Not Welcome: Land Council tells Neil Evers to stop conducting Indigenous ceremonies

Sydney’s largest Aboriginal Land Council has demanded a northern beaches resident cease conducting ‘Welcome to Country’ ceremonies, claiming he has not proved his Indigenous heritage.

Sydney’s largest Aboriginal Land Council is demanding a northern beaches resident cease conducting Welcome to Country ceremonies, claiming he has failed to prove his Indigenous ancestry.

Neil Evers addressed a “Meet the Candidates” public forum at Narrabeen on Monday night, ahead of the upcoming local council elections.

Mr Evers, who describes himself as a “fifth-generation Aboriginal”, told the crowd he was a “Guringai man from the Warandigi Garigal Clan”.

He has provided regular Welcome to Country ceremonies on the northern beaches over the past decade, including at the Manly Sea Eagles’ Indigenous Round match at Four Pines Park in May.

In a previous interview, Mr Evers insisted his grandmother “was definitely Aboriginal”. “We all just thought she had a good sun tan” he said.

Neil Evers conducts the Welcome to Country at a “Meet the Candidates” forum on Monday. night

However, the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council (MLALC) claims that Mr Evers has been unable to prove his Indigenous bloodlines.

“Mr Evers has no authority to conduct a Welcome to Country.” said Nathan Moran, CEO of the MLALC.

“In his introduction on Monday night at the council forum we believe he acknowledged the wrong Aboriginal people and used cultural names that aren’t actually from the northern beaches. From the moment he opened his mouth … our word for bull s*** is goona. Absolute goona.”

When approached for comment, Mr Evers said he had learnt about his Indigenous heritage in his late 60s, after “reading a history book about Bob Waterer and King Bungaree”.

“I am regularly asked to do the Welcome to Country at local events. Sometimes I’m paid. Sometimes I volunteer.”

He said he had “received a certificate roughly 10 years ago from the Guringai Tribal Aboriginal Corporation” proving his heritage.

“That is all the proof I need,” he told The Daily Telegraph.

Neil Evers conducting the Welcome to Country at the NRL’s Indigenous Round earlier this year. Picture: Supplied

Mr Moran fired back: “Indigenous certificates from private companies are not real.”

“We are the legislated body to represent all Aboriginal people … including the northern beaches … under the Land Rights Act.”

Mr Evers applied for membership of the MLALC in 2011, but was formally rejected.

“Our members were not prepared to accept that Mr Evers had satisfied the test to verify claims he was Aboriginal.” Mr Moran said.

A spokesperson for the Guringai Tribal Aboriginal Corporation confirmed they had provided Mr Evers with a certificate some years ago.

“Neil Evers has been a member of our Corporation for many many years and has sat as a director. He’s a very respected member of our mob. We were most definitely satisfied with his Aboriginality” the Corporation said.

Nathan Moran, CEO of the Metropolitan Aboriginal Land Council, claims Neil Evers has not verified his Aboriginal heritage. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

“Self-identifying” as Indigenous has been a contentious and controversial issue among First Nations people.

A Commonwealth government-defined “three-part test” applies for proof of Aboriginality, which involves someone a) being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent; b) identifying as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander; and c) is accepted as such by the community in which they live.

However, the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) said the three-part test generally only applies “for the purpose of determining eligibility … for (government) programs and services.”

The NIAA conceded they had no data on whether people were falsely identifying as Aboriginal.

Mr Moran insisted: “there are laws for Aboriginality and how you identify as Aboriginal. In NSW we have the Aboriginal Land Rights Act. At the Commonwealth you have the Native Title Act. They both use a three-part definition … which is about verifying and is meant to avoid the self-identity issue.”

According to the 2021 Census, there are now 812,000 Indigenous Australians, an increase of 25% from the previous survey.

Uncle Laurie Bimson, a relative of Mr Evers, told this masthead there was no doubt Mr Evers was of the family’s bloodline.

“Neil found out about his Aboriginality about 20 years ago. In my eyes I’d say he was Aboriginal, I suppose.

“He’s into his culture. He does a lot for Aboriginal people. We haven’t gone down this line to get things for free.”

“We have a bit of paper from the Guringai Tribal Aboriginal Corporation which says we are Indigenous.”

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