Never heard of Nhulunbuy? It’s a town in the far north of the Northern Territory, on the Gove Peninsula, with a bauxite mine and a deep-water port. But it’s not the final destination. That’s Gulkula, maybe a slow 40-minute drive down a long, dusty red-dirt road. Gulkula is an important cultural site, a significant Gumatj ceremonial place, sited on an escarpment overlooking the Arafura Sea. The Gumatj clan, part of the Yolŋu people, have lived there for over 60,000 years.

So who has taken this epic trip, and why? There’s a story behind it all… As a member of Country as Teacher, a not-for-profit cultural curriculum led by Bundjalung educators, traditional custodian and Byron Shire Councillor Delta Kay was invited to attend the 25th annual Garma Festival, held early last month. (This is just one of many strings to Delta’s bow.) The festival is where Yolŋu and Balunda (non- Indigenous) “come together as one” in a “two-way learning process”.

Hosted by the Yothu Yindi Foundation, Garma is a four-day “celebration of Yolŋu life and culture, and showcases traditional miny’tji (art), manikay (song), bunggul (dance) and story-telling”. Down here on the far east coast of NSW, we briefly catch glimpses about this festival, but they’re usually framed in a political context, with some hopeful motherhood statements offered by important politicians.

One of the Country as Teacher programs is called Weaving Waterways. It combines weaving revitalisation with the restoration of our waterways. “The program connects our Bundjalung women to Country and cultural traditions and enables us to continue the care of our waterways,” Delta explains, on returning home.

Last year, the program hosted Yolŋu Elder Djapirri Mununggirritj (a Board Director of the Yothu Yindi Foundation) at their women’s waterway camp. A cultural exchange enabled Delta to attend Garma and share Bundjalung knowledge on the opening day Education Fair. “This day is devoted to the love of learning, with students from local schools and the Garma Youth Forum,” Delta said. “I felt truly inspired to share alongside Djapirri. Her leadership, her open heart and wisdom, is something you need to see and feel.

“We gathered on the bunggul (dance) ground for a unique curriculum, where classrooms are under bough shelters. I shared our bough shelter with Djapirri. We spoke about the importance of our cultural upbringing and education.” They also shared the ‘classroom’ with Djakapurra Munyarryun, a respected Yolŋu song man, dancer and cultural consultant. To close their session, they played a traditional Bundjalung game, which “got everyone smiling and enjoying each other’s company”. Delta incorporates games like this in her popular Byron Shire tours.

Though it was her first time at the Garma Festival, it wasn’t the first time Delta had camped at Gulkula. (By the way, there are no hotels there — everyone sleeps in tents.) She initially met Djapirri at an education program called Culture College in June 2022, when she worked as a mentor with the schools program held between April and October during the dry season. “As mentors, we support visiting students learning from Yolŋu leaders and teachers about their Yolŋu curriculum in law, language, kinship, stories, art and history.”

Around 2,500 people attend Garma. It is also “an important meeting point for the clans and families of the region,” its website reads. “The Festival’s overriding cultural mission is to provide a contemporary environment for the expression and presentation of traditional Yolŋu knowledge systems and customs, and to share these practices in an authentic Yolŋu setting.”

To Delta, “the talks, workshops and dancing, was all mind-blowing! I think I left my heart in Yolŋu Country. The joy at catching up with many special people who I hold in my heart with respect and love; catching up with family and friends from Naarm (Melbourne) was great.”

The festival has a strong emphasis on Yolŋu youth, who stand firm, Delta added. “Education is the heart of Garma. You feel the quiet respect and appreciation from people who attend the sessions. Each day I had incredible conversations with people who sat next to me at dinner or stood in line for lunch, and I witnessed how Garma transforms people and brings them back each year. It was inspiring, exhilarating and deeply moving – and tears ran down my face listening to Gail Mabo’s story.”

Christobel Munson

   Booyong Nature Reserve

Up until just 250 years ago, our whole district was covered with dense rainforest and huge trees. To get a feel for what became known as the Big Scrub, take a short drive west of Bangalow to the Booyong Flora and Nature Reserve on Booyong Road on Widjabul-Wiabal country. There you will find remnants on both sides of the road of the original rainforest through which Bundjalung people walked for millennia. Take the path down to the Wilsons River and look at the trees and the tangle of vines. Stop and listen to the whip birds. Just 100 metres from the gate nearest the bridge over the river is the giant 30m tall water gum tree. This awesome tree is on the National Big Tree Register.

