Nguy Jagunah Yugambeh

07/06/2024

All across the world you'll find ancient archeological battle sites with thousands of violently murdered victims, yet no such sites have ever been found in Australia. 👣

02/06/2024

What a privilege to speak with Yugambeh Elder and Traditional Custodian Uncle Ted Williams on national television this morning about “Sing on the Dugulumba Balun” for National Reconciliation Week.

Catch up on the full interview here: https://youtu.be/meLAaRYtzjg?si=fCBE_LiwglzjtnXn

Watch the "Sing on the Dugulumba Balun - Blackfella/Whitefella" music video here: https://youtu.be/33oX4fqu-hQ?si=_K0JxuAeet7o0OtS







Reconciliation Australia

29/05/2024

Sacred scar trees being destroyed on Yugambeh country!

Breaking News - Yugambeh Heritage Destroyed near Beaudesert:

The Danggan Balun Native Title Group, who represent the interests of the Yugambeh people have released a media statement alleging Aboriginal Cultural Heritage destruction is occurring at Bromelton Quarry in Queensland!

One previously identified scar tree was found dead in suspicious circumstances, raising concerns about deliberate harm to these heritage sites. Despite satellite imagery showing bulldozer tracks leading directly to a knocked over culturally modified tree, the State refused to undertake a proper investigation.

Despite the commissioned reports confirming the presence of significant cultural Aboriginal heritage sites within the proposed extension area of Bromelton Quarry, preparations led by Groundwork Plus indicate that quarry operations will proceed.

“We are calling for immediate action to prevent irreversible damage” Mr Davies said, confirming quarry contractors Barro Group, Groundwork and other contractors seeking to undertake work on the project area have been put on notice by Queensland South Native Title Services (QSNTS).

Read their full statement here: https://fiverivers.net.au/notices/2024/5/29/aboriginal-cultural-heritage-destruction-at-bromelton-quarry-queensland

Use the following form to send the below letter directly to Bromelton Quarry: https://www.yugam.be/bromelton-quarry-campaign

Dear Sir/Madam,

Re: Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Destruction at Bromelton Quarry, Queensland

I am writing to you as a concerned ally of Aboriginal people, particularly the Danggan Balun and Mununjali People, in response to the ongoing threat to Aboriginal cultural heritage at Bromelton Quarry.

Recent reports and assessments have highlighted the significant cultural landscape at Bromelton Quarry, which includes culturally modified trees, artefact sites, and other significant Aboriginal cultural heritage. The presence of these sites is well-documented and forms an integral part of the cultural legacy of the Danggan Balun and Mununjali People.

It has come to my attention that the Danggan Balun Aboriginal Corporation, along with heritage consultants Converge Heritage and Everick Heritage, have been diligently working to protect these sites. Despite their efforts, there are serious concerns regarding the protection and preservation of these cultural assets.

The recent inspections in October 2021 and August 2023 have identified several Aboriginal cultural heritage sites within the project area. Shockingly, during the August 2023 inspection, a culturally modified tree was found dead under suspicious circumstances, indicating potential deliberate harm to these sites.

Furthermore, the proposed quarry extension plans pose an imminent threat to even more culturally significant areas. The disregard shown by Bromelton Quarry Pty Ltd towards its cultural heritage duty of care obligations is alarming. The failure of the State to support the Danggan Balun People in protecting their cultural heritage is deeply concerning and unacceptable.

As an ally and supporter of Aboriginal cultural heritage preservation, I urge Bromelton Quarry Pty Ltd to take immediate action to halt any further destruction of these irreplaceable sites. It is imperative that a thorough investigation is conducted into the suspicious incidents reported, and appropriate measures are implemented to ensure the protection of Aboriginal cultural heritage.

In addition, I urge you to work closely with the Danggan Balun Aboriginal Corporation and other relevant stakeholders to establish a robust Cultural Heritage Management Plan (CHMP) that complies with legislative requirements and ensures the preservation of Aboriginal cultural heritage.

The significance of these sites cannot be understated, and it is our collective responsibility to ensure they are preserved for future generations. I stand in solidarity with the Danggan Balun and Mununjali People in their efforts to protect their cultural heritage.

Yours sincerely,
[Your Name]

26/05/2024

Even neighbouring Nation's elders calling it out for a long time now

It has been over a quarter of a century now since erroneous claims about Wollumbin began and Australia has done nothing but ignore us. 👣🦻

Sorry means you don't do it again. 👀👍🏽

26/05/2024

NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service has a lot to answer for!

Did you know that Penny Sharpe MLC sat in an interview with Ben Fordham promising to make the process regarding the Wollumbin consultation open and transparent, but continues to direct all Yugambeh people to their self-appointed WCG?

