Note: Some of the material contained in this chapter is out of date and currently under review (1/7/2004)

Overview

For over 60,000 years, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have been part of the unique living maritime culture of the Great Barrier Reef region. Today more than 50 Traditional Owner groups live along the coast and islands from Bundaberg to Cape York Peninsula, and on to the islands of the Torres Strait. Their traditional customs and spiritual lore continue to be practiced today in the utilisation of their sea country areas and natural resources.

Due to their very long association with the region, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have acquired a vast knowledge of the marine environment, marine animals, their habitats and their lifestyles (Gray and Zann 1988; Benzaken, Smith et al. 1997). Resources from the sea, like those on the mainland, are utilised for different purposes. They have distinct cultural uses and are not only a commodity but a necessity for some communities.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have a unique maritime culture.

As sea-faring peoples, Torres Strait Islanders travelled through the Reef’s waters for trade with mainland Aboriginal groups along the east coast, as well as to collect resources for their subsistence lifestyles. To do this they travelled vast distances in outrigger canoes using the wind and the constellations as navigation guides. Their myths and legends of the sea are expressed through dance and song and there are many creation stories for the region’s islands and reefs.

Some of the Aboriginal tribes along the Great Barrier Reef coast have dreaming stories from when their ancestors lived on the coastal plains near the edge of the continental shelf. This same area became the Great Barrier Reef after it was inundated during the last sea rise, over 8,000 years ago (Hopley 1982). The sacred places, middens, rock art and oral accounts of the past provide the connection to traditional clan areas (on land and sea) and a rich cultural heritage (Chase 1980).

Current Status

The impact of the European colonisation of Australia from 1788 disrupted Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander societies and culture. Indigenous people have had to cope with various permanent negative impacts upon their lifestyle and culture as a result of the European occupation of their country (Breslin 1992). Most significantly many Indigenous peoples were removed from their traditional country. This dislocation from country has meant, in some cases, the loss of cultural knowledge for some peoples and has limited the way people engage in cultural activities for how they use and manage their sea country. The current geographic spread of Indigenous peoples in Queensland is very much an artefact of the forced relocation from traditional lands under successive Queensland Colonial and then State Governments.

Today Indigenous peoples comprise 5.7 per cent of the total Great Barrier Reef coastal population. The majority of the Indigenous population lives in the Cook, and Hinchinbrook Shires and Cairns city. As a percentage of Local Government Area (LGA) population the LGA with the highest Indigenous proportion is the Cook Shire with an Indigenous population comprising 29.39 per cent of the region’s total population. Hinchinbrook Shire follows with 17.53 per cent of LGA population. The Indigenous population as a percentage of the total population becomes progressively smaller in communities adjacent to the southern section of the Great Barrier Reef

Table 1. Indigenous Population of the GBR Coastal Communities in 2001

Source: ABS, 2001 Census of Population and Housing, Basic Community Profile (BCP) - Second Release. (QRSIS database maintained by the Office of Economic and Statistical Research (OESR)).

Moreover, Indigenous peoples customary practices changed as western technology was introduced.  For example, the use of wooden canoes and hand crafted implements for fishing, collecting or hunting have been replaced with technologies such as motorised boats, synthetic fishing lines and nets.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to utilise the natural resources of the Great Barrier Reef for many different customary purposes despite the dispossession from country faced by many people. Traditions like hunting and gathering are of high cultural importance as is the social sharing practiced during special events that require traditional natural resources (Smith 1989). Natural resources in these economies have a critical role in caring for culture and demonstrating connection to traditional areas.

Traditional Owners are concerned about the future management of their sea country and want to be involved through a number of Marine Park management initiatives.

Elderly Indigenous people often say that the Great Barrier Reef is different from when they were younger and that there are now fewer dugongs and green turtles. This decline in numbers is supported by scientific studies (Marsh, H., De-ath, G., Gribble, N. and Lane, B. 2001; Marsh and Lawler. 2002; Limpus, C. J., Miller, J. D., Limpus, D. J., and Hamann, M. 2000). Scientists conclude that urgent measures must be taken to stabilise numbers and to reverse the decline for future generations.  All human-related mortality issues must be addressed to ensure dugongs and green turtles remain an integral part of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tradition and custom as well as these animals being recognised as part of the suite of the natural World Heritage values of the Great Barrier Reef.

A major change to the nature of Indigenous peoples relationship with Government over the management of the Great Barrier Reef is Native Title. The legal situation regarding native title over sea country is dynamic. The Croker Island decision of 2000 which confirmed native title over sea, but not recognising Indigenous claims to exclusive use and control of sea country, is an example of the emerging complexity associated with Native Title and the management of marine areas. The Yanner case also set precedents for native title law.  Hunting rights were recognised as part of the bundle of customary rights Native Title Holders Traditional Owners of country have in accordance with Native Title (George, Innes and Ross 2003).

Today, therefore, Indigenous peoples are recognised as the Traditional Owners of various tracts of sea country by virtue of their Native Title rights to both land and sea country. Traditional Owners are concerned about the future management of their sea country and want to be involved through a number of Marine Park management initiatives. Many Traditional Owners are not on country and their involvement in management is a challenge for agencies such as GBRMPA. It is important though that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People are meaningfully engaged in management of their marine estates and natural resources in order to continue the practice and the continuation of their culture and connection to country for future generations.

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