North Keppel Island Environmental Education Centre renamed with traditional Woppaburra name

A big step towards reconciliation was recently taken with the North Keppel Island Environmental Education Centre renamed with its traditional Woppaburra name. See the new name here.

It is a place with a past involving the removal and even deaths of people of the Woppaburra tribe, but another step towards reconciliation was taken this week when the North Keppel Island Environmental Education Centre was renamed to its traditional name.

In a moving ceremony on the Island, Education Minister Grace Grace, Assistant Education Minister Brittany Lauga, Woppaburra elders and staff of the EEC, as well as students, officially renamed the educational facility the Konomie Island Environmental Education Centre.

Konomie is the traditional name for North Keppel Island.

The “piece of paradise” has had a difficult past at times.

In 1890 a man called Robert Ross went to the island and moved the Woppaburra people to Great Keppel Island, before then removing them from there also, so he could put sheep on it.

Visitors to Konomie Island (North Keppel) ‘signing in’ by standing the footprints of Woppaburra elders.

Woppaburra people were found dead on the Yeppoon main beach and others were put on a cattle train to communities including Cherbourg, K’Gari (Fraser Island) and Yarrabah.

The lease for the island was taken on by a number of farming families over the years, with one of them making the island a holiday spot.

In the 1980s a midden site was discovered at Maizie Bay, which was estimated to be about 5000 years old - indicating Woppaburra people were living sustainably on the island at times when the Great Pyramids were being constructed in Egypt.

A developer later took over the lease of the island, installing most of the infrastructure that stands on the land today.

Konomie Island Environmental Education Centre was then established in 1996 when it was taken over by the State Government.

Education Minister Grace Grace, Assistant Education Minister Brittany Lauga and the P & C of Konomie Island EEC.

Principal of the Konomie Island Environmental Education Centre Andrew Gill first went to the island as a school student when he was 12 years old.

He’s worked at the educational centre for the past 13 years as a teacher and now principal and has been working closely with Woppaburra elders and other organisations on the business case for the name change.

“In drafting our business case we consulted with a wide range of stakeholders including the Woppaburra Land Trust, Woppaburra Tribal Elders, Woppaburra TUMRA, the Woppaburra Native Title Committee, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, NKIEEC P & C Association, centre staff, the Livingstone Shire Council, the State Government and Federal Government – all have given their overwhelming stamp of approval to this long-awaited change,” he said.

“We have a very close and special relationship with the Woppaburra and it’s great to see the understanding this relationship builds for Queensland students and visitors.

“This centre is such an important facility which is booked out all year round, with a long waiting list – we also host a range of community groups including bird watching, local kayaking clubs, Go Over Fifty Active Recreation groups, Alliance Francois, Capricorn Coast Landcare and Fitzroy Basin Association as well as departmental groups such as the Centre for Learning and Wellbeing and school staff professional developments.”

Woppaburra elder, Warinkil Aunty Glenice Croft said her grandfather was taken off the island in 1902.

Aunty Glenice said the renaming of the island was an important day, and she was joined by other Woppaburra people.

Konomie Island Environmental Education Centre officially renamed by Aunty Glenice, Aunty Julie, Education Minister Grace Grace and Principal Andrew Gill.

“I think it’s very important as elders we bring the young ones with us, we don’t exclude them they’re a part of us and will be taking over when we’re no longer here,” she said.

“(Speaking on behalf of the) Woppaburra Tribal Elders, we welcome the acknowledgment of our Matriarchal Island Home, Konomie’s name, now being used by the Konomie Island Environmental Education Centre.

“(This) is part of a two-way sharing experience of Woppaburra Culture (with) Environmental and Education programs – Ya Nga Yagitgu Weirpu (which translates to mean ‘Big mob to make one’).”

Ms Lauga said the renaming of the EEC was another step in the pathway towards reconciliation.

“In December last year I was proud to stand here with the Woppaburra people as their native title over this island was recognised,” she said.

Konomie Island Environmental Education Centre principal Andrew Gill.

“In the early 1980s a midden site at Maizie Bay on the island was found by archaeologist Mike Rowland and dated to be nearly 5000 years old.

“The connection of the Woppaburra people to the Keppel Island Group is unbroken and enduring.

“Renaming the Konomie Island Environmental Education Centre demonstrates the Palaszczuk Government’s ongoing commitment to recognising the First Nations history of our state on the pathway towards reconciliation.”

The Konomie Island EEC’s catamaran, called the Gundoo Spirit, recently underwent an almost $1 million overhaul thanks to an investment from the state government, to install things such as a new engine, electronics, navigational equipment and better accessibility.

The island relies on its own energy and water sources, with no pipelines for power and water services to the mainland and planning is underway for upgrades to solar panels, batteries, inverters and a gas-fired generator, as well as the integration of the only state-owned wind turbine.

Education Minister Grace Grace said the Konomie Island EEC was one of 26 EEC’s owned by the state government and the only one located on a national park island surrounded by the Great Barrier Reef.