‘Welcome to Gadigal land’: Apple’s bold overhaul of Aussie maps

Tech giant Apple will formally recognise the Indigenous lands of Australia and New Zealand in a groundbreaking revamp of its ubiquitous Maps product. And it’s not optional.

Apple Maps is undergoing a big revamp to feature Indigenous names and people groups across Australia.

Apple has formally recognised the Indigenous lands of Australia and New Zealand in a groundbreaking revamp of its ubiquitous Maps product.

Apple Maps now display the names of traditional owners, as well as reserves and protected areas, Indigenous place names, traditional country and more than 250 dual-language labels.

The changes, which controversially are not optional, and cannot be switched on or off, will even expand to applications like weather and flight information where dual names for Sydney (Warrane), Brisbane (Meeanjin), Melbourne (Narrm) and Perth (Boorloo) can be searched and displayed.

The new features, years in the making, will include place cards, which have been developed by local First Nations people to provide information about their culture, history and areas of interest.

Local people groups, including schoolchildren taking photos with iPads, have been enlisted to tell their stories with oversight from elders, deciding what places will be shown, and what will be kept secret, including sacred sites.

Apple introduced a similar mapping system in the US and Canada a couple of years ago and the company has made it clear that it won’t replace existing Australian names, and the update is simply an addition to what is already available.

Apple Maps will show Indigenous lands and traditional owners across Australia and in New Zealand.

Given the complexity of dealing with so many groups, the maps do not show borders of people groups, but rather general areas, without obscuring other information.

Local groups can populate their own data set but will have to go through the Apple process.

Indigenous groups hope the Apple Map changes will promote better recognition of their history as well as place names like K’gari (Fraser Island) and Uluru (formerly Ayers Rock).

But the changes are likely to stir controversy in some quarters with some refusing to call K’gari by its Indigenous name.

Apple Maps will show protected Indigenous areas in Australia.

Apple has already enlisted the backing of some high profile Queenslanders’ in the Apple Maps initiative.

Country music legend Troy Cassar-Daley, who this week won Queensland Music Awards’ first publicly-voted Album of the Year, includes his favourite fishing spots in a place card.

Groups like Midnight Oil, which have songs calling for recognition of First Nations people, native title rights and compensation, are also expected to be delighted with the move.

The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies has a map showing Indigenous groups across Australia.

In Australia, there are almost one million First Nations people, broken up into more than 300 groups that have their own distinct languages, histories and cultural traditions.

While most live in cities and regional areas (85 per cent in 2021), about 1 in 6 live in remote areas.

Apple, as part of a partnership going back years, has been working with some of the most remote communities in Australia to help support education and opportunities for young people to tell their own stories, learn coding and even create their own apps.

Apple Maps will show the Indigenous names of more places like K'gari (formerly Fraser Island).

“We’ve had teams in Australia and New Zealand for over 40 years, and we’re thrilled to deepen our relationships here and bring new opportunities to communities across both countries,” said Alisha Johnson Wilder, Apple’s senior director of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives.

“These efforts put community first by representing Indigenous land, expanding access to education, and protecting our shared environment.”

We can expect to see more dual place names in Apple Maps.

As part of its Maps initiative, Apple has gathered information from Indigenous advisers, cartographers, traditional owners, language holders, and community members to develop what it says is the most comprehensive map of Indigenous land holdings offered by a private company.

But it says the new features are just the beginning with local Indigenous groups being encouraged to share their own photos, destinations on their land and text in their own language as a way of showcasing Australia’s rich history.

Apple Maps will allow local Indigenous groups to tell their stories via place cards.

In New Zealand, Apple says it has worked closely with Indigenous cartographers and several iwi (Māori tribes) to develop detailed place cards and map icons, including one for marae — a significant meeting place and cultural centre for Māori.

“For Tūhourangi, this partnership with Apple Maps is more than just a technological collaboration — it reflects our role as kaitiaki (caretakers), ensuring the protection and accurate representation of our cultural heritage,” said Annie Balle from Tūhourangi iwi.

Since 2022, Apple has supported KKT’s Indigenous women’s ranger programs, which provide employment and leadership opportunities in remote communities.

“By bringing our stories to a global audience, we can uphold our narratives, safeguard our data sovereignty, and demonstrate how Indigenous knowledge and technology can work together to promote cultural understanding and sustainability.”

In Australia, language data published by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) has been combined with information from local language holders, language centres, Aboriginal Land Trusts, and ranger groups to inform the updates in Apple Maps.

