Aboriginal cultural values, history and continuing use and living culture.

Subject to successful fundraising, the facility will result in more visitors to the Shark Bay area and subsequent opportunities for regional economic growth and employment.

The employment opportunities will be broad, ranging from direct employment to associated business partnerships such as:

  • educational or interpretive services such as tours, talks and the creation of cultural displays;
  • construction-related trades such as carpentry and landscaping;
  • hospitality services such as housekeeping and catering; and
  • land management-related activities.

Other innovative ideas for participation are also welcomed.

Bush Heritage has contracted O’Neill Business Services to seek interest from the community throughout January 2018, with assistance from a Gascoyne Development Commission grant. For more information or to express interest, contact: les@oneillbusinessservices.com.au or 0428 250 906.

Beyond January 2018 please contact Bush Heritage Australia directly via Angela.Hawdon@bushheritage.org.au or 1300 628 873.

Shark Bay women help gather important information on endangered loggerhead turtles

Posted: January 25th, 2018

Aboriginal women from Shark Bay have been involved in tagging endangered loggerhead turtles on Dirk Hartog Island, off WA’s Gascoyne coast, for the first time.

Bianca McNeair, who is one of the six women from Shark Bay, said it had been an amazing opportunity to be part of the turtle monitoring program. “We get to learn the other half of the information that we didn’t get to learn that we would’ve learned traditionally,” Ms McNeair said. “We also get to put together the information that our elders taught us when we were younger, and be able to say ah okay, so that’s why, you know, they told us to do things this way.”

The Department of Parks and Wildlife, which looks after the island, acknowledges the important partnership. “We get to learn from them as much as they do from us,” Shark Bay district ranger Dale Fitzgerald said. “[It is] really important to understand their desires and their values for these species and the land.”

The group monitored and tagged the turtles all through the night for four nights, often walking about 15 kilometres, but this did not seem to faze any of them. “You don’t even get tired. It’s just that excitement that keeps pushing you on,” Nykita McNeair said.

Read the full news article here: ABC MidWest News

Grants to protect Aboriginal sites

Posted: January 10th, 2018

Indigenous not-for-profit organisations from across Western Australia have been invited to apply for a share of $250,000 in grants to support the protection, preservation and promotion of the state’s Aboriginal sites.

The funding will be provided through the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage’s Preserving Our Aboriginal Sites Grants Program.

Previously funded projects include graffiti removal from rock art sites, installation of fences to protect restricted sites, and interpretation projects to promote awareness of Aboriginal heritage.

A maximum of $30,000 per funding application is available.

Applications close at 4pm on 14 February 2018. For more details visit: www.daa.wa.gov.au

Wajarri Yamatji Native Title Determination

Posted: January 9th, 2018

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The Wajarri Yamatji community celebrates the legal recognition of their land and culture at an on-Country Federal Court hearing at Wooleen Station in regional Western Australia, held on Thursday 19 October 2017. The consent determination is one of the largest in Australia. Mr Simon Hawkins, Chief Executive Officer of Yamatji Marlpa Aboriginal Corporation (YMAC) said, “There are many stakeholders involved in the native title process. On behalf of the Board of Directors and everyone at YMAC, I would like to acknowledge the State, the Federal Court, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, the National Native Title Tribunal, pastoralists, mining companies and all other parties for their cooperation and hard work over the past two decades to achieve this historic outcome. Congratulations everyone.”

Please use this link to watch the YouTube video: Wajarri Yamatji Determination

Country is our mother, the provider and keeper of cultural belongings. Country and Culture go together. You can’t have one without the other.

Yamatji Marlpa Aboriginal Corporation respectfully acknowledges the Traditional Owners and custodians throughout Western Australia, and on whose Country we work. We acknowledge and respect their deep connection to their lands and waterways.

We honour and pay respect to Elders, and to their ancestors who survived and cared for Country.

Our offices are located on Whadjuk Country, Southern Yamatji Country, Yinggarda Country, Kariyarra Country, and Yawuru Country. We recognise the continuing culture, traditions, stories and living cultures on these lands and commit to building a brighter future together.

Disclaimer: Caution: Please be advised that this website may contain images, voices and names of deceased people.

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