25/05/2024

Registered Aboriginal charity provided much-needed programs 🥹🙏🏾
Donate today!

We are excited to announce the launch of the Danggan Balun Community Benefit Fund, a dedicated initiative aimed at uplifting and supporting our community through crucial services. This fund is designed to provide essential funeral payments, educational support for our youth, and the reinvigoration o...

19/05/2024

History 🤓

Do you know the history of the South Sea Islander community in Australia? 🧐

We put this together to illustrate the unique and resilient history of the Islander community within our Yugambeh country 👣❤👑

04/05/2024

In understanding Australia's Indigenous heritage, it's crucial to delve into concepts like Traditional Owners, Historical Peoples, and the enduring legacy of the Stolen Generations.

03/05/2024

👏🏽💪🏿

Together though, Yugambeh people have worked for decades to collaboratively create maps, see the history here

28/04/2024

Important places

Did you know there was an Aboriginal camp at Southport?

Here is a photo of Southport at Jubilee bridge, 1934.

In the background you can see the islets that eventually became the McIntosh Island and Paradise Waters, and on the mainland, the area of Brighton Parade/James Overell Park. 🏘

This was the home of a large number of Yugambeh people and had been a camping space for our people for decades and was the birthplace of many family members - all the way back before European colonisation.

A large number of families were removed from here to Deebing Creek Mission sometime in the early 1890s, with many families moving to Tweed or Beaudesert to escape the removals. Fortunately, some were able to stay and Brighton Parade was a stable living space for generations - the last Yugambeh family only moving out recently! 🤯

A local centre point for Yugambeh families along with other spaces at Beaudesert, Hillview, South Tweed, Murwillumbah, Fingal, and Billinudgel, Southport has always been an integral part of our history. 🏞

It's amazing to think that right when this photo was taken, our old people were living right here. 🦅

Restoration/colourisation by Yugambeh Nation🎨

27/04/2024

Truth

Country does not belong to us, we belong to Country.🦅

But what does that really mean?

We thought we'd take a moment to explain the 'belonging' between people and land, and by extension, language.

There is a common misconception about Aboriginal ideas of belonging that generalises the unique and distinct connections held by Traditional Owners, other Aboriginal peoples, and non-Indigenous peoples. In some cases equating all Aboriginal belonging as one and the same, and denying non-Indigenous connections or belonging to land and language.⛰

The truth of the matter is a lot more complicated and intricate, so we took the time to adapt a diagram from some academic work which hopefully illustrates how languages are associated primarily with an area of land, and only secondarily with a family/social group or individual.🏘

Yugambeh people form the traditional clans and family groups, while non-Yugambeh people (Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal) form the immigrant family/social groups. There is also the 'isolated individual', the non-Yugambeh persons with individual/personal connections to land that do not come from their social/family group relations (e.g. the lone immigrant) - should they stay they seed or eventually form the immigrant groups.👣

27/04/2024

Traditional Owners, are the original First Nation of an area, they have a right to self-determination and a right to their cultural identity. They should not be homogenised with Historical Peoples or other groups, simply because they are all ‘Aboriginal’. 👣

It's important to recognise that while historical people may feel a genuine connection to their Indigenous heritage, using another's tribal name can be harmful and disrespectful to the Indigenous communities whose identity and sovereignty are tied to that name🦅

Read more about Traditional Owners and Historical people here: https://www.yugam.be/stories/homogenisation-of-first-nations-is-discrimination

20/04/2024

Where the Mebbon at? 🦅😎

Have you been?👣🦅👣

16/04/2024

A true legend

That's an estimated ~600 adults. 👑🤯

30/03/2024

"Take only memories, leave only footprints" spoke Chief Seattle, also known as Sealth, a prominent leader of the Suquamish and Duwamish 👑

Echoing the timeless wisdom of respecting the legacies of those who came before us. In the hearts of our Yugambeh people, this sentiment resonates deeply, for our name itself carries the echoes of our ancestors' wisdom and the imprints of their journeys through time.

Yugambeh—more than just a name, it is a sacred bond that connects us to our past, present, and future. Passed down through generations like a precious heirloom, Yugambeh embodies the essence of who we are as a people. Yet, to the uninitiated ear, it may be just a string of syllables or merely the word for 'Very Much No'. But to us, it is a guiding force returning us back to the roots of our existence.

In the annals of history, the story of Yugambeh might not be inscribed in the grand tomes of conquerors or chroniclers. Yet, in the whispers of our Elders and the rhythms of our ceremonies, its significance echoes louder than any written word. For Yugambeh is not merely a label; it is a living testament to the resilience, wisdom, and spirit of our ancestors.

