Quiet Country on Bundjalung Land

The walk along the northern coastline, managed by the Bunjalung people in Arakwal country this week made me think about Aboriginal connection to land. Our guide, Auntie Delta, is an Arakwal custodian of the land and took us through the forest and up the coastline cliffs to the Cape Byron Lighthouse. Today, more than 66% of Arakwal people work on country and they gained their first Native Title in 1996, which is a major accomplishment for the Bundjalung people. She pointed out plants such as Eucalyptus which is used to cure headaches and make shelter and Swamp lilies that ease bug bites and jellyfish stings. She walked through the forest easefully, clearing parts of the path blocked by branches and smiling at the sun through the tree branches. Bruce Pascoe emphasized this relationship between country and people in his book Dark Emu, by including journal entry excerpts by colonizers. Some acknowledged the Aboriginal farming and fishing engenuity but couldn't understand how the relationship to country helped them pave the way for superior hunting and farming methods (Pascoe, 2018). 

They refused to see Aboriginals as anything more than savages, even though they were naturally genetically modifying crops, transplanting soils, and terracing the land for thousands of years before the Western world was (Pascoe, 2018). Auntie Delta said when colonizers arrived to Arakwal land, her ancestors taught them how Aboriginal women would sing to their totem animal, the Dolphin, in hopes that the dolphins would lead the fish into their nets. Colonizers stole this fishing method along with other survival techniques, completely mitigating their sacred practices by not respecting the land. I was so frustrated thinking about such a sacred practice developed over thousands of years that connects people with country being mocked and manipulated by foreigners for their own personal gain. 

As I walked up the steep steps to the lighthouse, Auntie Delta pointed out a pod of nearly two dozen dolphins. I was in awe, watching the Arakwal women’s totem dance through the waves. How could anyone not feel the magic of the connection between country and people here? It made me think of Nigel’s International Development class, where we learned about how Westerners brought their own idea of development to countries which degraded native culture and decimated land. An example of this is when Australia gained its independence in 1901 and celebrated by putting Australia's most powerful lighthouse on Arakwal sacred ceremonial land overlooking Cavanbah. A symbol of Western domination of Bundjalung land.

I walked silently back to The Pass, taking deep breaths of fresh air and gently touching ferns along the forested path. I thought about Reports from a Wild Country by Deborah Rose, when she describes the difference between “the wild” and “quiet country”. “Quiet country- the country in which all the care of generations of people is evident to those who see it. The wild was a place where the life of the country was falling down and washing away.” (Rose, 2004). Was this quiet country? Although still suffering by the hands of tourism, the Arakwal people had revitalized the land to its former glory. I was in the presence of flourishing forest, listening to a symphony of footsteps through the dirt, the rustling of the wind through the trees and the humming of insects. I felt the love and respect for this land through Auntie Delta, confirming that this semester will be a journey of finding quiet country, and understanding why we lost it. 

Rose, Deborah Bird. Reports from a Wild Country: Ethics for Decolonisation. University of 

New South Wales Press Ltd, 2004.

Pascoe, Bruce. Dark Emu. Magabala Books, 2018.