A Katoomba Indigenous group is opposing a local native title claim from members of another Indigenous group.
The claim, ‘Warrabinga-Wiradjuri #7’ has been initiated by a group of individuals in central NSW and claims land in the Blue Mountains covered by a pre-existing Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) with the Gundungurra people.
Gundungurra elder, Aunty Sharyn Halls said “We’re annoyed about it . . . It infringes on Gundungurra land and our ILUA agreement as well, which is not in any shape or form Wiradjuri land”.
Aunty Sharyn also said that the Gundungurra will “fight the claim” in Federal court.
An ILUA is a flexible alternative to native title made between governments and an Indigenous group but does not preclude the possibility of a native title claim being made over the area by another Indigenous group.
Dr Alison Vivian, senior researcher at the University of Technology Sydney’s Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning said that “The problem is that native title law requires hard borders, but traditional Aboriginal lands don’t have hard borders”.
“In this way, it is likely that you will see some overlapping claims.”
Despite the name of the claim referencing the Wiradjuri people, many Wiradjuri do not support it.
Bill Allen, a Wiradjuri elder from Bathurst intends to oppose the claim on the basis that the individuals behind it are “not recognised as Wiradjuri people by us here in Bathurst”.
Mr Allen said the claimants had “stolen” cultural knowledge from his family to prove a connection to the land.
Through their lawyer, the applicants of the Warrabinga-Wiradjuri #7 claim responded to Mr Allen’s allegations, saying: “key claimants have filiation through each generation back to ancestors who were indisputably connected to the claim area”.
The applicants also confirmed through their counsel that they were not aware of the overlap with the Gundungurra ILUA when the claim was lodged and would consider “amending the claim to remove the overlap”.
Aunty Sharyn said that their ILUA was well publicised: “We had meetings about it with Wiradjuri people. . . how come it wasn’t pointed out to them when they put a registration in?”
“We have proven our connection to land and country. What gives someone else the right to think they can come and put a claim over it?”
“If they think they’re going to get it without a fight, they can forget it.”
Blue Mountains City Council confirmed that it has registered as a respondent to Warrabinga-Wiradjuri #7 but that it holds “an impartial position on the specific merit of the Warrabinga-Wiradjuri #7 Native Title Claim”.