Songlines Map at Coorabell Hall

Take a 10-minute drive from Bangalow along Coolamon Scenic Drive to Coorabell Hall, perched on the edge of the escarpment with sweeping views of the coast. On the outside wall is a fabulous mural painted by Bundjalung man Uncle Lewis Walker. Using mainly Bundjalung place names, it offers an aerial view of the coastal plains from Minjungbal country north of the Brunswick River, across Arakwal country, and down to Ballina across Nyanbul country south of Broken Head.

Broken Head Nature Reserve

Broken Head is a significant place to Arakwal people. Not only does the headland reserve contain many mythical sacred sites, it was the home of Arakwal Harry Bray and his family, the ancestors of many Arakwal people today. It was a place full of food, medicines, and materials to make tools, string, and fishing nets. Walk down the track to the headland, look out at the rocks, and learn about the Three Sisters dreaming story.

Currenba (The Pass)

Currenba means ‘gully’ and describes the area at The Pass in Byron Bay. There is a beautiful shady walk behind the carpark with signs full of information about Arakwal history. Arakwal and other Bundjalung people camped beside the beach, eating pipis collected from the wet sand, other shellfish, and fish. There you will find a midden, reminding us that Bundjalung people have sat and enjoyed their seafood (and the view) at this spot for over 1500 years.

Dorrobbee Grass Reserve

High on a hill on Frasers Road, just five minutes from the Dunoon General Store, is one of the last remaining managed native grass ‘islands’ in the Big Scrub. It sits right in the middle of Widjabul-Wiabal country and offers huge 360-degree views. It was a camping ground for Widjabul-Wiabal, a strategic place from which to see distant fires and approaching visitors. You can see the original Kangaroo Grass, which is still managed with a combination of traditional ‘fire stick burning’ and other land management practices.

Explore Byron Bay Tours

Bundjalung woman Delta Kay runs a Bush Tucker Tour right in town. Walk with Delta on a rainforest walk that ends in Piccabeen Park with a beautiful bush tucker spread. For information and bookings, go to explorebyronbay.com

Local Libraries

If you like to read, local libraries have collections of books and historical material about Bundjalung culture and history. Libraries include the Byron Bay Library, Southern Cross University Library in Lismore, and Ballina Library. You may have to ask the librarians for access to some local history material.

Three responses arrived via email, each with a different perspective on why they were voting no.

None of the responses cited any sources of information, eg, they are personal opinions, which the authors are entitled to express, but which did not point to any references to support their claims.

The AEC Referendum booklet sent a strong message along the lines of ‘if you don’t know, vote No’.

I’d like to think, ‘if you don’t know, find out more’. You can still vote No, but at least know what you’re voting for.

One of the reader responses (initially sent in anonymously) was a statement ‘from Mebbingarri Cindy Petersen’ via a person named ‘Joh’. As the email did not come directly from Cindy herself, we chose not to include those comments in this publication.

As with the Yes voters, No voters come in all shapes and sizes, and take issue with various aspects of the Referendum, for example, the wording of the Constitution or the ‘reach’ of the Voice, to a more general distrust of the Government, and of course, many shades in between.

James Stuart from Cooper Shoot writes: “The Voice proposal is a Constitutional and legal problem rather than a social one.
It involves changing the Constitution to favour one section of our community in perpetuity over the rest and hands over the reins of governance to the courts particularly the High Court if and when Parliament and the Voice’s demands come into conflict.
Truth-telling, self-determination, autonomy and even sovereignty, all undefined, lie in the shadows. No supporters are particularly wary of the claim for direct access to Executive Government.
The Yes case proposes imposing a fourth arm of Government on to the Australian Constitution. It is not at all clear why this claim is made, or why.
Spending on Indigenous people last year was $33.4 billion. They are well represented in Parliament. Their ‘Voice’ to Governments already exists.
The No case rests on the lack of detail provided by the Yes case on how the Voice will work, what the Voice’s structure will be, who will be appointed (not elected), what its remit is, its cost, why there is no sunset clause, and how many generations will this be required until indigenous disadvantage is finally eliminated.
I, for one, am a No voter who wants the best for Indigenous Australians but The Voice is not the way to achieve it.”

