First Nations Peoples - Great Sandy Marine Park Sea Country

There are six groups of First Nations peoples with a connection to the waters identified as the Great Sandy Marine Park: the Bailai, Gurang, Gooreng Gooreng and Taribelang Bunda peoples, the Butchulla people and Kabi Kabi people. This is an enduring and sacred connection that spans tens of thousands of years of history; it continues today and will continue into the future. Inherent to this connection, is the responsibility of First Nations peoples to Care for Country. Over hundreds and thousands of years, traditional custodians have managed and conserved land and sea Country. The land and sea Country within the Great Sandy Marine Park has significant natural and cultural values, both physical (tangible) and non-physical (intangible), which intertwine and interconnect to form a rich cultural landscape that consists of all the land and waters, the air, the sky, the flora and fauna and people.

The legacy of having lived as part of Country over millennia has resulted in significant Aboriginal cultural resources continuing to exist over, and within, the landscape. These cultural resources include story lines, creation stories, sacred animals, stone-walled fish traps, shell middens, trade routes and traditional foods.

The marine park provides a legislative and management framework that can significantly assist the future conservation of culture and values. Within areas of the marine park, connection to Country is additionally recognised through three determinations of native title, a registered native title claim and a Traditional Use of Marine Resources Agreement (TUMRA).

Some of the key threats to cultural values in the GSMP include physical disturbance of places and objects from public visitation, and boating activities. Vessel noise, particularly from the operation of vessels at speed, impacts the enjoyment of Country and use of areas important for the practice of cultural and spiritual activities and knowledge sharing with younger generations. Vessel wash can threaten the integrity and preservation of cultural resources. Shell middens and other culturally significant areas or sites in the intertidal and shallow subtidal zones are particularly susceptible to erosion from vessel wash and scarring by propellers. The risk of degradation and loss of cultural heritage sites such as burial grounds and shell middens is exacerbated by rising sea level, with eroding coastlines resulting in exposure of sacred sites and submersion of sites that were once on dry land.

Engagement with all First Nations peoples’ representative bodies was an important part of developing the new zoning plan that commences in the marine park on 21 May 2024. The new zoning plan includes a number of management measures, specifically aimed at conserving the marine park’s cultural values, including:

• broad initiatives to improve conservation of sea Country and its species
• Go Slow Area for natural and cultural values in Tin Can Inlet and Wathumba Creek
• No-Motorised Vessel Areas (Tin Can Inlet)
• No-anchoring areas that protect sensitive habitats and cultural resources
• Inclusion of tidal portions of parcels with exclusive native title (Butchulla Land and Sea Claim #2 Determination Area) within the boundary of the marine park
• Improved protection of fish traps at Booral, through clearer definition of the boundary of fish trap areas.

QPWS is committed to continue working in partnership with First Nations peoples to manage and protect the natural and cultural values in the Great Sandy Marine Park.