Newslines

INDIGENOUS

A MAGAZINE ON ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER ISSUES July–August 2009

A national Indigenous Kamilaroi

voice tourism country
Towards a new rep body Open for business Spotlight on Tamworth
Closing the gap
I am very pleased to welcome you to this first
edition of Indigenous Newslines magazine.

The magazine will bring you news and information from across the whole of the Australian
Government and it will soon be accompanied by the Newslines Radio program.
Indigenous Newslines is an indication of how Australian Government departments are
working together to serve Indigenous people. It shows our commitment to forge a new
relationship with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We want to build a true
partnership based on mutual respect and trust.
This is an important point in relations between Indigenous and other Australians. The Prime
Minister’s Apology to Indigenous people, in particular the Stolen Generations, and the
Government’s recent declaration of support for the United Nations Declaration on the Rights
of Indigenous Peoples, are signals of positive change.
Our work to establish a new national body to represent Indigenous people is another
important shift. This edition of Indigenous Newslines details progress on establishing
a new body.
This new national representative body is part of our commitment to give Indigenous people a
greater say in the policies that affect them, and Indigenous people have taken the challenge
to come up with ideas for an effective and representative structure for the new body very
seriously.
Consultation has also begun with Indigenous people in the Northern Territory on how to
redesign the former Government’s Northern Territory Emergency Response. We believe
benefits are flowing to Indigenous people in the Territory, but more needs to be done to make
sure the benefits are sustainable and driven by community aspirations.
A milestone for this Government is the fact that all state and territory governments have
joined the Australian Government in committing to coordinated action to close the gap
between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. We have set time-limited targets
in areas such as life expectancy and infant mortality, school achievement, employment,
and early childhood education. New investment of $4.66 billion is flowing to close the gap
through a series of National Partnership Agreements – in health, early childhood, economic
development, housing and remote service delivery.
The recent Federal Budget provided an additional $1.3 billion for Indigenous initiatives, with
an emphasis on resetting the relationship and enabling Indigenous people to participate fully
in our society and economy.
As well as bringing you news from across Government, Indigenous Newslines will highlight
Indigenous success and achievement. In this edition, the achievements of Indigenous people
in the tourism sector are a focus. There is also a profile on Tamworth, in Kamilaroi country,
Australia’s capital of the country music which so many Indigenous people have made
their own. Each Indigenous Newslines will include a community profile to share stories and
experiences around Australia.
I hope you find Indigenous Newslines informative and inspiring and I look forward to us
sharing stories in future editions.

Top to bottom: Minister Jenny Macklin and Social Justice

Commissioner Tom Calma at the Australian Government’s Jenny Macklin
statement ceremony on the UN Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples, April, 2009, Canberra, ACT; Michael Jarrett Minister for Families, Housing,
at work in Bomaderry on the south coast of NSW; Agnes Page Community Services and
shares her bush tucker knowledge with tourists in the Kakadu Indigenous Affairs
National Park, NT; Ladies outside Tiwi Design Aboriginal
Corporation, Bathurst Island, NT. Photo: © Michelle Newton. July 2009

2 | Indigenous Newslines
 Contents
7 4

17
Indigenous Newslines Closing the gap 2

Welcome to the first edition of Indigenous Newslines, an Towards a new representative body 4
Australian Government magazine on Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander issues.
Indigenous tourism 7
This magazine will be published five times a year. It provides
up-to-date information on Australian Government services Open for business 7
and programs and includes inspiring Aboriginal and Torres Big vision ventures 9
Strait Islander stories from across the nation. Showcasing the west 10
Indigenous Newslines also has a weekly radio program called Different paths 12
Newslines Radio. To listen online or get broadcasting details
visit: www.indigenous.gov.au
Operators 14
To share ideas, subscribe to receive Indigenous Newlines by
mail or online, change your address or order more copies: Tamworth is Kamilaroi country 16
Web: www.indigenous.gov.au Yarning Gamilaraay 17
Email: newslines@fahcsia.gov.au How to yarn 17
Fax: (02) 6133 8374
Mail: The Editor
The Koori King of Country Music 18
Indigenous Newslines
Department of Families, Housing, Community NAIDOC Week 2009 poster 20
Services and Indigenous Affairs
PO Box 7576
Canberra Business Centre, ACT 2610.

ISSN 1836-9154
FAHCSIA10213

© Commonwealth of Australia 2009. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright
Act 1968, no part may be reproduced without prior permission from the Commonwealth.
Reproduction inquiries should go to: Commonwealth Copyright Administration, Attorney-
General’s Department, Canberra or posted at: www.ag.gov.au/cca

Every action is taken to ensure culturally inappropriate names and images are not included
in this magazine. However, readers should be aware that this publication may inadvertently Cover photo: Jett Sibosado, Lombadina Beach, Dampier Peninsula, WA.
contain names or photos which could offend.
Jett’s Lomadina Community owns and operates the successful Lombadina Tourism
ventures 2,600 kms north of Perth. Jett’s father, Garry, is a guide in the business which
PEFC certified offers accommodation to around 3,000 visitors a year and runs a gallery and mud
Indigenous Newslines is
produced from sustainable
crabbing, fishing and scenic tours. Visit www.lombadina.com.au
managed forest and
controlled sources.
The manager of Lombadina Tourism ventures, Robert Sibosado, says the remoteness
PEFC/XX-XX-XX www.pefc.org
of Lombadina Beach is a major attraction for visitors. “You can be the only person
on the beach here. No visit to the Dampier Peninsula is complete without a taste of
Lombadina.”

