Mosaic Map: NRM funded projects
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Dingo Spring re-visited
Long before Dingo Spring was part of a grazing property near Georgetown in Queensland's Northern Gulf, it served as a vital waterhole and meeting place for Traditional Owners, the Ewamian people. These were the ancestors of Ron Richards, one of today's most senior Elders.
In partnership with landowner John Bethel and the Northern Gulf Indigenous Savannah Group, Ron has preserved this cultural site by fencing out cattle from 40 hectares of natural spring.
Funding
The Australian Government put more than $14,000 funding toward this effort.
Activities
Project coordinator Ron Archer said the spring - which was in the vicinity of Indigenous art such as hand stencils and emu and kangaroo tracks - supported crustaceans and native fish and an ecosystem of Pandanus, Sandpaper Figs, Lancewood and Spinifex.
"The Ewamian people, who are concerned about protecting the cultural and environmental values of the site, were involved as partners for the project," said Ron, who is Djungan, from Dimbulah.
"Cattle used to have free access to the spring and impacted on the quality of the water and habitat values of the site through trampling spring-side vegetation and decreasing water quality.
"We built a four-kilometre, four barb fence to exclude stock from the site and provided alternative watering points by using a small solar pump, tank and two troughs."
John Bethel signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ewamian people to allow the Traditional Owners access to his property to collect wood for carving didgeridoos and manage the cultural site.
Achievements
Today, the spring has been flushed out by heavy summer rain. And, with new watering points on either side of the waterhole, spanning two different properties, the natural waterhole is free of cattle and erosion.
"That spring has got a couple of big bush tucker trees or 'nunda'," Ron said. "Our mob collect that sort of food because this is where the old fellas would go to set up camp, go hunting, put paintings up there on the rocks. This is important to our people.
"It is no longer a bottleneck spring - one way in, one way out - where weak cattle used to die and restrict the waterhole.
"We've had heaps of rain out there, which has cleaned that spring back out again. From that spring we can take one kilometre radius and have a look at the evidence of Indigenous occupation there."
More information
- Ron Archer, Northern Gulf Indigenous Savannah Group: (07) 4093 5948 or ngisg@bigpond.com
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