2018 Report from the Chairman
Grant Hansen
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The biggest news this year was reaching agreement and settlement with the State Government and getting a fair chunk of our Traditional land back.
In fact, it's the biggest settlement in the State to date.
We will celebrate our agreement as soon as the formalities have been completed in a few months’ time.
I’d like to say thank you to all involved in making this happen. Your commitment, passion and dedication was second to none.
I would like to also acknowledge past and present members, as well as Elders who are no longer with us but who helped start off this organisation so we could get to the stage of getting our TOSA agreement in place, amongst other things. I’m sure they’d be proud of our work.
The next challenge is to implement the programs as a result of this settlement and ensure that all our members benefit.
I have been enthused by the togetherness of our Nation over the last few months – particularly up at Camp Jungai in October.
There are so many people doing great things and working for the common cause of what is best for Taungurung. We need to keep this going.
The organisation is in the best place financially than it’s ever been. Proper controls and financial processes have been put into place.
The organisation will always be a work in progress as the modern world evolves around us. Things can change pretty quickly these days, but we will always strive to ensure that we are doing the best we can for our mob.
We are a fully-fledged business and have to operate accordingly.
We hope to be able to roll out a number of programs and initiatives to cater to our mob in the coming years.
It’s time to celebrate and do things collectively with passion and spirit and togetherness.
Even in times when as individuals we might not be happy about certain situations we still need to put our Mob first.
I’d like to thank the Board members for all their hard work. They have conducted themselves appropriately and professionally at all times.
Also a big thank you to our CEO and the staff at TCAC who have done great work. At times the work load was huge for such a small operation, but they came through with flying colours. Thank you to all the staff for their hard work and commitment.
Thank you to all Taungurungers who have contributed to making us a very proud Nation. Remember, together we are strong!!!!
It’s not what TCAC can do for you but what you can do for TCAC!!!!
At the recent AGM the members voted me back on the Board and the Board members re-elected me as the Chair. I am very honoured by this vote of trust and will do my best to give good leadership to the Board for another year.
I’d like to say thank you for the great opportunity to be a small part of helping make this organisation great, respected and professional.
It was a big decision to change the name of the organisation at the AGM, but we believe that calling it a Land Council sends the right message.
Proud to be a Taungurunger!!!!
Always was, always will be Taungurung land!!!!
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Summary of Decisions at the 2018 AGM
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The TCAC AGM was held on Sunday 18 November 2018 in the Broadford Hall.
It was attended by 33 members and two Taungurung non-members, and also by TCAC staff.
The meeting was informed that TCAC is in sound financial health and that the auditor was happy with the way TCAC’s finances were being managed and reported.
Time was allocated for members to put questions to the management and the Board and a range of matters were raised and responded to.
Changes to the Rulebook (Constitution)
The members approved the following changes to the Rulebook:
- The name of the organisation was changed to Taungurung Land and Waters Council (Aboriginal Corporation). TCAC will become TLaWC as soon as the new Rulebook has been accepted by ORIC.
- Tooterie was removed from the schedule of apical ancestors
- The office bearers (Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson) will be elected annually by the Board, rather than given two year terms
- The role and delegated authority of the CEO is now to be spelled out in the Rulebook
- A more detailed dispute resolution clause was approved – with clear steps set out
- Members will now be required by the Rulebook to treat staff with respect, as well as directors and other members
- A new clause in the Rulebook will require the approval of the members, as well as the approval of the Board, for accessing investment moneys above a certain percentage of the organisation’s total financial resources
- Board meetings will generally be called when the CEO and the Chairperson agree on the need for a meeting
Election of Directors (Board members)
An election was conducted to fill the four vacant positions on the Board.
There were seven nominations and the four elected were Grant Hansen, Mick Harding, Patsy Smith and Alex Burns.
They now join Jacqui Stewart, Sherryn Antonopoulos, Isobel Morphy-Walsh and Matt Shanks, who have another year to go of their two year term.
Election of Office Bearers for 2019
The new Board met briefly on the day to elect the two office bearers for the forthcoming year. Grant Hansen was re-elected as Chair and Mick Harding was elected as Deputy Chair. Both were elected unopposed.
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Taungurung Clans - Pioneers in Water Management
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In September TCAC finalised the purchase of a parcel of land in Cheshunt. This 22 acre property situated beside the King River also includes rights to 50 Ml of water.
Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DEWLP) has praised TCAC for being the first and only Indigenous organisation to hold water rights in Victoria. DEWLP has also stated its intention to provide TCAC funding support to manage these water rights into the future.
This is yet another milestone for the Taungurung Clans. We are leading the way for Indigenous organisations to be involved in water markets and trading. It is an opportunity for us to experience economic growth and development and is another great step towards self-determination.