July – August 2009 |3

Towards a new representative body
Recommendations on the shape of a
new national representative body will be
presented to the Australian Government
at the end of July.
Once community consultation is finalised
in late July, Tom Calma, the Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
Commissioner, will present his report
on a preferred model for a new National
Indigenous Representative Body to the
Government.
The report, prepared with input from an
Indigenous steering committee, will be based
on 12 months of intensive consultation. Dozens
of remote, urban and regional communities
across Australia have participated in the
discussions, with thousands of people attending
workshops and contributing submissions.
The consultations have shown strong support
for the new body as a national voice for
Indigenous Australians. The Social Justice
Commissioner believes that without the
guidance of a national body, even the best
intentioned government initiatives can flounder.
“There is overwhelming support among
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples for
a new representative body to be established,”
4 | Indigenous Newslines
says Calma. “The new body is critical if we
are to make closing the gap and forging a new
partnership with government a reality.”
Calma’s July report will be studied by the
Australian Government, laying the foundation
for interim arrangements for a National
Indigenous Representative Body to be in place
by the year’s end.
Through the consultation, communities and
individuals have made it clear they want
the new body to be a strong advocate for
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians
as First Peoples, particularly on issues such
as constitutional recognition, human rights,
reconciliation and addressing Indigenous
disadvantage.
“The rep body should be a voice for
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people and voice our priorities, be able
to negotiate, mediate and strategically
debate our vision.”
Colleen Johnson, Bundaberg
Aboriginal community.
Rather than delivering government services
and programs as ATSIC, the former Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander Commission did,
communities want the new body to lead policy
development on Indigenous issues and to
review and monitor the impact of services and
programs on the ground.
They also want the new body to negotiate
framework agreements with governments,
conduct research, contribute to law reform and
represent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people at the international level.
“The representative body will
be critical in us having our
voice heard on important issues
such as self-determination,
constitutional recognition and in
addressing racism.”
Muriel Bamblett, Victorian
Aboriginal Child Care Agency.
Guiding principles
The consultation process has shown strong
views on the need for the new body to have the
highest of ethical standards.
A meeting in Adelaide in March of 98
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
strongly endorsed a set of principles of
behaviour that members and employees of
the new body should abide by. Known as the
Nolan Principles, they include honesty, integrity,
accountability, objectivity and openness.
Communities want males and females to be
equally represented on the body and for it to
reflect the cultural and geographic diversity of
Indigenous Australia, as well as marginalised
groups like youth, disabled people, members
of the Stolen Generations and mainland Torres
Strait Islanders.
“Respect and accountability will be just two
of the qualities that will be essential on this
board,” Lowitja O’Donoghue, a former ATSIC
chairperson says.
“It is vital that any new body has equal
representation from Aboriginal women. To have
a proper balance in the issues that are looked at
and in the way they are looked at, our women
must be a driving force.”
Should the body be elected?
Communities say they want a body that is
independent of government and which in time
will be able to operate without government
funding.
The Social Justice Commissioner says a clear view
has emerged that the members of the new body
should not be government appointed.
But while there is a consensus on these issues,
so far no strong agreement has emerged on one
preferred model for the new body.
“Is it going to be an elected body through a
public election process or is it going to be a body
appointed by Indigenous people? Or is it going to
be a combination of both?” Calma asks.
The Australian Government has indicated the
new body will not necessarily be an elected one
and the consultations have shown support for
both elected and delegate models.
Lowitja O’Donoghue believes a directly elected
model is not the best solution.
“We need to find a way of structuring the
new body that will not necessarily be
by direct election … to look outside the
conventional models and find something
that ensures Aboriginal people are able to
have a real say.”
Lowitja O’Donoghue, former ATSIC chairperson.
But Megan Davis, Director of the Indigenous Law
Centre at the University of New South Wales,
believes the new body should be elected.
“That is what self-determination
is – Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander people freely determining
their political status and freely
pursuing their economic, social and
cultural development.”
Megan Davis, Indigenous Law Centre,
University of New South Wales.
Legal status
With the strong call for the new body to be
independent of government, communities have
been considering what the legal basis for the
body should be.
Calma says there are three main options on
the table here. The body could be a statutory
authority, with its roles and functions set
down in law, a company limited by guarantee,
like Aboriginal Hostels Ltd and funded by
government, or it could be a more independent
non-government organisation which has
a Memorandum of Understanding with
government.
“If the body is set up as a statutory authority, it
would report to Federal Parliament each year in
much the same way as the Australian Human
Rights Commission does currently,” he explains.
Regardless of the model adopted, the Social
Justice Commissioner believes the new body
must have the bi-partisan support of the major
political parties and operate outside the election
cycle.
Calma is optimistic. “I think in 10 years’
time all Australians, both Indigenous and
non-Indigenous, will understand the role
of the rep body and we will have very clear
strategies developed for all areas of Indigenous
disadvantage.”
For more information on the new representative
body visit: www.humanrights.gov.au/social_justice
Previous page:
Aboriginal
and Torres
Strait Islander
Social Justice
Commissioner,
Tom Calma. Photo:
Wayne Quilliam.
Left: Participants
at the Adelaide
workshop. Photo:
Rosey Boehm.
July – August 2009 |5
Towards a new representative body cont

Steps to a new body A new partnership

2007 commitment
The Australian Labor Party, then the
Federal Opposition, commits to setting
up a National Indigenous Representative
Body if it wins government.
The Australian Government wants a new National Indigenous Representative
Body up and running so that the views of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people are represented at the national level through a credible body.
Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin believes the national representative
body will be “a good platform on which to build new partnerships”.

July 2008 “It offers us a great opportunity to build on the impetus of the National
Apology, to work together to overcome the legacy of the past – the entrenched
The Social Justice Commissioner, Tom Calma,
disadvantage and marginalisation of Indigenous people,” Minister Macklin says.
releases his Building a Sustainable National
Indigenous Representative Body discussion The Government sees establishing the new body as central to resetting its
paper. View the paper at: relationship with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and as a vital step
www.humanrights.gov.au/social_justice in closing the gap in living standards between Indigenous and non-Indigenous
Australians.
July–December 2008
The Australian Government leads “A national representative body will allow Indigenous Australians to take the lead
consultation and workshops in over 60 in the campaign to close the gap and on advising the Government and the wider
communities across Australia. It invites community on the issues which are important to them,” Minister Macklin says.
organisations, peak bodies and state and
territory governments to participate and
make submissions.
The Government requests Tom Calma set
up an independent Indigenous steering
committee to oversee the next phase of
consultations.
The steering committee members are:
Mark Bin Bakar, Tanya Hosch, Geoff
Scott, Jackie Huggins AM, Tim Goodwin,
Yananymul Mununggurr, Jason Glanville,
Rosalie Kunoth-Monks, John Toshie Kris
and Nala Mansell-McKenna.
Mick Dodson, Australian of the Year 2009,
also participates on the steering committee
in an advisory capacity.

March 2009
National meeting of 98 Indigenous leaders
in Adelaide reviews consultations and
discusses roles, functions and structure
of new body.

