Monthly native title updates
Nauo receive final consent determination
Congratulations to the Nauo people for the successful outcome of their final native title application – Nauo #2.
This application was filed in June 2016, however Nauo people first commenced their efforts for native title recognition back in 1997 with support from the ALRM and subsequently SANTS.
In his judgment, Justice O’Bryan said: “As shown by the statements made by members of the claim group, the claimants, their families and forebears have remained substantially connected to the claim area since colonists arrived, overcoming the removal of many Nauo people to Point Pearce in the early 1900s through their determined return to their traditional country.”
The claim area covers 535 square kilometres of the land and waters of the most southerly tip of the Eyre Peninsula. It includes Lincoln National Park and within it the Memory Cove Wilderness Protection Area, Sleaford, Fishery Bay and Whalers Way.
Pictured above: Applicants and family Jody Miller, Pauline Branson, Rosemary Weetra, Cynthia Weetra-Buzza , Brenton Weetra at Fishery Bay.
Mayibarrdu / Goose Island returning to Narungga

Mayibarrdu or Goose Island, off the West Coast of the Yorke Peninsula in the Spencer Gulf of South Australia, will return to the hands of its Traditional Owners, the Narungga people.
This is following the Federal Court’s March 2023 recognition of the Narungga people as native title holders of Guuranda / Yorke Peninsula.
The island has been leased exclusively to private school Scotch College since 1966 through a licence agreement with the Department for Environment and Water that will finish up at the end of the year.
Mayiburrdu is a small, rocky island west of Point Pearce, about 550 metres off the northern end of the much larger Wardang Island.
Listen to Aboriginal Way’s interview with Doug Milera, CEO of Narungga Nation Aboriginal Corporation, here.
Mining negotiations continue on Ngadjuri Country

In September, Ngadjuri Nation Aboriginal Corporation was invited to SIMEC’s Iron Duke magnetite mine in the Middleback Ranges near Whyalla.
The group was welcomed by a representative from the Barngarla Determination Aboriginal Corporation (BDAC), who shared some of BDAC’s experiences negotiating with a mining company on their Country.
It was an insightful meeting for Ngadjuri, who are currently dealing with a similar mining proposal from Magnetite Mines on their Country near Yunta in SA’s north-east.
Funding for First Nations projects

The Northern and Yorke Landscape Board has provided funding for several land management projects led by First Nations groups as part of their Grass Roots Grants program.
The Nharangga Aboriginal Progress Association will use the funding to create a native garden as a sacred cultural circle, an inclusive space for storytelling, ceremonies and gatherings. During the one-year project the Association will also cultivate native plants for food, medicine and ceremony.
While the Nukunu Wapma Thura Aboriginal Corporation will continue restoration projects at their 30-acre Wilmington property over a 2 year period. This includes cultural burns and other land management practices that will increase biodiversity, control weeds, and improve water retention in soils.
Nukunu water release at Beetaloo Reservoir

Last month, water was released from the Beetaloo Reservoir in an effort to preserve ancient river red gums and assist Nukunu to care for and connect to Country.
More than a billion litres flowed the into Baroota and Crystal Brook creeks in an effort to improve the resilience of the river red gums and refresh natural habitats for frogs, fish, birds and bugs.
Project partners and local community will monitor and record progress of the water flowing along the creeks to safeguard creek infrastructure and surrounding properties, while also surveying the response of water-dependent animals.
Aboriginal Way attended the release, just outside of Crystal Brook, and interviewed Nukunu Wapma Thura Aboriginal Corporation chair Travis Thomas, Nukunu Elder Lawrie Thomas, DEW senior ecologist, Dr Douglas Green and Northern and Yorke Landscape Board planning officer Jennifer Munro.