“Sharing our story and deep connection to the land is a meaningful moment for our community — a testament to our resilience, history, and vision for the future,” said Rodriguez Pindiying, a community member from Mamadawerre.

Apple is helping local students in remote communities like Mamadawerre in the West Arnhem region of the Northern Territory.

“This isn’t just about geography; it’s about preserving our culture and ensuring Mamadawerre’s legacy for generations.

“Through Apple, we have the rare privilege of sharing our heritage on a global stage, reminding the world that no matter how distant we may seem, our connection to the land, to each other, and to the world is universal.”

Apple says through MapKit, Apple Maps underpins many other parts of the Apple experience, so Indigenous lands will now show up in apps like Weather and Find My, as well as in third-party apps that use MapKit, including those used by airlines like Qantas.

Even your local weather app will be able to showcase Indigenous names as part of the Apple Maps revamp.

For example, those using an airline app might be able to see they are flying over Gadigal Land when flying into Sydney or Gubbi Gubbi country when travelling through the Sunshine Coast, Moreton Bay, Noosa, Gympie and Maryborough.

APPLE FIRST NATIONS PARTNERSHIPS IN AUSTRALIA

In Australia, Apple says it is deepening its work with the Karrkad Kanjdji Trust (KKT), established by traditional owners of the Warddeken and Djelk Indigenous Protected Areas across West and Central Arnhem Land.

Since 2022, Apple has supported KKT’s Indigenous women’s ranger programs, which provide employment and leadership opportunities in remote communities.

These programs foster the transfer of essential knowledge between generations of women, blending traditional and cultural practices with cutting-edge science, strengthening environmental regeneration efforts, and helping combat climate change.

Apple’s expanded support for KKT will help bolster current and upcoming community-owned education initiatives, including three new Homeland schools.

“At Karrkad Kanjdji Trust, we know that caring for Country is a deeply interconnected practice — one that brings together people, culture, knowledge, and landscapes,” said Stacey Irving, KKT’s CEO.

Local children are being encouraged to share images of their areas via Apple Maps.

“This work is powerful because it weaves together First Nations leadership, traditional knowledge, science, technology, and community, creating a holistic approach to sustaining both people and place.

“It’s a privilege to work with organisations like Apple, who understand that real, lasting impact comes from embracing this multifaceted approach.”

Apple is working with Elder in Residence Dr Lois Peeler AM to use iPad to deepen the students’ creativity as they preserve the school’s story and heritage.

Grants from Apple also support the Worawa Aboriginal College, a boarding school in Victoria for young Aboriginal women who come from communities in urban, regional, and remote Australia.

Apple is working with Elder in Residence Dr Lois Peeler AM and artist Dr Baden Pailthorpe to use iPad to deepen the students’ creativity as they preserve the school’s story and heritage.

Apple is providing iPads to students to help them tell their stories and even learn coding to develop their own apps.

In NSW, The Djamu Youth Justice Program, an initiative from the Art Gallery of New South Wales, supports Indigenous young people by creating meaningful connections to art and culture, including opportunities to learn about vocational pathways in the arts.

ID. Know Yourself (IDKY), supports Aboriginal children and families impacted by the out-of-home care, child protection, and justice system within Gadigal Country, Sydney, Australia.

Apple also supports Common Ground, an organisation that’s using iPad to advance the storytelling capability of First Nations people.

“At Karrkad Kanjdji Trust, we know that caring for Country is a deeply interconnected practice – one that brings together people, culture, knowledge, and landscapes,” said Stacey Irving, KKT’s CEO. Photo: supplied by Apple

One of its best success stories has involved teaming up with Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) to introduce iOS app development coding curriculum in 2017.

Apple has collaborated with local educators and universities to expand opportunities for students to pursue careers in the thriving iOS app economy.

In 2022, Apple introduced the Apple Foundation Program at RMIT and University of Technology Sydney, a four-week intensive course focused on the fundamentals of app development with Swift that’s available to students with no prior coding experience.

Apple says participants have gone on to create apps that are available on the App Store, pursue careers in app development, and deepen their coding expertise at Apple’s Developer Academy in Bali, Indonesia.

Through a new partnership with Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Perth, Apple is introducing a third Apple Foundation Program, housed in the university’s new City Campus and due to open early in 2026. Over 100 students are expected to go through the program in its first year, building on the university’s pledge to develop creative and critical thinking skills.

Originally published as ‘Welcome to Gadigal land’: Apple’s bold overhaul of Aussie maps