If you ask people to talk about Australian indigenous art, most will think immediately of dot paintings – a style that comes from the deserts of central Australia and is instantly recognisable all over the world as Australian and indigenous. It’s by far the most commercially successful branch of our indigenous arts scene. But it’s not the only style. Indigenous art varies widely in style and choice of medium across the country, but it can be hard for artists to compete with the universally popular dot paintings.
Many visitors are drawn to far north Queensland by indigenous art. We have many indigenous art centres around FNQ, and indigenous art is available in Cairns. For some years our city has put on CIAF – the Cairns Indigenous Arts Fair, bringing many thousands of visitors and many economic benefits to artists and the region. CIAF was held in a scaled down form this year, and it remains to be seen how viable an event it will be in the future with significantly less State Government funding.
Around our region, indigenous arts centres encourage the cultural and spiritual expression which is central to indigenous art. But in many communities, the practice of art is also a valuable source of income, maybe the only viable way for people to remain in their country and make a living. So it’s crucial that their work can gain wider exposure – as it’s a very long journey to some of those arts centres.
The newly formed Indigenous Art Centre Alliance Inc hopes to address these challenges. It represents 13 arts centres in FNQ, Cape York Peninsula & Torres Strait. It’s members met in Cairns this week to consider the way forward. LISTEN to my interview with manager Pam Bigelow & Treasurer Dev Lengjel here
AURUKUN CAMP DOG CARVING
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Back in 2008, the Queensland and Federal Governments, and the Cape York Institute for Policy & Leadership, introduced the Cape York Welfare Reform program in four communities – Aurukun, Coen, Hope Vale and Mossman Gorge.
The idea was to find locally informed ways to address social dysfunction, alcohol abuse and behavioural problems – and the central agency in this program is the Family Responsibilities Commission.
Its job is to support the restoration of socially responsible standards of behaviour and to assist community members to resume and maintain primary responsibility for their well-being. It’s generally agreed the program has made a difference for the better, but it’s unclear how much longer the two governments will fund it.
In Coen, local people want to see the reform program continue, not just because it’s made a difference – they say it has also created new opportunities.
Billy Pratt has a role with the FRC – and as you’ll hear, he has a lot of other roles in Coen as well: with the indigenous cultural centre, the indigenous ranger group, the local school – as well as a full time job with the Shire Council, for which he won a Mayoral Achievement award in 2006.
LISTEN Click on the red arrow to hear Billy Pratt talk about life in Coen and his hopes for the future of his community
Raising kids is no easy thing – they don’t come with an instruction manual – so parents, especially first time parents, need advice, help, support. In the big cities, there’s plenty of that to be found – but in small remote communities, not so much.
Tahnee Creek is a young indigenous woman helping parents in Coen support and care for their young children. She’s passionate about helping families, and about education. Tahnee is the local child and family support services co-ordinator.
LISTEN Click on the red arrow to hear Tahnee talk about her work and the importance of education in remote indigenous communities
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There’s a diversity of views among indigenous communities in Cape York Peninsula on the Australian Government’s recent push for World Heritage listing, and on the prospect of new or expanded mining in the region.
The Federal Government has run a long consultation process to muster indigenous support for a World Heritage listing – but the prospect of an election in the next few months has probably stalled the process, at least for now.
At the same time, both the Federal and Queensland Governments have given the nod to new or expanded mining activity in the region. The long-established bauxite mining around Weipa, on the western Cape, will expand, and several companies are bidding for the right to extract bauxite around the indigenous community of Aurukun, south of Weipa.
And earlier this year, a company linked to Gina Rinehart applied for exploration permits near Laura, in country rich with ancient indigenous rock art. The company withdrew its application a few days later, saying it had not known about the rock art.
At Aurukun, Mayor Derek Walpo welcomes mining as the key to a prosperous future for his community – elsewhere on the Cape, communities are saying no to mining.
LISTEN Click on the red arrow to hear indigenous leaders talk about mining and world heritage on Cape York Peninsula
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We heard Derek Walpo – the mayor of Aurukun Shire Council: David Claudie – chairman Chuulangun Aboriginal Corporation, and Thomas George, a traditional owner from Laura
We did our annual Cape York Peninsula road trip early this year, in June instead of October. It was early in the dry season, the roads were in great shape and we travelled to Lakeland, Laura, Lama Lama National Park, Coen, Wenlock River, Aurukun and Cooktown. All our interviews are up on this blog – and here’s an assortment of pictures from this wonderful part of the world.
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Pictures by ABC Open’s Suzie Cray, ABC Far North legend Phil Staley, Lyndal Scobell from Cape York NRM, and me.
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The ABC Far North team visited Aurukun in June, an indigenous community just south of Weipa on western Cape York Peninsula. The town began life in 1904 as a church mission, and over the years it’s become home to about 1200 people from the five clans that have lived in the area for centuries – the Sara, Winchanam, Apalech, Putch and Wanam. Collectively, they’re known as the Wik and Kugu people.