Not sure how the Voice body will be chosen, operate or what its actual role will be? Find out more by reading the Design Principles of the Voice to Parliament agreed by the First Nations Referendum Working Group

Margot Hays from Bangalow writes “It has been banded (sic) around in the main stream (sic) media that 80% of Indigenous people want this Referendum. I’d like to know how they came up with this figure, as it is simply in my opinion, not true.
The tribal Indigenous people of Australia are talking all over the social media voicing their concern that they do not want to be put in the Constitution to say ‘hey now you are Australian’. One being Mebbingarri a Widjabul woman of the Bunjalung (sic) Nation. The tribal Indigenous people say they will lose their sovereignty over their land. Mebbingarri says there has never been an open honest discussion, and The Voice ‘Yes’ vote would take away their tribal rights. There are other tribal woman (sic) talking like this. I’ve listened to both sides of the debate, and found Senator Jacinta Price to make sense to me. Jacinta brought two full blood Indigenous women from Cape York to speak with Politicians in Canberra, and not one member of the Labor party would speak with them. Linda Burney will not debate Senator Jacinta Price on air, so all these things raise a ‘red flag’ to me. What are they hiding?”

Interested in finding out more about how the Voice may or may not affect the human rights and Indigenous rights of First Nations’ Australians? Read about it on the Australian Human Rights Commission website

Interested in learning more about how the 80% figure was determined? Fact Check in partnership with RMIT University explain the process here.

Sally Schofield

Header image by JD Photography via Unsplash

A referendum is a mandatory vote required to make any changes to the Australian Constitution. A 1967 referendum allowed federal parliament to make laws regarding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders but they do not have a ‘voice’ in those laws.

The Prime Minister the Hon Anthony Albanese MP committed to this in his election night speech on 21 May 2022, when he said the Government would implement the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full.

At the Garma Festival on 30 July 2022, the Prime Minister announced a draft referendum question and draft words to be added to the Constitution.

The draft question and draft amendment are the basis for discussion ahead of the referendum. In late March of this year, the Referendum Working Group and the Australian Government introduced the Constitution Alteration Bill into Parliament.

The Bill sets the question that will be put to the Australian people later this year and includes the proposed alteration to the Constitution.

The question “A Proposed Law: to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. Do you approve this proposed alteration?”

The heart of the matter

Rhoda Roberts is an Australian journalist, broadcaster, actor, producer, director, writer, arts advisor, and artistic director. She is the Creative Director First Nations at NORPA, and is a Widjabul woman from the Bundjalung territories.

“I was eight years old in 1967, when we had the last referendum, and it simply said, vote yes, for Aborigines, because we no longer wanted to be counted along with the sheep, we actually wanted to be counted as human beings. That was the first step. We’re in the 21st century. We’ve waited all this time to have another step, where we demand a seat at the table. We are Australians, but we are the First Peoples of this nation, and we carry with us inherited birth rights, and our knowledge that relate to this country that we have looked after forever.

“We pride ourselves on our culture and the culture keeps us sane. You know, it enables us to cope. Some of our young people, are not connected, they’re not assimilated with their culture, their behaviour is constructed in a Western framework. Some of our great leaders and custodians, have looked at the kinship systems and attribute their wisdom to knowing what a solution could be for some of the serious chaotic situations we face in every community.

“The Constitution, the founding document that we exist under at the moment, when they were marking that up for the Commonwealth of Australia and all the states and territories, there was not one Aboriginal person at the table. We were completely left out.” This is not equity.

“We’ve seen over time that legislation is not enough, as successive changes of government can overturn these laws. Having a First Nations voice enshrined in the constitution ensures that when coming children of our great grandchildren will always know that we were the First Peoples of this nation. We cared, nurtured and actually owned this nation, although our philosophy for land is that it owns us. Our philosophies are so different. We’re about stewardship and forgiveness.

Our people were able to find in their hearts, to move forward, questioning old discriminative policy and hence Statement of the Heart. Our philosophy about heart is about deep listening, and listening to the lived experiences. Governments have come and go. There is the rhetoric and yet we still face complex issues across all our communities, and offered limited solutions, that are driving wedges between this nation.

