Understanding & Managing Aboriginal Cultural Heritage
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EUROBODALLA ABORIGINAL HERITAGE STUDY STAGE THREE UNDERSTANDING & MANAGING ABORIGINAL CULTURAL HERITAGE PREPARED FOR THE EUROBODALLA ABORIGINAL HERITAGE STEERING COMMITTEE EUROBODALLA SHIRE COUNCIL DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE SOUTHERN RIVERS CATCHMENT MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY LOCAL ABORIGINAL LAND COUNCILS ELDERS GROUPS & ABORIGINAL COMMUNITY MEMBERS PREPARED BY SUSAN DALE DONALDSON ENVIRONMENTAL & CULTURAL SERVICES SEPTEMBER 2007 Eurobodalla Shire Council / NSW Department of Environment & Climate Change/ Susan Dale Donaldson of Environmental & Cultural Services. Eurobodalla Shire Council PO Box 99 Moruya, NSW, 2537. Ph: 02 4474 1000 Fax: 02 4474 1234 www.esc.nsw.gov.au Department of Environment & Climate Change NSW National Parks and Wildlife Services Cultural Heritage Division PO Box 1967 Hurstville NSW 2220 Ph: 1300 361 967 Fax: 02 9585 6555 www.npws.nsw.gov.au Susan Dale Donaldson Environmental & Cultural Services Moruya, NSW, 2537. Ph/ Fax: 02 4474 5899 [email protected] The ESC, DEC and Susan Donaldson acknowledge the intellectual property rights of the Aboriginal people whose stories are featured in this publication. COVER PHOTO: Gunyung [Black Swan / Cygnus atratus] on Wallaga Lake. Warning: contains reference to people who have passed away. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................. 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY..............................................................6 1. INTRODUCTION......................................................................8 1.1 STUDY OUTLINE .......................................................................................8 1.2 DEFINITIONS OF THE STUDY AREA......................................................9 1.3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ................................................................ 12 2. COLLATION OF HERITAGE RESEARCH................................ 14 2.1 STAGE ONE: GOULDING 2005 .............................................................. 14 2.2 STAGE TWO: DONALDSON 2006 ..........................................................15 2.3 ADDITIONAL RELEVANT DATA ............................................................17 2.4 COLLATION STAGES 1, 2 & 3................................................................. 21 2.5 AHIMS DATA...........................................................................................26 3. UNDERSTANDING AND VALUING ABORIGINAL HERITAGE31 3.1 CUSTODIANS OF THE EUROBODALLA ...............................................32 3.1.1 Origins of place names........................................................................... 33 3.1.2 Totemic species and habitat .................................................................. 35 3.2 HISTORICAL NARRATIVE..................................................................... 37 3.3 GEOGRAPHICAL NODES OF SIGNIFICANCE......................................38 3.3.1 Batemans Bay ........................................................................................39 3.3.2 Moruya Deua River ............................................................................... 41 3.3.3 Tuross River: Tuross to Nerrigundah...................................................46 3.3.4 Gulaga, Najakuka, Tilba Tilba and Wallaga Lake.................................48 3.4 THEMATIC ANALYSIS............................................................................ 52 3.4.1 Travelling routes.................................................................................... 52 3.4.2 Economic Contributions ....................................................................... 53 3.4.3 Government Reservations..................................................................... 54 4 RECOGNISING AND MANAGING ABORIGINAL HERITAGE .. 57 4.1 DISCUSSION OF RELEVANT LEGISLATION........................................ 57 4.2 LOCALISED PROTOCOLS, PLANS AND STRATEGIES........................ 61 4.3 MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES: ABORIGINAL PERSPECTIVES..........63 4.4.1 STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF MAPPING .............................. 67 4.4.2 POTENTIAL MAPPING PRINCIPLES.................................................69 4.5 MANAGEMENT OF NODES ...................................................................69 4.5.1 Batemans Bay ........................................................................................70 4.5.2 Moruya River..........................................................................................71 4.5.3 Tuross River .......................................................................................... 72 4.5.4 Wallaga Lake ......................................................................................... 