Aurukun has the oldest established art centre on Cape York Peninsula. The Wik and Kugu Arts Centre has been giving artistic and commercial support to local artists for more than 50 years, and many of those artists have gained national, even international recognition. Artists work in many media – paintings and fibre art particularly, but Aurukun is best known for its sculptures. There’s a long history of works carved in soft timber for ceremonial use. When the ceremony was over, sculptures were discarded and left to break down in the bush. In the past decade, Aurukun artists have begun to seek a commercial market and Aurukun sculptures are highly sought after works of art. They often depict an artist’s plant or animal totem, and the most widely known are the much loved carvings of Aurukun camp dogs.
Dev Lengjel is the new manager of the Arts Centre. He says there’s no shortage of talented artists in Aurukun and on Cape York Peninsula — the challenge for him is to spread the word about the artists and their work.
LISTEN Click on the red arrow to hear Dev show reporter Phil Staley through the Wik and Kugu Arts Centre at Aurukun
You’ll find the town of Yarrabah about an hour’s drive south-east of Cairns – an indigenous community of about 2500 people. It was formed in the 1890s, when Anglican missionary Ernest Gribble encouraged the area’s indigenous people to move to the site of the present-day town.
By the early 1900s, Yarrabah had its own indigenous brass band, beginning a rich tradition of instrumental music in the area that thrived until the early 1970s. The Queensland Music Festival hopes to spark a revival with next month’s Yarrabah Band Festival.
The Festival is on Monday July 22, with performances by the newly-formed Yarrabah community band and indigenous school bands from across Cape York Peninsula. Kids aged six and up have been working and playing music with QMF teams at Cape York Aboriginal Australian Academy campuses in Coen, Hopevale and Aurukun in preparation for the Festival.
I got to hear two of the school bands in action on our recent Cape York road trip. At Coen, we found the kids rehearsing through their lunch break, and at Aurukun, we were there when the band played for the whole school for the first time. It was a great day for the Aurukun school community.
LISTEN Click on the red arrow to hear the Aurukun band’s first concert performance and meet their musical mentors
We heard Queensland Music Festival project coordinator Emma Kurik and Australian jazz legend John Morrison with reporter Phil Staley. The Yarrabah Band Festival begins at 4.30pm Monday 22 July at Bishop Malcolm Park Yarrabah – it’s a free event. http://www.qmf.org.au/public/public/?id=300
As part of the celebrations, visiting musicians Darren Percival (The Voice), Thelma Plum (Deadly Award Winner) and the Morrison Brothers will take to the stage before an all-in, massed-band finale.
Our radio station, ABC Far North, covers a huge area of Queensland. Our listening area is just a bit bigger than the state of Victoria. In many areas, we’re the only local station, and there are still places where you can’t hear us, or anything else. But many of the remote indigenous communities around far north Queensland have their own radio stations. We visited one last week – at Aurukun, on western Cape York Peninsula.
Aurukun is about 800 kilometres north-west of Cairns, one of Australia’s most remote communities. It’s home to about 1200 people, most of whom belong to one of five spiritual clan groups: Apalech, Winchanam, Wanam, Chara and Puutch. The local language is Wik Mungkan.
In the centre of town, you’ll find the Indigenous Knowledge Centre – a library, internet hub and radio station. That station has been back on air for a few months now, broadcasting on 107.7FM. The station is part of the Black Star Network http://qram.com.au/2013/03/23/aurukun-joins-black-star/
Centre co-ordinator Monica Haynes and her team make local programs in English and Wik Mungkan. And Monica is learning some Wik Mungkan from Jacinta Karyuka – Jacinta’s been doing work experience at the station, and she’s convinced radio is the career for her.
LISTEN Click on the red arrow to tune in to 107.7 FM Aurukun and meet Monica & Jacinta.
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FNQ bushfire – our fire season comes toward the end of the dry season
Our friends down south are often surprised to learn we have a bushfire season here in far north Queensland. It happens earlier than the southern Australian fire season, which is usually at the height of summer. That’s when our wet season is in full swing, so fire isn’t much of a problem then. But the wet helps a huge amount of vegetation to flourish, and when the wet ends, we get six months of mostly dry weather. By September or October, it’s tinder dry and is easily ignited – sometimes by lightning strike, or human activity. Major wild fires ensue – in more remote areas they can burn for weeks.
Burnt out country Etheridge Shire FNQ – fires late in 2012 caused major damage – pic by Charlie McKillop
The 2012 fire season was a shocker in the Gulf country, the area stretching inland from south-east and southern shores of the Gulf of Carpentaria. About 20 pastoral stations and millions of hectares were burnt in out of control fires. Cattle properties lost stock and pasture, and regrowth without good rain will be less than required. This has re-ignited discussion about how we manage fire, reduce fire risk, and how & when we conduct hazard reduction burns.
Indigenous people in FNQ have long used fire as an environmental management tool, and there’s growing support for fire management strategies which draw on that traditional knowledge of country. A central part of that knowledge and practice is the ability to “read country” – to see the signs that indicate the right time to conduct hazard reduction burns. Cape York indigenous people generally advocate burning earlier, when the burn can be cooler – addressing the problem without causing undue damage.
