Western Australian Aboriginal organisations will benefit from a share of $250,000 in State Government funding to manage registered Aboriginal heritage sites.
The 2022 Preserve, Promote and Protect our Aboriginal Sites Grants Program has this year awarded up to $30,000 each to 10 not-for-profit Aboriginal organisations to undertake on-the-ground works at 11 registered heritage sites.
The program is part of the State Government’s commitment to supporting Aboriginal people in managing their unique cultural heritage.
Funding will allow this year’s recipients to complete a variety of works to protect and better manage sites that hold cultural heritage significance, as well as promote greater cultural understanding and appreciation of Aboriginal heritage to all Western Australians.
Recipients include the Albany Heritage Reference Group Aboriginal Corporation that will use their funding to develop a panoramic painting in the Town Hall Square with contemporary descriptions of the Menang Noongar people, including well respected Elder and guide Mokare who lived in the 1800s and worked with the early settlers of Albany.
In the Mid-West, a grant for the Wattandee Littlewell Aboriginal Corporation will be used to build a large pergola so that all-weather cultural gatherings can be held on-site.
For the Ngarluma Yindjibarndi Foundation and the Nomads Charitable and Education Trust in the Pilbara, the grants will be used to develop interpretive signage to inform tourists about the historical and cultural significance of the sites.
The Hotham River Aboriginal Corporation will use its grant funding to further investigate their history with the use of a ground penetrating radar to confirm the location of local tracker Quency Dilyan, who accompanied explorers and surveyors into the Boddington area during the 1800s.
More information is available at https://www.wa.gov.au/service/aboriginal-affairs/aboriginal-heritage-conservation/apply-grant-preserve-promote-and-protect-aboriginal-sites
As stated by Aboriginal Affairs Minister Tony Buti:
“Since 2014, more than $2 million in State Government grant funding has been shared by over 70 Western Australian Aboriginal groups to manage important and significant Aboriginal sites listed on the Register of Places and Objects.
“This year, 10 Aboriginal organisations will benefit from a share of $250,000 which will enable them to manage and share their cultural heritage with all Western Australians.
“The funding will help preserve and protect Aboriginal heritage sites and enable Aboriginal organisations to share Western Australia’s untold history and heritage.”
2021-22 Preserve, Promote and Protect our Aboriginal Sites Grant Recipients
| Grant Recipient | Project | Grant Amount (ex GST) | Project Summary |
| Albany Heritage Reference Group Aboriginal Corporation (Great Southern – Albany) | Albany Town Square + Mokare Burial Site Storytelling and Interpretation | $29,000.00 | Re-creation of Dale’s panoramic painting in the Town Hall Square which includes traditional and contemporary Menang Noongar descriptions. A significant project which can be delivered in partnership with the City of Albany. (ID 21761 Albany Town Square). |
| Hotham River Aboriginal Corporation (Peel – Boddington) | Dilyan Burial Location Investigation | $23,782.88 | Use of a ground penetrating radar to confirm the location of Dilyan’s gravesite near Boddington (ID 4298 Dilyan’s Grave). |
| Juluwarlu Group Aboriginal Corporation (Pilbara) | Wuyumarri (Gregory Gorge) Cultural Management Project | $30,000.00 | Assessment and implementation of interpretive signage and fencing for a number of sites with accompanying management plan (numerous sites). |
| Kimberley Aboriginal Law and Culture Centre (Kimberley) | Memorials for the Fitzroy Crossing Cemeteries | $23,000.00 | Construction of plinth memorials to honour the old people who were relocated from Pioneer Cemetery to the newly Gazetted Cemetery (ID 12438 Pioneer Cemetery 1 and 2). |
| Marribank Aboriginal Corporation (Great Southern – Katanning) | Marribank Mission Complex Restoration | $28,213.01 | Installation of CCTV cameras adjacent to access roads as a preventative measure against intruders (ID 4664 Marribank Settlement). |
| Ngardarrep Kiitj Aboriginal Corporation (Wheatbelt – Kellerberrin) | Old Jiriny Mission Project | $30,000.00 | Site clean-up and fencing of mission site with traditional, historical and contemporary significance to the local community in the Wheatbelt region (ID 5070 Old Jiriny Mission). |
| Ngarluma Yindjibarndi Foundation Ltd (Pilbara) | Bajinhurrba Promotion and Protection of Aboriginal Heritage Sites | $24,898.50 | Proposed interpretive signage which recognises the Aboriginal significance of Cossack, paving of access ways and restoration of rock hides (Aboriginal site ID 925 Mt Dune Beach, ID 11536 Cossack Slaughter Yard). |
| Ngarluma Yindjibarndi Foundation Ltd (Pilbara) | Promotion and Protection Works – Cossack Lazarre | $12,700.00 | Vegetation control and signage to inform 4WD users and the general public to avoid Lazarette foundations (ID 7083 Harding Mouth Camp, ID 941 Leprosarium Midden). |
| The Nomads Charitable and Education Trust (Pilbara) | Minyiburu Site Protection | $20,432.00 | Fencing off of key cultural heritage site and signage to inform tourists of the 1946 Pilbara strike historical event (ID 38779 Minyiburu Songline; Tabba Tabba). |
| Walitj Aboriginal Corporation (Great Southern – Frankland River) | Yeriminup Gravesite Protection Project | $5,631.46 | Replacement fencing of grave plots and site clean-up to clear overgrown weeds to afford greater respect to family members buried there (ID 4969 Yeriminup Burial 01) |
| Wattandee Littlewell Aboriginal Corporation (Mid-West – Mingenew) | Preserving Littlewell Significant Site | $22,342.15 | Construction of a large pergola for all-weather cultural gatherings and Elder accessibility improvements near to the car park and extension of existing heritage interpretation trail (ID 38796 Littlewell). |
