{"id":316268,"date":"2022-04-12T23:59:31","date_gmt":"2022-04-12T13:59:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=316268"},"modified":"2022-04-13T20:46:31","modified_gmt":"2022-04-13T10:46:31","slug":"always-was-always-will-be-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2022\/04\/12\/always-was-always-will-be-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Always Was, Always Will Be …"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Tyrone Murray, from Cherbourg, and Damon Anderson, Brisbane, with Durell Waterton, 10, Cherbourg … all three were part of the Wakka Wakka dance troupe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

April 12, 2022<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Australian legal system has finally recognised what Wakka Wakka people have always known … it’s their land.<\/p>\n

It has been a more than two decades-long struggle for recognition but on Tuesday the\u00a0Federal Court of Australia recognised the Wakka Wakka People as Native Title Holders over approximately 1178 sq km of land and waters within their traditional country.<\/p>\n

The Federal Court convened in a crowded marquee on Jack O’Chin Oval in Cherbourg.<\/p>\n

Wakka Wakka people from across Queensland gathered to hear Justice Darryl Rangiah hand down judgments recognising the Wakka Wakka People as Native Title Holders over parcels of land spanning from the north-eastern half of the Bunya Mountains National Park to near Paradise Dam.<\/p>\n

The Court heard that\u00a0Wakka Wakka People had maintained an unwavering connection to country and culture despite a traumatic history.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The history of European incursions into Wakka Wakka country from 1843 onwards were detailed to the Court by Queensland solicitor Craig Reiach, for Queensland South Native Title Services, representing the applicants.<\/p>\n

Mr Reiach spoke of the bloody frontier conflict, murder, dispersal of Aboriginal people and the fringe camps established at Eidsvold, Taabinga, Ideraway and Ban Ban.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of Aboriginal people from all over Queensland were forcibly removed from their traditional country and interned at Barambah Mission, later renamed Cherbourg.<\/p>\n

Mr Reiach\u00a0 spoke of the “institutional cruelty” fostered by the State and the effects on Wakka Wakka People of 180 years of dispossession of their lands.<\/p>\n

Handing down his decisions,\u00a0Justice Rangiah said the court was not “giving” anything to Wakka Wakka People.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“The court is simply recognising what the Wakka Wakka People have always known, that this has always been Wakka Wakka land,” the judge said.<\/p>\n

Justice Rangiah said it was a great pity so many people who had lived through the dark days at Cherbourg were not around to see the judgment.<\/p>\n

“It is a day to remember your ancestors and the old people who did not live to see this day,” he said.<\/p>\n

The judge, who toured The Ration Shed ahead of the sittings, said the history documented in the museum had reminded him of the apartheid regime in South Africa.<\/p>\n

“It is a tribute to the culture, to the strength and vitality of the Wakka Wakka people that you continue the same traditions on the same land as those of your ancestors from 50,000 or 60,000 years ago,” he said.<\/p>\n

Original applicants to the Native Title claims, who had not lived long enough to see the outcome, were recalled with sadness by many of the speakers after the Court closed.<\/p>\n

Wakka Wakka Traditional Owner Aunty Patti Bond said it had been a long journey for recognition, through times that had been hard and harsh.<\/strong><\/p>\n

However, Wakka Wakka families had enjoyed each other’s company and continued to go fishing and hunting and learning traditional ways, despite being forbidden to speak their language.<\/p>\n

PBC director Aunty Yuna Chapman, from Eidsvold, said the judgment had come about through Wakka Wakka people “staying the course and telling the truth” however there was still more to be done.<\/p>\n

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships Minister Craig Crawford said the landmark decision came after a long journey to land justice.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to acknowledge that this moment is a shining light in what is a deep, dark, history of dispossession of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in this State,\u2019\u2019 Mr Crawford said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery move we make to right the wrongs of the past, such as acknowledging the native title rights of traditional owners, we take a positive step on the path to truth-telling, healing and true reconciliation.\u201d<\/p>\n

South Burnett mayor Brett Otto congratulated the Wakka Wakka People on\u00a0the historic occasion.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt gives me great pleasure to acknowledge the Wakka Wakka People as the traditional, and\u00a0now, legally recognised Native Titleholders,” he said.<\/p>\n

Mayor Otto paid tribute to Wakka Wakka family representatives and other First Nations elders and family members present.<\/p>\n

\u201cCouncil looks forward to working closely together to build stronger connections into the\u00a0future,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Tuesday’s determinations covered the Native Title applications Wakka Wakka People #3 and Part A of Wakka Wakka People #4.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wakka Wakka People now have exclusive Native Title rights and interests over approximately 97 per cent of the Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire Council area plus numerous parcels of land throughout the boundary area.<\/p>\n

Part B of Wakka Wakka People #4, which covers portions of the Central and North Burnett, is still under negotiation.<\/p>\n

* * *<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Federal Court judgments handed down on Tuesday:<\/strong><\/p>\n