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King River - photo taken at TCAC Cheshunt property
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Taungurung Water Goals and Aspirations
by Alejandro Voysest, Water Policy Officer
In July 2018, TCAC obtained funding to employ a Water Policy Officer to oversee the projects in waterways, increase involvement in water management in the region and to continue the process of gathering and protecting traditional ecological knowledge values relating to water.
After weeks of work, TCAC has finalised the consultation process for our contribution to the Northern Water Resources Plan (NWRP). We were funded by the Department of Environment, Land, Water, and Planning (DELWP) to develop our input to the NWRP as part of the planning in the Murray Darling Basin. As a result, Taungurung traditional ecological knowledge will be incorporated into the water management within the region and will contribute to the protection of our rivers and wetlands.
The process consisted of two open workshops to develop detailed goals and aspirations regarding water management in Taungurung Country. During the consultation, Taungurung people created the Baan Ganalina (Guardians of water), a water knowledge holder group that will support and advise me, assist in project development and implementation, and plan and conduct cultural activities on waterways. The group will continue its work in 2019 to develop the Water Chapter for our Taungurung Buk Dadbagi (Country Plan) with more detailed goals and aspirations related to water.
Among other duties, it is the role of the Water Policy Officer to inform the Baan Ganalina water group and facilitate consultation processes for future policy development, evaluation or assessments. By managing these consultation processes, TCAC secures its self-determination and autonomy.
In recent months TCAC has achieved a greatly improved capacity to engage with practitioners involved in water management and has set the principles for engagement that any government agency and other institutions must follow to work hand-in-hand with Taungurung people on country.
TCAC has also successfully started the implementation of the Reedy Lake and the Horseshoe Lagoon projects. Both projects look to improve the management of the sites by increasing the water availability and reducing the impacts of harmful practices in the area. The projects will continue during 2019, and Taungurung people will be fully involved.
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Taungurung Traditional Owners at Reedy Lake during the assessment - October 2018
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RAP Forum 2018
by Sharon Briggs, Senior Projects Officer
TCAC were the hosts for the latest RAP (Registered Aboriginal Party) Forum held at Mitchelton Winery, Nagambie from 20 to 22 November 2018. These forums are held every 6 months and hosted by RAPs on rotation.
The Forum was attended by 72 delegates from all over Victoria and some from interstate. We had speakers from Aboriginal Victoria, National Trust of Australia (Victoria), Griffith University, Rail Projects Victoria, Monash Indigenous Studies Centre, Monash University, Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council, Country Fire Authority and the Goulburn Broken, North Central and North East Catchment Management Authorities, as well as speakers from the RAPs themselves.
The agenda items presented were interesting and the sharing of information was vast. Some of the things that we heard about were the project for the Old Melbourne Gaol and City Watch House, the cultural burn collaboration project, a research proposal to address the issue of resolving the provenance of our ancestral remains, and the return of artefacts repatriated from the Bourke Museum, to name a few.
We also had a tour of the Nagambie Wetlands which proved to be invaluable as we made some discoveries of ovens in the area which we did not know about before.
The Forum ended with a deadly performance by Taungurung singers and dancers.
We received some wonderfully positive feedback from the delegates about not only the beautiful venue but also the organisation and arrangement of the Forum. In summary, the forum went extremely well and was informative and enjoyable for all who attended.
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Taungurung man, Shane Monk performs a smoking ceremony at the RAP Forum
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Gaye Sutherland (GBCMA) delivers a presentation at the RAP Forum
Nicky Moffat (Coloured Stone band) entertains the RAP Forum guests
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Attendees at the RAP Forum explore the Mitchelton Gallery of Aboriginal Art
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Problems with the Cultural Heritage Sensitivity Layer
by Francisco Almeida, Cultural Heritage Programs Manager
As we are aware, the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006 and the Aboriginal Heritage Regulations 2018 are the main legal documents that guide most of the management of Cultural Heritage in Victoria.
The Act states that if a development activity will result in significant ground disturbance and is to happen in an area of cultural heritage sensitivity, a Cultural Heritage Management Plan must be prepared.
The Regulations list the areas that are considered as sensitive for Aboriginal Cultural Heritage. They are:
- Previously registered cultural heritage places
- Waterways
- Prior Waterways
- Ancient Lakes
- Declared Ramsar wetlands
- Coastal Crown land
- Coastal land
- Parks
- High plains
- Koo Wee Rup Plain
- Greenstone outcrops
- Stony Rises
- Volcanic cones of western Victoria
- Caves
- Lunettes
- Dunes
- Sand sheets
The list results from an analysis of previous assessments undertaken in Victoria. The problem is that only 5% of Victoria has been surveyed/ assessed, so these sensitivity areas are very incomplete.
We would like to share with you the results of a project we have been undertaking over the past months, and how it reflects some of the inadequacies of the sensitivity layer as used across the State, and how such inadequacies can result in unnecessary risks for Taungurung Cultural heritage.