A group of people from Cape York Peninsula is heading south tomorrow to share their knowledge with emergency responders and indigenous people in Victoria. This is part of a broader project to record and preserve indigenous knowledge that began in Cape York in 2004. It’s led to a national exchange of indigenous fire management knowledge – you can watch a video about the project here http://vimeo.com/60707802
LISTEN Click on the red arrow to hear program manager Peta-Marie Standley & Joel Ngallametta, Sharon Ngallametta and Dawn Koondumbin talk about their trip to Victoria, and the importance of fire management as a land conservation and environmental protection measure. Joel begins by talking about how the country round Aurukun is now – at the end of the wet season
LEFT TO RIGHT DAWN, SHARON, PETA AND JOEL ON AIR AT ABC FAR NORTH
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AURUKUN MAYOR DEREK WALPO AND LINDA SIVYER WITH THE MEMORIAL PLAQUE
Anzac Day services and commemorations will be held across far north Queensland tomorrow. Regular Anzac services have been held at Aurukun, on western Cape York Peninsula, for some time now – but this year they’re unveiling a memorial to indigenous men from the community who served in Australia’s defence during World War Two.
On September 13 1943, eleven men from the remote inidgenous community enlisted and joined the Torres Strait Light Infantry. An Australian Water Transport Group vessel had visited Aurukun, Weipa and Mapoon, specifically to recruit Aboriginal men. Many of those men had worked in the pearling lugger fleets that plied Torres Strait in those days. The military placed a high value on their knowledge of the remote Cape country & the challenging seas around Cape York.
Exact details of their military service are not known, but the Torres Strait Light Infantry Battalion played a vital role in protecting the maritime borders of far north Queensland and supporting the effort against Japanese forces in Papua New Guinea. It’s not well known that after Darwin, Horn Island, in the Torres Strait, was the second most attacked piece of Australian territory during WW2. In all, 870 men from Cape York & Torres Strait served with the Light Infantry.
The plaque lists the 11 men from Aurukun who joined up. They were:
Johnny Bandicootcha
Charlie Bob Ngakyunkwokka
Billy Buttons Woolla
Callum Woolla
Billy Comprabar
Johnnie Lac Lac Ampeybegan
Charlie Warnkoola
Billy Panjee Peinkyekka
Sandy Pootchemunka
Tommy Toikalkin
Frank Wolmby
The threat posed by Japanese forces to northern Australia back then was very real. The Royal Australian Air Force established a radar station at Wutan, at the Archer River mouth, in 1943. There were many stories told about a Japanese submarine attempting to get into the Archer River from the Gulf of Carpentaria. The western Cape then, as now, is sparsely populated, and military historians say Japan had considered the area as a place to get into Australia.
LISTEN Click on the red arrow to hear Linda Sivyer talk about the military service of the Aurukun men during World War 2.
Linda Sivyer works at Aurukun Shire Council and co-ordinates the Anzac Day ceremony at Aurukun. She’s lived there for 20 years and has extensively researched the history of the region.
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Anzac Day 2013 at Aurukun – photos by Melanie Shaddock – teacher at Cape York Aboriginal Australian Academy – Aurukun Campus
The first Europeans known to have walked on Australian soil were Dutch sailors. In 1605, they steered the Duyfken into the Gulf of Carpentaria and landed at Cape Keerweer on western Cape York, south of Aurukun. Their plans to build a city there did not eventuate, and the area is still much as it was all those years ago.
In 1904, the Presbyterian church established the Archer River Mission station on the western Cape, and over the next few decades, Aboriginal people were moved to the mission from a very large area of surrounding country. The mission is long gone, but the town of Aurukun remains on the site of the original mission. It’s home to about 1900 people, from five indigenous clan groups. Aurukun shire includes much of the traditional country of the Wik, Wik Way and Kugu people. The Shire was created in 1978, with the Aurukun Shire Council granted a 50-year land lease. It is stunning country, about 100 kilometres south of Weipa and about the same distance from the main Cape York Peninsula road.
Mid-way through last year, Derek Walpo became mayor of Aurukun Shire. Mr Walpo had been a health worker in the community before entering local government. He knows it will take hard work and a long-term view to put Aurukun on the road to a brighter future. There have been law and order problems in recent times, and Mr Walpo’s support for a continued ban on alcohol in the community won’t please all his constituents. Mayor Walpo believes it’s the right decision, and says people who smuggle alcohol into Aurukun face heavy penalties. He says training and job creation is crucial – real training that leads to real jobs for indigenous people. Mr Walpo is hopeful moves to develop bauxite mining will create jobs. Bauxite mining rights in the area were first granted in 1975 but have never been exercised. The Queensland Government and Aurukun Shire Council hope mining rights will be awarded by the end of this year.
AUDIO Click on the red arrow to listen to my interview with Mayor Derek Walpo.
The Mojowire 