NAIDOC Week: Looking back on the biggest stories from the Butchulla community this year

In honour of NAIDOC Week, we have looked back at some of the biggest moments of 2021 for the Butchulla community

The pilot program started with a full traditional ceremony for entering the land by Dustin Curry, a local Butchulla (Badtjala) man.

Every year brings fascinating stories from the Butchulla community.

In honour of NAIDOC Week, we have looked back at some of the biggest moments of 2021

From the new cultural centre on Fraser Island to the monument set to honour Butchulla lives lost at settlement, here are some of the biggest stories of the year so far.

Rites of Passage: Project turning Butchulla boys into men

Butchulla Men’s Business will host its fourth Babbinyuwi Wanda camp for boys and at its Raven Hill property on the Sandy Strait next month.

COVID-19 restrictions stopped the organisation from having two camps last year but two 2021 dates are locked in.

“Potentially, we will have 15 boys and fathers participating,” organiser Glen Miller said.

New interpretative centre to open on Fraser Island

Fraser Island‘s new interpretative centre is set to open its doors next week.

The K‘gari World Heritage Discovery Centre, located at Kingfisher Bay Resort, is a joint initiative of USC and SeaLink Fraser Island in partnership with the Butchulla Aboriginal Corporation, and is supported by Fraser Coast Regional Council.

The centre is aimed at helping to increase the understanding, appreciation and conservation of the world‘s largest sand island.

New Butchulla-inspired mural to be unveiled in Maryborough

A Butchulla-inspired mural that encourages all cultures to guard and protect the nation is set to be unveiled in Maryborough this week.

Designed by Butchulla elder Barbara Trevaskis and painted by Aunty Karen Hall, the Guardians of the Land mural will be blessed and opened during NAIDOC week, Elizabeth Lowrie, co-founder of the Maryborough Mural project, said.

“The mural’s theme, which encourages all cultures of our nation to protect and guard our land, is very fitting for this year’s NAIDOC week theme – Heal Country, Heal our Nation – which encourages all of us to protect our lands, our waters, our sacred sites and our cultural heritage from exploitation, desecration and destruction,” she said.

Coast suburbs with Butchulla titles: What they mean

Many of the Fraser Coast’s suburbs still have names, derived from the Butchulla, or Badtjala, language.

Traditional boundaries of the Butchulla people lie in the Great Sandy region.

Most references currently define the land and water ranging across Fraser Island and the adjacent mainland, around Double Island Point to the mouth of the Burrum River, reaching Bauple Mountain.

Butchulla Aboriginal Corporation welcomes report into Fraser Island fires

The Fraser Coast’s Butchulla Aboriginal Corporation (BAC) has welcomed the IGEM Fraser Island review report

Fraser Island, also known by the indigenous Australian name K’gari, had 87 000 hectares of land burnt by the bushfires which ravaged the Island at the end of 2020.

BAC General Manager Veronica Bird made a lengthy submission to the Review Team and was happy some BAC recommendations were incorporated into the final report.

Meet the Maryborough woman on mission to improve indigenous health

Sharlea Nicholson is walking from the grounds of the Fraser Coast campus of the University of Sunshine Coast (USC), and into the beginning of her career.

Graduating with a Bachelor of Nursing Science, the Maryborough mum is keen to start her graduate position with Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service (WBHHS).

Her mind is filled with goals, but one goal is greater than most.

A Mununjali nation member, she shares a connection with the Butchulla and Gubbi Gubbi people through her partner and children and the 33-year-old is set to look into project opportunities in indigenous health.

Originally published as NAIDOC Week: Looking back on the biggest stories from the Butchulla community this year