73 5 RECOMMENDATIONS............................................................ 74 5.1 ADDRESSING PREVIOUS RECOMMENDATIONS ............................... 74 5.2 ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS................................................... 79 6 REFERENCES CITED.............................................................. 87 Eurobodalla Aboriginal Heritage Study ♦Stage 3 ♦September 2007 3 APPENDIX ONE: SUMMARY OF ABORIGINAL HERITAGE PLACES......90 APPENDIX TWO: EUROBODALLA HERITAGE TIME LINE................... 125 APPENDIX THREE: SUMMARY OF IDENTIFIED SPECIES ................... 126 APPENDIX FOUR: CONSULTATION SUMMARY..................................... 130 APPENDIX FIVE: AMENDMENTS TO STAGE TWO REPORT ................ 134 APPENDIX SIX: TENDER BRIEF............................................................... 135 SUMMARY OF TABLES, CHARTS AND MAPS TABLE ONE: Land tenure within the Eurobodalla LGA 11 TABLE TWO: Summary of additional information. 20 TABLE THREE: Living places category. 23 TABLE FOUR: AHIMS sites in the Eurobodalla 28 TABLE FIVE: Aboriginal place names 35 TABLE six: Description of totemic birds in the Eurobodalla 37 TABLE SEVEN: Government Reservations in the Eurobodalla 56 Table eight: Management objectives and strategies. 66 Table nine: mapping principles 69 MAP ONE: Eurobodalla Shire 10 MAP TWO Registered AHIMS sites in the Eurobodalla 30 MAP three: Batemans Bay nodal landscape. 41 Map four: Moruya River 46 Map five: Tuross River landscape 48 Map six: Wallaga Lake landscape showing all interrelated themes. 51 CHART 1: Heritage places identified by primary theme 22 CHART 2: Living places categorised by sub theme 24 CHART 3: Work places categorised according to sub themes. 25 CHART 4: Resource collection places by sub themes 26 Eurobodalla Aboriginal Heritage Study ♦Stage 3 ♦September 2007 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Natural Heritage Trust [NHT], the Southern Rivers Catchment Management Authority [SRCMA], the Eurobodalla Shire Council [ESC] and the Department of Environment and Climate Change [DECC] each provided funding to support this project. The project has been successful because of the partnerships forged between the funding bodies and the local Aboriginal community, through elders groups and Local Aboriginal Land Councils [LALC], and the dedicated efforts of the Eurobodalla Aboriginal Heritage Steering Committee. These partnerships have kept the project on track. I wish to acknowledge the Aboriginal people who participated in this project and to their ancestors who had the opportunity to pass stories onto them. This project does not intend to undermine or breach traditional Aboriginal Lore relating to the holding and passing on of information pertaining to places of Aboriginal cultural heritage. Aboriginal cultural heritage, including the physical, the intangible and the associated stories and mythologies belong to the Aboriginal community. These stories have been shared in the hope that the broader community gains a greater respect for places of heritage value to the Aboriginal community. I also thank those who provided comments on previous drafts of this report, in particular the efforts of Sue Feary, Ron Nye, Georgina Parsons, Trisha Ellis and Maureen Davis. Eurobodalla Aboriginal Heritage Study ♦Stage 3 ♦September 2007 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY During the course of the three stages of the Eurobodalla Aboriginal Heritage Study, three hundred and thirty six [336] places within the Eurobodalla Shire were identified. The majority of places relate to living / camping places [90], work places [78] and places where natural resources are collected [58] and predominantly do not include archaeological sites, although further research in this area is required. All of the 336 places within the Eurobodalla LGA are of heritage value to Aboriginal people. Of these places, it is recommended that 118 places require some form of management in order to conserve the associated heritage values. In the main, these places relate to seasonal camping places where use has continued on and off since pre-contact times; resource collection places, places of conflict, burial places and spiritual places. Forms of management suggested include AHIMS registration, LEP listing, DCP considerations, Aboriginal Place nomination, some other form of environmental zoning classification and or inclusion into the LALC / ESC heritage protocol system. It is also recommended that management options and actions be underpinned by Aboriginal people’s direct input and ongoing participation. It is recommended that 200 of the identified places be afforded some form of acknowledgment in relation to local Aboriginal culture and history. These places primarily include a variety of living [camping] places, work places, places associated with early contact with European explorers, birthplaces and meeting places. As a way of acknowledging