As mentioned in our August newsletter, the “Taungurung, restoring water, restoring Country” project has enabled a Taungurung team, in collaboration with the Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority (GBCMA), Parks Victoria, and Goulburn Murray Water, to undertake ecological and cultural heritage surveys in Reedy Lake (Nagambie). So far, two three-day assessment surveys have taken place, of which a total of two days have been dedicated to cultural heritage assessments.
On the morning of the first day, the work was dedicated to try to relocate some of the previously registered mounds. While we were able to relocate seven of the previously registered mounds, the survey showed us that more surveys need to be undertaken and old registrations (in this case from 1985) reinspected and their geographical coordinates updated to current standards.
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Relocation of previously registered mounds at Reedy Lake. In red – updated dgps locations resulting from the AWA Reedy Lake project.
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During the first afternoon of cultural heritage inspections, TCAC participants discovered 14 unregistered scar trees and a mound (potential oven site) over a very small area where no previous survey work had ever been undertaken. This area was further surveyed during the second assessment (also for one day), and the current tally of previously unregistered sites in an area of roughly 2000 x 800 meters is 34 scarred trees and 8 mounds.
This high number of cultural heritage components clearly highlights the need for further survey work in the Reedy Lake vicinity. When one looks at the locations of the scarred trees and the mounds and compares it with the existing Cultural Heritage sensitivity layer (see attached map), the inadequacy or at least incompleteness of the layer becomes very evident:
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Unregistered Scarred Trees and mounds located as a result of the Reedy Lake AWA assessment. Note how very few of these cultural heritage components are located inside the Cultural Heritage sensitivity layer.
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In the absence of our survey and of adequate registration of these places (on which we are now working) ,any development for the areas outside the sensitivity layer would not have required a Cultural Heritage Management Plan. This situation indicates the urgent need for further surveys to take place right across Taungurung Country. Such surveys should happen independently of any current or future development projects.
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Koorie Art Show 2018
Taungurung artists had a strong presence at the recent Koorie Art Show, with many TOs entering their works.
Hunter Callaghan had an outstanding result and was the recipient of the RMIT Universtity Emerging Artist Award $3000, for his photographic work Winji. Respected Boon Wurrung Elder, Aunty Carolyn Briggs, presented Hunter with his award.
Assistant curator, Taungurung woman, Kate ten Buuren said the 2018 Koorie Art Show proved to be one of the most successful events to date.
" With over 195 artworks entered this year, it’s the biggest and most exciting year yet, and such an honour to work on! It’s a pleasure to be surrounded by our mob’s creations each day when I go to work!" - Kate ten Buuren (Koorie Heritage Trust Assistant Curator and Taungurung TO).
Taungurung members whose work featured at the art show were Mitchil Harding, Donna Blackall, Cassie Leatham, Isobel Morphy-Walsh, Maddi Moser and Annette Sax.
Young Taungurung members Rose and Will Trist also submitted their artworks into the Koorie Art Show: Kids and Young Peoples Award, with Will winning the Encouragement Award for 11-16 years.
Taungurung Elder and highly acclaimed artist, MIck Harding also made an appearance as a judge and his artwork was displayed at the event (his work was not eligible for prizes).
Congratulations to Hunter and Will for their fantastic achievements and to all Taungurung members who took part in the awards.
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Hunter Callaghan with work Winji
Photo by Tiffany Garvie. Image courtesy: Koorie Heritage Trust.
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Annette Sax with work Doogalook Doogalook Ngarrgi
(Croaking Frog Dance Ceremony)
Photo by Tiffany Garvie. Image courtesy: Koorie Heritage Trust.
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Isobel Morphy-Walsh with work monmon-gruk gayung
Photo by Tiffany Garvie. Image courtesy: Koorie Heritage Trust.
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Cassie Leatham with work Mon Nange-Ngal (Healing Mat)
Photo by Tiffany Garvie. Image courtesy: Koorie Heritage Trust.
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TCAC - Job Vacancies
TCAC recently advertised two positions on our Facebook page - Communications Officer and Administrative Assistant. If you are interested in these positions please refer to the job descriptions and selection criteria by following this link to our website.
Applicants should address the selection criteria and email their applications to enquires@taungurung.com.au |
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Welcome to Country - Expressions of Interest
TCAC is seeking expressions of interest from Taungurung members who would like to perform Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremonies. Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremonies are practices grounded in Traditional Law and provides an opportunity for non-Indigenous people to recognise and pay respect to Traditional Owners.
If you are interested please email enquiries@taungurung.com.au
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21 December (from midday) - 1 January
TCAC Office Closed
January/February - Exact date tba
Taungurung Elders Group Meeting
27 May- 3 June
National Reconciliation Week
7-14 July
NAIDOC Week
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