May–June 2009
Community guide released and available
online along with a national survey at:
www.humanrights.gov.au/social_justice

July 2009
The steering committee report
recommending a preferred model for a
National Indigenous Representative Body
is presented to the Indigenous Affairs
Minister by the end of July.
Members of the steering committee and supporters.
Front row: Yananymul Mununggurr, Lowitja O’Donoghue, Jackie Huggins.
Second row: Tom Calma, Nala Mansell-McKenna.
Third row: Mark Bin Bakar, Mick Dodson, Josephine Bourne.
Back row: Jason Glanville, John Toshie Kris, Darren Dick. Photo: Rosey Boehm.

6 | Indigenous Newslines
Indigenous tourism: Open for business

Indigenous tourism is the freshest thing to come on to the
Australian tourism landscape in the past 20 years.
It’s proving to be a win-win situation where both tourists
and communities are benefitting.
Whether it’s didge players busking at Circular Quay in Sydney or
fishing on traditional lands in far north Queensland, Indigenous
involvement in the tourism industry is having a powerful impact.
Aden Ridgeway is the executive chairman of the Indigenous Tourism
Industry Advisory Panel which advises Tourism Australia. He says
Indigenous tourism was once just an “add on” activity for tourists but
is now a valued part of the industry.
“You can promote the Indigenous tourism experience as a point of
difference between Australia and the countries we compete with for
tourists,” says Ridgeway, who as a former Senator, championed the
potential of Indigenous tourism for many years.
“We encourage people to come and experience the oldest civilisation
on the planet.”
Ridgeway says the spiritual insight which Indigenous tourism provides
for visitors is appealing.
“It gives people a chance to experience Aboriginal spirituality, things
like the Dreaming and stories about how for example the Milky Way,
the kangaroo and the dolphin were created.”
The diversity of types of tourism businesses that can operate
successfully in Australia – whether they are run by individuals, families
or communities – means all types of people can contribute.
“If for example a resort opens nearby, a community can do guided
tours on mountain bikes or four-wheel drives. Someone else in the
community might harvest native foods to create Indigenous cuisine.
Others might work at the resort or encourage resort guests to visit the
local community art centre,” Ridgeway says.
“Tourism creates ways of expanding opportunities in areas where not
many opportunities exist.”

Above: Darren Capewell of

Wula Guda Nyinda Aboriginal
Cultural Tours, Shark Bay, WA.
Photo: Wayne Quilliam.
Left: Brisbane’s Nunukul
Yuggera dancers perform for
tourists, QLD.
Right: Robert Sibosado,
manager of Lombadina
Tourism ventures, Dampier
Peninsula, WA.
Photo: Red Dirt Photography
and courtesy Riverlife.

