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Ngurrara

The determination:

The Federal Court recognised an area larger than Tasmania, when it handed down the Ngurrara Native Title consent determination on November 9, 2007.

The Ngurrara claim covers 77,814 square kilometers in the southern Kimberley region and includes people from the Walmajarri, Wangkajunga, Mangala and Juwaliny language groups.

The Kimberley Land Council acted on behalf of these people to negotiate the exclusive possession determination which covers crown land in the Great Sandy Desert.

Immediately after Traditional Owners were awarded their Native Title rights, they declared a 16,430 square kilometre Indigenous Protected Area or “Aboriginal National Park’’,  in the north-east section of the claim.

KLC Executive Director Wayne Bergmann said an Indigenous Protected Area would assist Traditional Owners to look after country while generating employment opportunities.

“Being recognised as the rightful owners of our traditional lands means Aboriginal communities can take control of our country and of our own futures. This is why Traditional Owners work so hard to secure Native Title,’’ he said.

“We live in the modern world, and we need to find ways to combine the modern world with our history and culture. Having an Indigenous Protected Area is one way of doing this.

“We can train and employ our young people as rangers, so they can look after country while we develop ways of sharing our values and country with others.’’

Latest information:

Sections of land including reserves excluded from the initial Ngurrara claim are being recognised under a subsequent claim known as Ngurrara B. The Ngurrara B application was filed in December 2008. Amendments to the claim were made in May 2009 and it is likely the claim will be listed for an in-court determination, to be held in Perth, in the near future.

Another claim known as Ngurrara #2 is being proposed to cover any remaining areas of Ngurrara country not included in the original Ngurrara claim and the Ngurrara B claim.  If this claim application should progress, it would cover country to the north and north-east of the existing Ngurrara claim, to the borders of the Kurungal claim and the Tjurabalan Native Title determination area.

The Kimberley Land Council is currently conducting anthropological work in order to move this proposed application claim forward.

Claim history:

The Ngurrara claim was registered and lodged with the National Native Title Tribunal in 1996. It covers an area of about 78,000 square kilometres in the Great Sandy Desert in the south Kimberley. Some parts of the claim are located in the Halls Creek, Derby West Kimberley, Broome, and East Pilbara local government areas.

The claim was pursued through mediation with respondents to the claim including the Shire of Derby West Kimberley, the State Government of Western Australia, and the Martu claim group (in relation to shared areas in the south of the claim).

In 2007, the State Government of Western Australia accepted connection materials showing that the claimants were the rightful Traditional Owners for the area, and that they had maintained their connection to country. Active mediation commenced in June 2007 and quickly progressed with an in-principle agreement reached in September before a consent determination was finalised on November 9, 2007.

The Ngurrara people: 

The Ngurrara claim group comprises people from the Walmajarri, Wangkajunga, Mangala, and Juwaliny language groups. Many of the people from these language groups presently live in Fitzroy Crossing and surrounding communities, with a number still living in outstations within the claim area.

Part of the Canning Stock Route, in the eastern part of the claim, is included in the determination but remains a public access road.

Indigenous Protected Area declared:

The Warlu Jilajaa Jumu Indigenous Protected Area is located in the Great Sandy Desert and covers an area of 16,430 sq km in the north eastern section of the Ngurrara claim.

The IPA’s name comes from the Walmajarri words Warlu (the fire used to keep country healthy), Jila (living water – permanent waterholes), and Jumu (seasonal soaks). These water places are of great cultural significance and have been for thousands of years.

The country includes long sand dunes, rocky outcrops, spinifex, and low-lying shrub land with some areas of eucalypts, grevilleas and hakeas.  There is a lot of different wildlife in the IPA, including the vulnerable mulgara and bilby, and the endangered night parrot.

Part of the IPA program involves setting up ranger groups and permanent ranger headquarters to assist Traditional Owners get back to country, look after country and to keep their culture strong.

The Warlu Jilajaa Jumu Rangers were established to look after country within the IPA area including the Canning Stock Route, camp grounds and important cultural sites.

IPAs are managed by Traditional Owners and are protected areas that focus on land conservation and recreation.   It is an area of land where the interaction of people and nature over time has produced an area of distinct character with significant beauty, ecological and/or cultural value, and high biological diversity. Safeguarding the integrity of this traditional interaction is vital to the protection, maintenance and evolution of the IPA.