Country

For Aboriginal people, ‘Country’ means more than what we see on a map. It encompasses the intertwining of the physical with the cultural and spiritual. Country is spoken about (and to) as if Country were a person. It acknowledges the reciprocal relationship between people and the land: just as people look after Country, Country also looks after people.

The deep spiritual and physical connection we have with our Country comes from our ancestors and our mothers and fathers passing down their stories and knowledge; from generation to generation for thousands of years. And this knowledge identifies who we are as Aboriginal people.

We talk about Country in the same way that we talk about a person: we speak to Country, sing to Country, visit Country, worry about Country, feel sorry for Country, long for Country, and we want to protect our Country and what’s left of our ancient sites and burial grounds, which link us to our ancestors and culture, and identify who we are as Aboriginal people. 

For 40,000 years the Adjahdura people have lived and died on Adjahdura Land. Even though heritage sites and cultural landscapes have been desecrated there is still significant evidence left to understand what a rich country this once was for the Adjahdura people. Archaeological sites, artefacts, stone tools, stone quarries, ochre quarries, camp sites, cultural sites, middens, burial grounds and fish traps are all evidence that blackfellas lived here for thousands of years before whitefellas stepped foot on this land.

QUENTEN AGIUS, OWNER AND TOUR OPERATOR