July – August 2009 |7

Indigenous tourism: Open for business cont
Dedication and passion
Ridgeway admits that running a tourism
business will not suit every community. He
points out that tourism can be a seven day
a week job and that most visitors come on
weekends rather than weekdays.
“People have to be passionate about putting
themselves forward, as the characters that
operate Indigenous businesses are so much
in the front line of the industry,” he says.
“When tourists are for example sitting
around a campfire listening to stories or
going out fishing with two brothers, it is
the characters of the tourism operators
that enrich the experience and make it so
powerful.”
Work-life balance
While dedication is essential to run a
tourism business, it does not have to be
a seven day a week, 12 months a year
commitment.
Ridgeway says tourism is a business that
individuals and communities can adapt to
suit their circumstances.
“Tourism is not like working in the public
service or in say mining or agriculture. It
has this adaptive nature to it and you can
make that work for you.”
Ridgeway sees the seasonal nature of
tourism, particularly in many parts of
northern and central Australia, as an
advantage.
8 | Indigenous Newslines
“In some places tourism only operates
for part of the year because temperatures
are so hot, or tourists won’t travel out
there in the wet season. It is cyclical, so
communities can say, for six months of the
year, do tourism and for the other half of
the year, they might do land care services.”
Overheads can be low
While some communities have invested
in large scale tourist ventures, like hotels,
other very successful businesses have been
based on simple ideas and low overheads.
Ridgeway points to cultural guided walks
as an example. “All you need is access to
land and an opportunity to bring people to
your land to meet your people,” he says.
He is full of admiration for simple ventures
like Jungala Kriss, who runs dot-painted
mountain bike tours into the MacDonnell
Ranges in Central Australia and the
Melbourne-based Aboriginal chef Mark
Olive, for his inspirational outback native
food cuisine.
“Quite simply, by operating their own
businesses and activities, our people are
ensuring the integrity of the Indigenous
experiences that visitors have.”
“Tourism means communities can get
involved in economic activity and at the
same time help to make sure that our story
is part of the national story.”
Support for
Indigenous tourism
> Tourism Australia is a statutory authority
which promotes Australia as a tourism
destination.
> For the latest information on training,
assistance and funding for tourism operators
visit Tourism Australia’s Indigenous tourism
portal at:
www.indigenoustourism.australia.com
> State and territory governments provide the
most funding to support tourism operators.
Links to the websites of these governments
are at:
www.indigenoustourism.australia.com
> Indigenous Business Australia (IBA) assists
tourism operators with low-interest loans
and supports Indigenous joint ventures into
tourism (see story opposite).
Visit www.iba.gov.au
> Western Australian Indigenous Tourism
Operators Committee (WAITOC) represents
Indigenous tourism operators in Western
Australia. It hosts the Australian Indigenous
Tourism Conference and the annual Gnunkai
Awards which acknowledge exceptional
commitment and contribution to Indigenous
tourism at the national level.
Visit www.waitoc.com
Left: Home Valley
employee Lorelle Adams
and the catch of the day
at Home Valley Station,
East Kimberley, WA.
Right: IBA and the
Djuldjurd Aboriginal
Corporation own the
Cape Don Fishing Lodge,
Cobourg Peninsula, NT.
Big vision ventures
Kakadu National Park, NT – IBA and the Gagudju Association own Yellow Water Cruises, above, and the
Gagudju Lodge at Cooinda, bottom right. Top right: IBA-owned Holiday Inn Townsville, QLD.
Some Indigenous communities are
entering the tourism business as
investors. They see becoming owners
of resorts and hotels as a way of
tapping into the benefits which can
flow from tourism.
Aboriginal investment money has flowed into
many iconic ventures: Kings Canyon Resort in
Central Australia, the Gordon River Cruises in
Tasmania and the Tjapukai Cultural Park in
Cairns, to name just a few.
Smaller joint venture projects are also making
their mark, like the newly-renovated Mungo
Lodge in the Mungo National Park in western
New South Wales and Cape Don on Cobourg
Peninsula in Arnhem Land.
Much of the investment is being supported by
Indigenous Business Australia (IBA), which
has about 25 per cent of its $220 million joint
ventures portfolio invested in large tourism and
accommodation businesses.
“These larger joint ventures are owned or
partially owned by Aboriginal people so they
are on the boards and receiving part of the
dividends and profits that are generated,” says
Ron Morony, IBA General Manager.
With large tourism ventures, IBA usually
partners with an Indigenous group to buy a
business and then engages an experienced
private operator to manage it. IBA then assists
its Indigenous partner to acquire business
management skills so they can eventually buy
out IBA and take over the business.
The Kakadu joint venture
One of IBA’s more successful joint ventures
is Gagudju Lodge, Cooinda (Home of Yellow
Water Cruises) in Kakadu National Park in the
Northern Territory.
The local Gagudju Association used mining
royalties to build the Gagudju Lodge at Cooinda
and the Crocodile Holiday Inn Hotel, “the
Croc”, in 1985.
When the association had financial difficulties
in 1998, IBA bought 70 per cent of the business
and supported refurbishment and training
programs. Now the Gagudju Association has
rebuilt its position and will have acquired
48 per cent of the Cooinda operation by the
end of the year, and aims eventually to own it
entirely.
The Kakadu businesses run training programs
which guarantee employment on completion.
Cooinda has 10 Aboriginal employees and by
2010 wants all its tour guides to be Indigenous.
The venture also supports local Aboriginal
people to run their own small businesses
such as cultural tours and the planned Anme
Arringun bush snack café.
Eyes on the future in Townsville
IBA has recently acquired the 110-room
Holiday Inn Townsville and is negotiating with
an Indigenous group to partner with in the
venture.
IBA says this investment is already paying
off, with art worth around $150,000 being
purchased from local Indigenous artists for the
hotel’s walls, and recycled hotel furniture being
donated to local community groups.
IBA sees the Townsville venture as an
opportunity to train young people to work in
the hotel and in the wider tourism industry
and is talking to local Indigenous groups about
running small businesses from the hotel.
Economic hard times
Despite the good news on tourism investment
IBA is aware that today’s global economic
climate is not an easy one for earning tourism
dollars.
“Tourism is like any sector – it has its cycles
and has been in the doldrums for about 18
months,” Morony says.
“But the message from the industry is that
there is an ongoing demand from tourists for
engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander people.”
For more information on IBA visit:
www.iba.gov.au
“We want communities to
build assets and get capital
growth from them.”
Ron Morony, IBA General Manager.
July – August 2009 |9
Showcasing the West
Finding a place at
Home Valley
Home Valley Station is both a Kimberley cattle station and a $15 million
tourist venture. In a spectacular location, it’s luring visitors and launching
the careers of Aboriginal trainees.
The Indigenous Land Corporation (ILC)
purchased Home Valley Station in the East
Kimberley in Western Australia on behalf of the
traditional owners, the Balangarra people.
Once a struggling and run-down operation,
work by Indigenous trainees and ILC
investment have seen the property transformed.
The re-invented station is now drawing tourists
from around the world and is an Indigenous
pastoral and tourism training centre, creating
opportunities, especially for young local
Aboriginal people.
10 | Indigenous Newslines
Fourteen Indigenous trainees are hosted at
Home Valley each year. The ILC provides
fully-accredited, certificate-level training to
them in collaboration with Kimberley TAFE
and Kimberley Group Training. A new training
centre has been built at the station.
The training is in station work, tourism,
hospitality and horticulture. When they’ve
completed their certificates, trainees can stay on
and work at Home Valley, or spread their wings
– one has become a cabin attendant for a local
airline and another is cooking in Melbourne.
The trainees are paid to work while they
train. It’s station work like fencing, welding,
concreting, horsemanship, stock handling,
building and yard maintenance, and
landscaping and garden work. The hospitality
and tourism work includes reception, guiding,
transport, serving food and drinks, room
preparation, cleaning and office administration.
Trainees live at the station and work with
the tourists who go horse-riding and cattle
mustering and take bush-tucker and fishing
treks guided by the trainees.
Home Valley’s eco-tents and other
accommodation are popular with tourists and
the scenery is spectacular. The station is on
the Gibb River Road 120km north-west of
Kununurra and covers 615,000 acres at the foot
of the Cockburn Range.
For more information on Home Valley Station
visit www.homevalleystation.com and on the ILC
visit www.ilc.gov.au
