Indigenous Elder Rex McGrady speaks out against Native Title land grab

An Indigenous Elder has raised major concerns over a controversial freehold transfer of land in a tiny Queensland town to the local Aboriginal corporation.

The proposed area to be transferred to the Bigambul Native Title Group as of January 24, 2024.

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An Indigenous Elder from one of the fifteen Queensland towns where Aboriginal corporations want state land to be handed over to them has slammed the proposed transfer, claiming it to be “a waste of time and money”.

Rex McGrady, an Gamilaroi Elder, raised concerns about the Bigambul Native Title Aboriginal Corporation taking over land at Toobeah, a rural town of 149 people in the Goondiwindi Region.

Mr McGrady said he opposed the transfer as it was a “waste of time and money”.

“I do not believe further division through policies such as this will have a positive benefit on my people and the Toobeah Community especially,” Mr McGrady said.

“I stand with (the) Toobeah community and the Gamilaroi people in opposing this transfer and the waste of time and money that could have been directed at achieving positive outcomes for my people.

“The recent spate of crime in Goondiwindi highlights the need for money and our voice being redirected to helping break the cycle and give our people back purpose, incentive and direction which has been lost.”

Michael Offerdahl and Indigenous Elder Rex McGrady have spoken out against Native Title land grab.

Mr McGrady said he grew up in Toomelah without power and his family ate most of their meals around a campfire listening to his parent’s stories of their culture, tribe and the stars.

“I and other Elders from the Gamilaroi Nation, (one of the four largest Indigenous nations in Australia), have been excluded and not allowed to tell our stories about connection to this country,” Mr McGrady said.

Mr McGrady said the area was the birthplace and home of his mother who was born at the creek behind the pub.

“She met my father at the Toomelah mission, they married in 1954 and had 12 kids,” Mr McGrady said.

“I and other Elders from the Gamilaroi Nation have been excluded and not allowed to tell our stories about connection to this country.

“Apical ancestors listed on the Bigambul claim are also identified as Gamilaroi with many of their descendants living in Toomelah, Boggabilla and Goondiwindi.

“They all worked at Welltown, Winton and other stations from the 1800s before being moved to Euraba, Old Toomelah and Toomelah Missions in the 1900s - they have never forgotten where they were born and come from and tell stories of these old times.

“The Bigambul Claim deliberately ignored the voices of Gamilaroi Elders and their interests when they applied for Native Title and now are doing the same thing with Toobeah.”

In a Courier-Mail poll, where more than 16,000 readers had their say to whether more land should be given back to traditional owners, an overwhelming 96 per cent voted for the land to not be given back and that it should be shared between everyone.

Three per cent of participants said giving back the land would be the right thing to do, while one per cent said they weren’t sure.

Toobeah is a rural town of 149 people in the Goondiwindi Region.

The people of Toobeah said they would not take part in negotiations on the future of their town and that Queensland needed to “wake up”.

“Wake up Queensland, there are 15 towns that have already been targeted and this despotism will continue to spread rapidly if we do not stand up and fight for equality,” a joint statement said.

“We are all Australians and we should not be divided by race, let’s move forward together with a practical and real solution.”

President of the Toobeah Progress Group Inc. Michael Offerdahl said if the land was handed over the township would be left with 33 titles of land and one public toilet.

“Everyone has happily been using this reserve together for more than 100 years,” Mr Offerdahl said.

The Toobeah community said Aboriginal Freehold only gives economic gain to an Aboriginal Corporation that represents a mere 20 per cent of the Aboriginal people.

“The Aboriginal population do not directly benefit as the land remains in the name of the Corporation,” they said.

Mr McGrady said the stories of ancestors needed to be told and heard.

“I call on the Goondiwindi Regional Council and Queensland Government to hold a public forum.

“The Toobeah Reserve and the actions around the handover of land to the Bigambul needs to include Gamilaroi people as they have a big interest in Toobeah and the Gamilaroi should be speaking on behalf of country,” he said.

The proposed area to be transferred to the Bigambul Native Title Group as of January 24, 2024.

Bigambul Native Title Aboriginal Corporation executive director Justin Saunders said the Toobeah Reserve, which has significant cultural heritage value to the nation, comprises of less than 1 per cent of the total Toobeah district.

“BNTAC put forward an expression of interest to the Queensland Government as Native Title holders for Lot 1 of the Toobeah Reserve to be transferred to them under the Aboriginal Land Act 1991, to date the land transfer process has followed all requirements of the Act,” he said.

“Lot 1 of the Toobeah Reserve, is not part of the township and in fact only comprises 210ha, or 0.18 per cent, of the total 1,125km2 Toobeah district.”

Mr Saunders said Toobeah Reserve holds cultural significance for the Bigambul people as it was a connection place to songlines, land and waters, ceremony and marriage.

“This is a place of genuine cultural significance for our people with our Elders having lived on the reserve as children up until the late 1960s, it is a place where they practised traditional ecological knowledge and lived in connection with country,” Mr Saunders said.

“With good intent, an expression of interest process for a community reference group to come together and work up a master plan for Toobeah Reserve is underway.

“The site could be used as an eco-cultural tourism attraction for the town and region, the Bigambul people remain committed to working together with the community … to develop and improve the site for the benefit of all.”