So, when asked why we identify with our tribal name, we answer with reverence and pride, for Yugambeh is more than just a name—it is the heartbeat of our people, the rhythm of our culture, the enduring strength against evil, and the guiding star that leads us on our journey through time. It is a sacred inheritance left by men and women greater than those who question us today.👏

In the footsteps of our ancestors, we walk proudly as Yugambeh people, honoring their legacy and carrying their spirit forward into the dawn of a new day.👣

27/03/2024

Through our Waguy, we connect to the Ancestors of the past, to the people we have loved and lost. People that we think are gone from this world, but that is ŋañjara (a falsehood).

Our Waguy tells us that they're still here, that we are still connected to them, that time and death are merely an illusion. The greatest ŋañjara is the lie that we are separated, that any of us are separate from one another, living or dead.

05/01/2024

👊🏾👣👊🏾

The Yugambeh Nation is committed to the principle of self-determination and proudly builds on the work of those Elders before us.👣

The Yugambeh Representative Members were created in 1997 under the Yugambeh Land Entperprises by those founding Elders who laid down the structures for Family and Clan Representatives and a Council of Elders. 🦅

The Yugambeh Directorate has a Director from each clan, elected by the clan's Family Representatives, of which there are 2 from each family (one male and one female).📣⚖

Read more about the Yugambeh Assembly here:
https://www.yugam.be/assembly

09/12/2023

😭🤬

01/12/2023

The Australian Government’s vision is for an Australia where respect for our rich diversity begins with respect for the world’s oldest continuing culture, that of Australia’s First Peoples. 👣

To support major initiatives the Indigenous Languages and Arts program invests over $27 million per annum to assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to express, conserve and maintain their cultures through languages and arts activities around Australia.🦅

The program includes annual operational funding support to a network of 24 Indigenous Language Centres throughout the country working on conserving, revitalising and sustaining Indigenous languages.📚

Indigenous Languages and Arts Program The Australian Government’s vision is for an Australia where respect for our rich diversity begins with respect for the world’s oldest continuing culture, that of Australia’s First Peoples.Indigenous languages and arts are integral to the identity, connect...

23/11/2023

One of the last initiated men of the Yugambeh Nation 😱🤯

*Warning - This post contains the names and images of Aboriginal people who have passed*

We'd like to take a moment to celebrate Uncle Bill Sandy (pictured left) and the incredible legacy he left us.

Pictured here in 2003 at the launch of the Yugambeh Museum's 'Gurilabo Yani - Ancestral Journey' exhibition at Mununjali Hall, Uncle Bill Sandy was a pivotal member of the Yugambeh community.

He grew up in the Beaudesert area in the early 1920s, and was traditionally initiated in his adult years, learning the language, song, dance, lore, country, and other requirements of initiates.

Later in life, Uncle Bill would find some fame acting in Australian films such as Fringe Dwellers, the Last Frontier, and Death Wave, but his most famous role was Teddy in Crocodile Dundee II, released in 1988.

Uncle Bill was a key figure in the collection of material for the establishment of the Yugambeh Museum in 1993, and was a founding member of the Yugambeh Land Enterprises in 1997.

2023 marks 20 years since the launch of Gurilabo Yani - An Ancestral Journey. An Exhibition that captured the oral knowledge of our family groups for generations.

As a language speaker, it was Uncle Bill alongside other founding members, like Aunty Mary Culham and Uncle Harry Jackey, who coined our Yugambeh language motto: Ngahn Jubayangany Ngalingi - Who Shall Separate Us?

To that we say, Yugambeh! (Very Much No-One!)
And it's thanks to Elders like Uncle Bill

19/11/2023

Do you know the story of the name 'Ulimaroa'? 🌏

A name given to Australia by the Swedish geographer and cartographer Daniel Djurberg in 1776 (map provided); Olhemaroa, a Māori word found in Hawkesworth's edition of Captain James Cook and Sir Joseph Banks' journals was picked up by Djurberg and other cartographers in north-east Europe which featured Ulimaroa on their maps until the mid-19th century. ⏳

Described as a month's sail NNW of New Zealand, local Maori described Olhemaroa as a large land, which many believe refers to Australia, others though believe it refers to part of New Caledonia. 🌊

Issues arise due to the descriptions used by the Maori. Cook was looking for the rumoured great southern land, and clearly was searching for a place bigger than New Zealand, so why would the Maori refer to an island 17x smaller? At the same time, Ulhemaroa was said to be a land that had 'pigs', an animal said to not have existed in Australia before Cook, this again is also disputed.* At the same time, the other candidates for Ulhemaroa did not have pigs either. 🐷

More interestingly, the Maori say they had visited the land of Ulhemaroa, and had also received visitors from there.