Above: Home Valley horse
riding tours.
Left to right: Original Home Valley
trainees Sade McCoombe and
James Cigobia in the Home Valley
kitchen; Tourism trainee Raelene
Johnston shows a visitor around
the horse yards; Pastoral trainee
Cyril Yeeda conducts horse riding
tours at Home Valley.
Opposite page: Solo operator:
Darren “Capes” Capewell. Photo:
Wayne Quilliam.
Trainees
Cyril Yeeda, 28, came to Home Valley Station three
years ago after working as a gardener in Wyndham.
The station’s longest-serving trainee grew up on a
station in Halls Creek riding horses. When Cyril
came to Home Valley he did not have a specific
career in mind, but after trying a few different
things fell into caring for the horses, stables, taking
out tourists on horse rides and caring for the cattle.
Now he works closely with head stockman
John Rodney in the stables and is studying for a
Certificate III in Tourism.
However, the tour guide part did not come
naturally.
“I was very shy at first, but I have realised I was not
going to get anywhere being shy. I got used to it and
have started mixing in and talking to people.
“Being here at Home Valley I feel good and free. The
job is the best thing that could have happened to
me. Some people say ‘You’re a cowboy?’ and I say
‘Nah, I’m an Aussie stockman’.”
“There’s a lot of people from all over the world
come here to Home Valley. They say ‘You mob
have a very beautiful place’. I’m proud that I’m a
Kimberley fella and can tell them everything about
the area.”
Gina Sebastian, 26, originally from Beagle Bay,
went to Home Valley Station eight months ago
after two years in Kununurra without a job. Now
she’s studying Certificate II in Tourism and when
not in the classroom, she does reservations in the
front office, assists in the restaurant, and helps
with a range of tours including fishing.
Gina says she enjoys customer service, interacting
with guests and showing them the Home Valley
property.
“I didn’t expect any of this. I was in Kununurra
being a nobody and decided to sign up. I was
looking at being a housekeeper but it wasn’t my
thing so I tried the front office and this is where I
am today. My mum used to be a tourism lady and
all of a sudden I am following in her footsteps.
She is very proud.
“I feel good about being here. You get so many
opportunities, and can become who you want to
be. Just seeing so many faces come from all over
the world, just to see us here at Home Valley, has
been great.”
Respecting the land at Monkey
Yamatji man Darren “Capes” Capewell has been the sole operator of a
successful tourism business in WA for the past four years.
Darren Capewell left a bright football career
to go back to his country at Shark Bay, near
Monkey Mia, to teach people about his
culture.
Capes is the owner/operator of Wula Guda
Nyinda Aboriginal Cultural Tours, meaning
“You come this way”. He guides Aboriginal
cultural walks from Monkey Mia for small
groups, on to the lands of his Nhanda­
speaking mother and Malgarna-speaking
father.
Starting his own business was a big change
for Capes who had never been in business
before. “But I went into it knowing the type
of product I wanted to deliver – to introduce
visitors to Shark Bay and teach them to
appreciate Aboriginal people and culture.”
He’s the guide for morning and dusk walks
in which tourists taste local bush tucker and
learn about medicinal plants, identify bird
calls and follow animal tracks, and an evening
tour in which they hear sacred stories by
campfire and observe night animals. He will
soon add a kayak tour.
For Capes, the reward is having guests
respond to his encouragement to “tread
lightly” on sensitive country, reconnect
spiritually with the land and have a greater
awareness of environmental sustainability.
Mia
He manages all aspects of the business himself
but has created a balance that suits him.
“My work is part of my lifestyle,” he says.
“Rather than it being to support my lifestyle,
I can manage it to suit me and I’ve recently
reduced the number of tours and increased
my prices.”
His business is a big success, attracting mostly
visitors from Europe. In 2007 Capes was a
Silver Medallist in the Indigenous Tourism,
Western Australian Tourism Awards and
in 2006, won the Indigenous Tour Guide
of the Year, in the Gnunkai Awards, run by
the Western Australian Indigenous Tourism
Operators Committee (WAITOC).
Capes encourages Aboriginal people to
turn their cultural passion into a business,
especially in the current climate where
Australians are travelling overseas less and
holidaying more at home. He also advises
people to join WAITOC to help them get
started.
Capes says he gets a lot of business through
the Lonely Planet Guidebook and the Monkey
Mia Resort, and he stresses the value of having
“a wonderful website” that is easy for him to
administer.
Visit www.wulaguda.com.au and
www.waitoc.com
July – August 2009 |11
Indigenous tourism: Different paths
Tourism operators are finding there is no one right way to run a successful tourism venture.
Graham Clarke of Harry Nanya Tours, NSW. Photo: Courtesy Tourism NSW and © Year of the Outback 2002.
The independent path:
Harry Nanya Tours
“It’s a passion ... it’s in your soul” is how
Paakantyi man, Graham Clarke of Harry
Nanya Tours describes his business in
western New South Wales. Clarke has
worked for the company for 17 years and
bought the business two years ago. He
takes pride in having built up a tour which
visitors love and keep returning to.
Clarke starts early each morning, picking
up tourists in Mildura and Wentworth and
driving them to the spectacular, World
Heritage Listed Mungo National Park.
“I explain to the tourists along the way the
trees and landmarks of this country and
share the language with them.”
Clarke’s award-winning tour mixes his
knowledge of the origins of man at Lake
Mungo, where very ancient remains of
ancestors have been found, with stories on
climate change and didgeridoo playing.
12 | Indigenous Newslines
“There is a lot of work in tourism,” Clarke
admits. “I drive my own bus, I wash my
own bus. I work seven days a week.”
“I decided I wanted to be as independent as
possible, so I went to my bank direct and
got a loan for my bus by myself,” he says.
“Now I only owe money to my bank!”
The satisfaction of having gone it alone and
the pleasure tourists get from his tours are
what keeps Clarke’s enthusiasm for Harry
Nanya Tours alive.
“When you set goals and achieve them it
makes you proud. I feel very proud that
people come from half way around the
world to visit Mungo National Park on my
tours. And people keep coming back. We
have people coming back for their third and
fourth time.”
Visit www.harrynanyatours.com.au
Terrence Coulthard at Iga Warta’s camping ground, SA. Photo: Wayne Quilliam.
Iga Warta:
A family vision
When the Coulthard family set up Iga Warta in
the Flinders Ranges in South Australia 13 years
ago they were following their father’s vision of
Indigenous people running their own tourism
ventures.
“My father realised there’s great interest in
Aboriginal perspectives,” says one of Iga
Warta’s founders, Terrence Coulthard. “It was a
pioneering vision and when we first started off
there wasn’t much cultural tourism around.”
Iga Warta involves Adnyamathanha traditional
owners taking visitors on ochre pit, plant,
hunting and food tours and providing overnight
accommodation.
“People walk through the bush with us and
suddenly realise there’s a whole new perspective
that comes to life having us interpret things
from an Aboriginal perspective,” Coulthard says.
Pauline Hedger, who manages the Wadlata
Outback Centre, the visitor information centre
in Port Augusta, says tourists really appreciate
what Iga Warta offers.
“There’s a core market that’s very interested in
Aboriginal tourism products, especially the
international visitors. There is also an increasing
demand from the domestic market – a thirst
for knowledge of Indigenous history that’s
increasing.”
“Iga Warta gives visitors an understanding of
contemporary Aboriginal culture not just looking
back at the past. It promotes what Aboriginal
people are doing today.”
For the Coulthard family, Iga Warta and
Indigenous tourism is the way forward. “It
gives us a lot of opportunities for our future
economically, but more importantly, it helps us
retain what is culturally significant,” Coulthard
says.
“Our plan is to keep our young generation
close at hand so we can pass on our cultural
knowledge. Since we’ve set up Iga Warta our
youth are speaking our language in everyday
conversations and keeping the language alive.”
Visit www.igawarta.com
July – August 2009 |13
Willie Gordon shares stories of his ancestral rock art sites with a visitor, Cape York, QLD. Photo: Kerry Trapnell.
Working with partners is
The Bama Way
Some tourism businesses don’t like to
work with competitors but The Bama Way
operators, who run cultural tours in Cape
York in far north Queensland, understand
that working closely with both Indigenous
and non-Indigenous operators can be a
bonus.
The Bama Way is a collaborative venture
set up by three Indigenous tour operators:
Guurrbi Tours, Walker Family Tours and
Kuku Yalanji Cultural Habitat Tours. The
three businesses have partnered to promote
their region to tourists. They work closely
with mainstream businesses to attract visitors
and have, for example, produced a joint
marketing brochure.
When Nugal-warra elder Willie Gordon
started his Guurrbi Tours in 2003, he quickly
realised the importance of promoting the
region as well as his own tours. He says the
