ABORIGINAL STOCKMEN Indigenous Affairs

BLACK COWBOYS

Aboriginal stockmen played a key role in opening up Northern Australia to the cattle industry. Black Cowboys, as they became known, were recognised as being superb horsemen – and women. The NT Cattlemen’s Association is working to get Indigenous Territorians back working on pastoral properties. Here we pay tribute to a generation that helped...

Nous Group Business

NOUS RISES TO THE CHALLENGE

From supporting the NT Government’s reforms to the way it works with Aboriginal Territorians to assisting the Territory’s economic reconstruction and improving primary health care, the Darwin office of the international management consultancy has ideas and expertise to achieve real progress. As Darwin office leader Tom Leeming says, Nous...

McArthur River Mine Business

SHARING CULTURE

After 12 hours at the wheel of a 200-tonne truck or the controls of a mill grinding 14,000 tonnes of ore a day, these men and women are ready for dinner and a good night’s sleep. But rather than heading to the kitchen, many of them are instead gravitating to a quiet corner of garden nearby. In a specially designed garden of natural trees...

Aquaculture And Regional Development Business

FINDING GOLD IN THE OCEAN

“But that’s our gold mine…” And he points to the beautiful, clean Arafura Sea. Traditional Owners across Northern Australia are harnessing the riches of their coastal waters in a sustainable way to create jobs, training opportunities and wealth. Mr Galaminda is a strong supporter of a commercial rock oyster trial on South...

Indigenous Affairs

IN MEMORY OF COWBOY JOHNNY

But Johnny was declared by Time magazine almost 30 years ago to be the symbolic last of a heroic breed of Indigenous men who helped open up the wild north on horseback. Steve Strike took the original photo for the publication and introduced me to Johnny for a follow up interview in TQ 2014. That was the start of a long friendship and I never...

MATES OF THE MURRANJI Indigenous Affairs

Matt Savage the Boss Drover

At the six-mile in Wyndham the word passed aroundMatt Savage, the boss drover, had just come to town His plants on the common, he's looking for men 'Cause he's taking a mob into Queensland.  He's a legend in the outback; he's a man among menMatt Savage, the boss drover, and he's riding again Two thousand store bullocks, wild ones at...

Anindilyakwa Land Council Indigenous Affairs

GROOTE: EMILY’S ISLAND HOME

She was educated in Brisbane and now lives in Tasmania. But the ARIA-nominated performer says: “Groote will always be my island home. It's where my grandparents sleep, my ancestors. It’s where my family are. “I always feel that connection no matter how far I go.” She returned home recently for the funeral of her uncle – she...

IRONBARK Business

IRONBARK: Growing Stronger by the Day

It started operations in June 2000 with five staff working from a single old demountable on the outskirts of Darwin. Today it has grown to more than 60 staff, with more than half of them Indigenous, 11 offices throughout the Top End, including corporate offices in Darwin Corporate Park and another base to be built nearby before Christmas....

INDIGENOUS ROAD SAFETY ACADEMY Business

THE TIPPING POINT

He did it to digitise the road rule book through two hours of animation in eight Indigenous languages, English and five foreign languages. DriveAbout has worldwide application and is scaling nationally. Its pivot focuses on government and corporate Australia reducing their horrific stats around employee road safety by using digital...

SOUTH32 Indigenous Affairs

Helping Hands

The resources company is supporting the MJD Foundation to fund research and manage cases on Groote Eylandt “South32 has always been community minded,” says foundation director of research and education Libby Massey, who was brought up on Groote. “Their help is extremely important to us.” The company has been a major supporter of...

SOUTH32 Education

Bush Medicine

A team of Warningakalina women founded Bush Medijina on Groote Eylandt four years ago to make skincare products using traditional recipes passed down by grannies, mothers and aunties over hundreds of generations. The business is so successful that the team has outgrown their humble shipping container workshop – affectionately known as The...

Rirratjingy Aboriginal Corporation Business

WE’RE OPEN FOR BUSINESS

Traditional Owners want to generate the wealth needed to pay for social, cultural and job-creation programs when the bauxite mine on the Gove Peninsula closes. The refinery shut down eight years ago and the mine is scheduled to cease operation in 2043. But global resources company Rio Tinto has said that mining could stop as early as...