(*There is evidence to suggest that a variety of pig was introduced to Australia from neighboring New Guinea, perhaps at a time prior to Cook's visit, and that a feral pig population existed on Queensland's Cape York Peninsula.
Such evidence includes the carrying of pigs in the traditional Torres Strait trading system, the depiction of pigs in the Aboriginal rock art of the Cape York Peninsula, the presence of a typically New Guinea parasite in the Cape York feral pig population, the fact that these Cape York pigs are today quite similar in physical size and appearance to the pigs of New Guinea, the presence of prominent longitudinal stripes on newly-born piglets in both northeastern Australia and New Guinea, and finally the existence of a New Guinea-Torres Strait word for pig in the language of Aboriginal groups living at Princess Charlotte Bay on the Cape York Peninsula.🐽)

15/11/2023

We logged on today and noticed we have been verified! 🥳🥰

We're very happy to see Facebook acknowledging our page in this small way. ❤🦅

14/11/2023

Did you know that knowledge of stone tools was completely lost to Europeans until the 18th century?
Despite their own ancestors leaving flint arrow and spear points which were often found lying in fields, Europeans thought these were weapons used in the War in Heaven - the Biblical tale of when the angels ousted Lucifer - or were made by elves and fairies.

It was only upon meeting Indigenous people in Canada did a Frenchman first theorise amongst European intellectuals that their own stone tools had been the work of earlier peoples.

06/11/2023

"Reconciliation is not a word. Not any more. Healing is not a word. Not any more. Unity is not a word. What once were words are now antiseptic," he said.

04/11/2023

As many as 20% of people who identify as Indigenous are not Indigenous, in some areas like Dean Foley’s hometown of Gunnedah, the rate could be as high as 30%. It is difficult to adequately measure the full impact of the fraud as relevant data is still insufficient the negative ramifications are.....

26/09/2023

6 Months On Our Voice is Still Denied 26 Sep Yugambeh Nation has been lobbying for their rightful involvement with and recognition as Traditional Owners of Mt. Wollumbin, which New South Wales Parks and Wildlife have handed recognition and control of, to neighbouring Aboriginal groups and person

23/09/2023

Shocking information has come from the CEO of the Museum of Queensland who admitted to media that private Australian citizens are coming forward WEEKLY, with Indigenous human remains that were in their families private possession.

Currently the Museum houses over 833 sets of Indigenous human remains.

All while our Nation debates whether Aboriginal people deserve a Voice, countless Australian families have been complicit in the desecration of human remains and the denial of a proper cultural burial.

How does this affect the psyche of the Australian public?
Can you ever see us as human beings while your family members hoard our Ancestor's remains like trophies?

23/08/2023

*Post contents includes photographs and names of people who have passed*

Today marks 80 years since the passing of one of our Yugambeh Matriarchs - Jenny Graham, née Drumley.

This is her story 🦅

Born c.1860 on the Albert river near Logan, Jenny Drumley was the daughter of Warri and Daramlee and the sister of Billy Drumley and Emily Blow.

Born into a turbulent time, as the Native Police periodically encircled and attempted mass executions on Yugambeh clan groups from the Logan to the Tweed out to Boonah, no group had been spared a 'dispersal', and before her birth, over half her Nation would already be dead.

Jenny Drumley and her brother Billy were initiated on Stradbroke Island, their mother's country, and carried the scars of the Yugambeh Nation.

At a young age, she kindled a relationship with a Andy Graham, a young European man, and as a teenager, she had their first children in the 1870s, Frank at the Logan River, George at Redland Bay, and Eva on Russell Island.

Later in life, Andrew would gain employment at Southport on Kombumerri country and they moved to Brighton Parade, where a number of Yugambeh families had a pre-established camp, which was partly cleared in the following years to make way for the cable station.

In 1897, however, their relationship was declared illegal by the Aboriginal Protection and Restriction of the Sale of O***m Act, and shortly after, they lawfully married (gaining Jenny an exemption under s10c of the Act), and as an extra precaution, Jenny ceases to use her maiden name, the well-known Aboriginal name Drumley.

The eye of the protectorate was ever close, but Jenny was a respected member of society and is mentioned in the exemption reports for the children of brother, "Aunt is Mrs Graham at Southport" - these exemptions were approved.

In a time when Aboriginal people were often disenfranchised from voting, Jenny voted in local elections and even chauffeured to the polling place by the Mayor's assistant.

Jenny and Andrew went on to have a large family and from them came a number of family lines still here to this today, including the Levinge, Dillon, Yuke, Ball, and of course, Graham families.

So, today, we pay our respects to Ngajanggali Jenny Graham - A true legend of our Nation 🦅

12/08/2023

31/05/2023

Jingeri - Hello in our Yugambeh language! We are the tra… Yugambeh Land Enterprises Ltd needs your support for Yugambeh Caring for Country Reconciliation Fund