key to success is working together with other
people in the tourism industry.
“You’ve got to be part of the broader picture,”
says Gordon. “I’m based in Cooktown,
which is off the beaten track, so I work with
my Bama Way partners and the Cooktown
Chamber of Commerce and Tourism to make
sure visitors know everything our area has to
offer.”
“Too many people take one tour and think
they know everything about Aboriginal
culture,” Gordon says. “With The Bama Way,
I lead people on tours of cave paintings,
while the Walker Family share their
knowledge of the rainforest and Kuku Yalanji
take people out to hunt and track on the
beaches and mud flats,” she says.
“Tourists then leave this corner of Cape York
with a much broader understanding of our
culture and history.”
Francis Walker of Walker Family Tours agrees
with Gordon.
“We get so much positive feedback from
tourists; not just about our tours but also
about the whole Bama Way idea.
“People initially plan to do only one tour but
enjoy it so much they end up going on all
three.”
Visit www.bamaway.com.au
Indigenous tourism: Operators
Mark Olive mixes laughter and Aboriginal cuisine. Photo: Wayne Quilliam.
Make it delicious: Mark Olive
Food is a great leveller, says Bundjalung man and chef Mark “The Black” Olive.
“Everyone has to eat and when you are sitting around the table there’s no
prejudice.”
Olive, now Melbourne-based, has run his own company, Black Olive Productions,
for two years.
He showcases Indigenous tourism and food to audiences in Europe and North
America as well as in Australia through road shows, the Foxtel TV program,
The Outback Cafe, and a cookbook. Olive says eating Indigenous foods, such as
emu and kangaroo, is a great way of educating people about the richness and
diversity of Aboriginal culture in a relaxed and enjoyable way.
“They may be Australia’s coat of arms, but they are very tasty too.”
Visit www.blackoliveproductions.com
Anangu Tour guides Alwyn Dawson (top) Rebecca Wheeler, (centre) and interpreter
Jimmy Dobson (pointing stick), NT. Photo: © Anangu Tours.
Sharing Anangu culture
Keeping families and community together has been a key achievement of Anangu
Tours in the Uluru Kata Juta National Park in Central Australia. Anangu Tours was
set up 15 years ago by the Imanpa, Mutitjulu and Kaltukatjatjara communities’
Wana Ungkunytja Trust to share knowledge of country with tourists from around
the world. Their tours have helped to make the park one of the most popular
tourist destinations in Australia.
The company creates local jobs: elders share the stories and secrets of the land
around the rock, while younger people work as translators and guides with
Anangu Tours’ Uluru Camel Tours.
Anangu Tours encourages local Aboriginal people to work for the company by,
for example, having flexible working conditions and large staff rosters, which
mean employees can work part-time and can step in to cover each other if other
obligations arise. Visit www.ananguwaai.com.au
14 | Indigenous Newslines
Nunukul Yuggera dancers perform for tourists, QLD. Photo: Courtesy Riverlife.
Riverlife Mirrabooka: Dancing success
When Eddie and Denise Ruska formed the Nunukul Yuggera Dance Troupe
15 years ago they didn’t realise it would become Riverlife Mirrabooka, part of
an award-winning Brisbane tourist attraction.
A Yuggera man, Eddie Ruska says he started Nunukul Yuggera to keep
troubled Aboriginal youths off the street. “We wanted them to have pride in
their culture, so I asked the elders if I could teach them dancing. The first
time we performed we were bad but the elders encouraged us and we kept
going and improving.”
“The young fellas find they like showing off their culture. Some of my earliest
dancers are still mentors and come back to perform when they can.”
The success of the troupe led Ruska to look for a business partner. He joined
up with the tour group, Riverlife, and says the partnership has worked well.
“Riverlife looks after bookings and ads and I look after the cultural side of the
business.” Visit www.riverlife.com.au/aboriginal-experiences
A Gab Titui cultural performance, 2004, Thursday Island, QLD.
Photo: © George Serras, National Museum of Australia and the TSRA.
Showcasing a region’s treasures
The Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA) is not letting isolation and
monsoonal weather discourage tourists from visiting their islands. The
TSRA operates the Gab Titui Cultural Centre on Thursday Island, which
has won Queensland tourism awards and attracted close to 45,000
tourists since it opened its doors in 2004. Islanders believe the centre
is working well because tourists now have one central place where they
can visit and learn about the history and culture of the region, as well as
view and buy local art and craft. Sharing their culture through Gab Titui
is a source of pride for Islanders and talented local artists are making a
steady income from selling their artwork. Others work as gallery staff
and trainees in the centre.
“It’s a learning place for tourists, but also a place of inspiration for our
youth to learn from our elders so they can continue our traditions in
years to come,” explains TSRA Chairperson John Toshie Kris.
Visit www.tsra.gov.au
Tiwi artist Raelene Kerinauia, Jilamara Arts and Crafts, Melville Island, NT.
Photo: © Michelle Newton.
Making the most of being remote
Overcoming the challenge of being remote islands where visitors require
permits in some cases to visit, the Tiwi Art Network has found an inventive
way of bringing visitors to their art centres on Melville and Bathurst Islands.
Tiwi Art Network arranges flights out of Darwin on demand, so tourists and
art buyers can visit three Tiwi art centres: Munupi Arts and Crafts, Tiwi Design
and Jilamara Arts and Crafts. Tiwi Art Network board member and artist Brian
Farmer says the flights are a good way to help art buyers and other visitors to
understand more about the Tiwi Islands and their culture.
Visitors are able to meet the artists in their own communities and see them at
work and, as an added bonus, have the unique experience of flying over the
Tiwi Islands and seeing them spread out below. Visit www.tiwiart.com
Euroka Gilbert shows his snake handling skills, ACT. Photo: © ACT Government.
Tidbinbilla stories
Wiradjuri man Euroka Gilbert says he has a great job, leading cultural tours in
the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve with the ACT Government’s Heritage Unit.
“I started at Tidbinbilla as a trainee, where I began consulting with the local
Ngunnawal elders about what I could tell tourists,” says Gilbert. “For instance,
Tidbinbilla is known as a boys’ ceremonial site and is full of stories, some of
which I know, but it’s not my place to share them all.”
Gilbert enjoys working to improve the experience visitors have and sees the
benefits of working in a tourism role for a government department.
“The ACT Government has been very responsive to the wishes of the
community. If there’s a walking trail near a sacred site we organise for the trail
to be moved. It’s usually no problem to make these changes but for the local
community it means a lot and shows respect.”
Visit www.tams.act.gov.au
Hank Horton in the Jahadi Tours gallery, TAS. Photo: Bruce Elliott.
Tourism adds to community income
Hank Horton, along with local elders, set up Jahadi Tours in Deloraine,
Tasmania, to provide funds to run youth programs.
“We stick up a big sign and an Aboriginal flag on the main road and it’s
surprising how many tourists call in to stroll through the gallery and have a
cup of tea. They leave with an understanding that the Aboriginal community
is still strong here in Tasmania,” says Horton, a Troowlwoolwha man.
Horton says it’s important that communities work out how much time
and effort they want to devote to tourism, as earlier Jahadi Tours was over
committed – bringing in coach tours seven days a week for most of the year.
“Make sure your business plan really reflects what you and your community
want to achieve and are prepared to put in, and be clear about what the
expectations of tourists will be,” Horton advises.
Jahadi Tours now operate their gallery and cultural day tours mainly in the
five summer months. Visit www.jahadi.com.au
Trevor Gallagher shares heritage stories, Melbourne, VIC.
Walk in the gardens with Trevor Gallagher
With the permission of the local Boonerwrung and Woiwurrung people,
Trevor Gallagher, a Gunditjmara man, takes visitors and students through
Melbourne’s Royal Botanical Gardens and explains Aboriginal history and
culture and the traditional use of plants.
Gallagher says he particularly gets a buzz from seeing locals, who are familiar
with the area, seeing the gardens in a new light.
“You are not telling them as Australians, as white people, they don’t belong
here. You are letting them know that the culture may not be theirs but the
heritage is and, as Australians, they need to know about it and embrace it
and not be ignorant of it.
“You can hear a pin drop when I am talking.”
Visit www.rbg.vic.gov.au/rbg_melbourne/visitorinfo/whats_on
July – August 2009 |15
 Tamworth is
Kamilaroi country
Tamworth is on the traditional lands of the Kamilaroi people
and is a place where people like to gather.
Many people come to Tamworth with a dream of breaking into
the country music industry but it’s not just a music town.
Tamworth has a rich cultural heritage, with the local Gamilaraay
language undergoing a revival and elders working to protect
cultural sites throughout Kamilaroi lands.