“Having a seat at the table, is really important. We should be part of the discussion because we actually can provide a viewpoint our perspective. It’s very, very different. It’s not about financial transactions.

It’s about stewardship and forward thinking . We’re willing to adapt, we’ve always adapted, but don’t silence us anymore by saying “No”. We are an essential part of the national fabric.

Feature image:

‘Rainforest Country’ by Melissa Ladkin and Nickolla Clark, two local Indigenous contemporary artists living on Bundjalung land.  Image courtesy Ninbella

Their experience, and the body of cosmic wisdom that informed everything from social behaviour to the Songlines, will be explored in a musical and narrative performance at this year’s Bangalow Music Festival that offers a fresh, and jaw-dropping, look at the night sky.

Maps and Journeys: The World’s First Astronomers showcases two world premieres by Indigenous composers Brenda Gifford and Eric Avery and one by jazz clarinettist, conductor and former Northern Rivers Conservatorium artist in residence Sean O’Boyle

An 11am Saturday concert, which will also feature in shortened form in the Schools Concert and a bite sized event at Ninbella Gallery, will showcase Avery on violin alongside actor Paula Nazarski, Festival host ensemble the Southern Cross Soloists (SXS) and Wakka Wakka descendant Chris Williams on didgeridoo.

The didgeridoo will feature front and centre of some of the works presented, highlighting both the instrument and Williams’ contribution to the Southern Cross team.

Working with Williams – a trumpet prodigy, graduate of the Royal College of Music in London and currently artist in residence with the SXS – has been a great privilege, says Festival Director Tania Frazer.

 “He has written so much incredible music for us,” she says, “works in which the didgeridoo moves from being an improvisational and ‘layering’ instrument to fulfilling a more central, formal role.”

Williams is an accomplished jazz musician and uses that experience to explore the instrument, achieving rhythmic effects that are akin to a beat-box, Tania says.

“He creates atmospheric, cinematic effects that we can’t achieve with our instruments, and which are perfect for a performance that sets out to voyage through the cosmos.”

She believes that Williams’ compositions, and other ‘hybrid’ pieces at the Festival that blend Western classical forms with ancient First Nations traditions, are creating a unique, distinctively Australian sound – almost a new genre, she says.

There are other “stars” on the programme, including close SXS collaborators, the Orava Quartet – “debonair and lively young men who came together at a young age and have continued to grow”, Tania says.

“They have always been fabulous but they are blossoming and maturing into a really fantastic ensemble.” That they have performed alongside Indy giants Sufjan Stevens and The National’s Bryce Dessner is an indication of the breadth of their musical tastes and vision.

The Oravas open their Saturday night concert with classical/folk hybrid works from Scandinavia that have brought joy to generations and are joined by Australian piano marvel Simon Tedschi for Brahms’ stirring Piano Quintet in F minor. Between the two comes a World Premiere by O’Boyle and the spirited Mad Piper String Quartet by Pavel Fisher.

Saturday afternoon promises a spectacle of mischief and madness, and not a little real-world romance in the form of coloratura soprano Alexandra Flood and her partner, baritone Alexander York. Alexandra performs two phenomenally difficult virtuoso arias from the comic opera Don Pasquale and the Mad Scene from Lucia Di Lammermoor. Alexander joins her in a handful of works exploring chivalry and comedy, wisdom and delusion in a narrative titled Tales of Don Quixote that intertwines treatments of the idealistic Don’s story by Strauss and Ravel to Leigh/Darion’s Man of La Mancha.

There’s more star-studded glamour in the form of virtuoso violinist Emma McGrath, an “incredible soloist” stepping away for the weekend from her role as Concertmaster of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra to bring to Bangalow the fearsomely difficult Caprice Basque (Sarasate) and Debussy’s sumptuous Violin Sonata.

The glittering presence of the superstars will not lessen the Festival’s famous intimacy and accessibility, Tania says. There will be a special performance of the Bach Cello Suites in the golden glow of the Uniting Church, a “meet and greet” style concert amid the rural serenity of Zentveld’s coffee farm, and mentorship and inclusion of local music students.

It’s an altogether heavenly few days to look forward to.

Digby Hildreth