Top main: Johnnie Lovett and Paul Kelly on Tamworth’s Peel Street. Above left to right: Kyiesha Naden and Dekquitah, Connie and Anne-Maree Taylor at the
2009 Indigenous Cultural Showcase in Tamworth. Photo: Joanne Stead, NSW DAA; Troy Cassar-Daley with members of Tamworth’s Gomeroi Dance Company:
Marc Sutherland, Brad Flanders, Barega Knox and Tom Flanders; Tamworth artist Terence Allen with Mona Slater and Yaleelal Lawrence; Gamilaraay language
student and performer Loren Ryan. Photo: Robert Chappel.

16 | Indigenous Newslines
 Yarning How to yarn
Gamilaraay The Gamilaraay language, and its related dialects
which include Yuwaalaraay, cover an area from
Tamworth to around Goondiwindi in southern
Gamilaraay is the language of Tamworth’s Kamilaroi people. Queensland, east to Ashford and Inverell, south to
It is endangered but strong moves are underway to revive it. Quirindi, Murrurundi and the slopes of the Great
Dividing Range, and Coonabarabran, Walgett and
Lightning Ridge in the west.
Forced out of use after European settlement, the Gamilaraay language was pulled
back from the brink of extinction by Kamilaroi elders and linguists in the
Some basic Gamilaraay
early 1990s.
Yaama – Hello
Now dictionaries and other learning resources have been developed and the Dhalaa dhaay nginda yananhi? – Where are you
language is being taught in schools and colleges across northern New South Wales coming from?
and at the University of Sydney. Dhalaagunda yanay – Where are you going to?
The 2001 Census listed no Gamilaraay speakers, but 37 were recorded in the 2006 Bana – Lean meat
Census. People, once again, are speaking and singing in Gamilaraay and elders are Bandaarr – Grey kangaroo
continuing to create new resources to revive the language. Dhuuraay – Flame or light
Buunggal – Native potato
At Tamworth High School, Brian Sampson teaches the Dhalay Guwaali or Tongue Burraalga – Brolga
Talk language program. He started the program last year as a trial and, encouraged Bindiyaa – Bindii
by a positive response from parents and students, he has made it ongoing. Gidjirriga – Budgerigar
“We were that close to losing our language but for the great work of a couple of
elders who are gone now, who recorded the language and put a dictionary together, Old Yuwaalaraay saying
and we’re just starting to get it back.” Gheerlayi ghilayer, Wahl munnoomerhdayer,
Fifteen year old Loren Ryan is one of Sampson’s students. A talented musician, she Wahl mooroonbahgoo, Yelgayerdayer
believes singing in language gives her a greater understanding of her culture and deermuldayer, Gheerlayi ghilayer.
exposes Gamilaraay to new audiences. Translates as: Kind be, do not steal, do not touch what
to another belongs, leave all such alone, kind be.
“I wanted to bring it back because I never really heard anyone speak it fully and
Indigenous Newslines used the Gamilaraay
when I sing in the language it’s really sacred. All the elders love it.
Yuwaalaraay and Yuwaalayaay Dictionary and
“You can’t read it and say it, to learn it you’ve gotta speak it, you’ve gotta yarn it, advice from linguist, Brother John Giacon, for these
that’s the best way.” translations.
For local elder Neville Sampson, it is a matter of pride to hear Tamworth children
speaking Gamilaraay.
“I was asked to train this little five year old girl to talk the language and do a
welcome to country and she surprised me. She did the opening in front of around Support for languages
6,000 people … she just stood in the middle of that stadium and let it roll out.” Along with Indigenous language programs in
The New South Wales Government supports the Tamworth High School Dhalay schools, which are supported by state and territory
Guwaali language program. education departments, there is also a much wider
range of language activity taking place in Indigenous
communities.
Left to right: Tamworth High School’s Gamilaraay language class: Nicole Clarke, local elder The Australian Government’s Maintenance of
Ron Knight, Andrea Taki, Whitney Livermore, Peter Livermore, Darcy Sampson, Loren Ryan and Indigenous Languages and Records (MILR) program
teacher Brian Sampson. Photo: Robert Chappel.
supports the maintenance and revival of Indigenous
languages through community involvement.
The program provides funding to community projects
for the documentation and recording of Indigenous
languages, the development of language resources,
and the delivery of programs through a network of
regional language centres. For more information on
the MILR program visit www.arts.gov.au/indigenous
Visit www.yuwaalaraay.org, www.fatsil.com.au
and www.abc.net.au/rn/hindsight/features/
holdingourtongues for more information on Indigenous
languages.

July – August 2009 |17

The Koori King of Country Music
Tamworth legend Roger Knox has been in the music business for more
than 40 years. Today he is inspiring a new generation of musicians.
Roger Knox, the Koori King of Country Music,
has had an extraordinary life. He grew up
on a mission and went on to become one of
Australia’s leading country musicians and
a respected role model and campaigner for
equality.
Knox has made a huge contribution to
Australian music: he’s been NAIDOC Artist of
the Year, inducted into the Australian Country
Music Foundation’s Hands of Fame and has
received a Jimmy Little Lifetime Achievement
Award.
The years and a plane crash have combined to
slow him down from the frenetic pace of his
early career. Injuries have stopped him playing
guitar but his voice still resonates when singing
his best known song Koori Rose, and while
speaking out on issues affecting Aboriginal
people.
A Kamilaroi man, Knox grew up on the
Toomelah Aboriginal Mission in north western
New South Wales, and he traces his interest in
country music to his early life at the mission.
18 | Indigenous Newslines
“All I knew other than Gospel was Slim Dusty
because all the locals played Slim. One man
would hear a song on the radio and would play
it from memory and we would copy him as
close as we could.”
Knox believes the connection between
Aboriginal people and country music goes very
deep.
“We have embraced country music as an
extension of our own story telling traditions,”
he says.
But ask the Koori King of Country Music
whether he considers himself country though,
and he is hesitant.
“I don’t know if you would define my music
as country. It includes Aboriginal spiritual
elements and talks about the status and
struggles of Aboriginal people and the whole
continent. Some of it is very controversial as I
am singing about land and if we can get some
of that land back. So whether that’s country, I
don’t know.”
In 1983 a plane crash over Lake Eyre changed
Knox’s successful recording and touring career
forever. It happened during an outback tour
when his plane developed engine troubles and
made a forced landing.
A rescue plane picked him and his band up
but it crashed on its way to Oodnadatta, leaving
one band member dead and Knox to spend
three months in hospital with burns to
90 per cent of his body. He spent another two
years convalescing, and says his has been a
lifetime of recovering.
“It was a huge setback on what I was doing
musically and put a dent in my music plans.
I couldn’t play guitar anymore so I gathered my
children around me and helped them form a
band.”
That band is Euraba and Knox and Euraba
have been touring ever since, raising money for
charity and speaking out about issues facing
Aboriginal people. A tour of Australian jails
and detention centres in the late 1980s was
such a success that his band was engaged to
tour Canadian prisons and Native North
American reservations in 1990, and went
on to perform in Nashville and London.
Knox is an inspiration to other musicians,
from established stars to those just starting
out. Internationally renowned country
music star Troy Cassar-Daley, who grew
up in Grafton, credits Knox as one of his
biggest influences.
“Roger came to Grafton when we were kids
and we sat there thinking ‘how do you play
music like that?’ We sang Koori Rose until
we were blue in the face.”
Sheree Currie, a talented nine year old
musician from Mount Berryman in outback
Queensland, lists Knox as her greatest
influence and 15 year old Tamworth
local Loren Ryan, who performs Knox’s
Gamilaraay language songs, says he is her
mentor and inspiration.
“All the kids love him so much and they
have so much respect for him and his
music. Why wouldn’t you follow him?”
Knox takes the adoration in his stride,
acknowledging his own debts to those who
preceded him and praising those who have
followed in his footsteps.
“Aboriginal country artists like Col Hardy
and Jimmy Little were inspirations to me
so I set out to do my best, knowing there
are young kids I could influence. To have
young talent like Sheree perform and to
sing with her is fantastic. It swells me with
Previous page: Tamworth
legend Roger Knox.
Left: Knox playing with
Archie Roach and Shane
Howard at Tamworth’s
2009 Indigenous Cultural
Showcase.
Right: (Clockwise
from left) Roger Knox,
Archie Roach, Vivienne
Knox and Ruby Hunter
at Tamworth’s 2009
Indigenous Cultural
Showcase.
pride and makes me want to ensure that her
talent is encouraged.
“One of my dreams is to develop a studio
here in Tamworth so that Indigenous
musicians can gather and show our musical,
recording and song writing abilities. My
main aim is to help young people realise the
talent they have.”
Knox also wants to see a country music
academy in Tamworth for talented
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
musicians, based on the Country Music
Association of Australia’s College of Country
Music.
“Our own academy could teach black kids
to be comfortable with themselves and their
ability. These kids are born with talent so
let’s find a way to nurture that and record
our own voices.”
Knox believes country music and Tamworth
have special meaning for Aboriginal people
and he wants to see that grow.
“The old people lived with spirit and drew
people together and that’s what country
music does today.
“I encourage Aboriginal people to come to
Tamworth, to show people what they can
do and what’s in their heart.”
Support for
contemporary music
The Australian Government is supporting
Indigenous musicians through its:
> Contemporary Music Touring Program,
which funds the touring related expenses of
musicians (Australian only tours), especially to
rural and remote areas.
Visit www.arts.gov.au/indigenous
> Indigenous Culture Support program, which
supports the maintenance and continued
development of Indigenous cultures in
communities, including music projects.
Visit www.arts.gov.au/indigenous
> Festivals Australia program which provides
funds to assist the presentation of arts and
cultural activities at Australian regional and
community festivals. The program supported
Tamworth’s 2009 Indigenous Cultural
Showcase.
Visit www.arts.gov.au/arts/festivals_australia
> The Indigenous Contemporary Music
Action Plan, developed by the Australian and
New Zealand Cultural Ministers Council.
View the plan at www.cmc.gov.au/working_
groups/contemporary_music_development/
indigenous_contemporary_music_initiatives
> Breakthrough, a pilot initiative, which
supports the action plan. It will this year assist
three emerging Indigenous musicians/groups
to create high quality recordings of their
music.
www.arts.gov.au/indigenous/breakthrough
July – August 2009 |19