CALLS are growing to highlight more local Indigenous history with organisations joining up to share Gomeroi knowledge.
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A new information board was unveiled at the Oxley Lookout on Monday featuring some stories about the Gomeroi nation.
The board also has “augmented reality” capabilities which gives people access to videos through their smart phones, complementing other spots installed near the Peel River.
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Tamworth Local Aboriginal Land Council board member Daisy Cutmore said there wasn’t enough information about the Gomeroi story widely available and hoped more projects like this could develop.
“It means that people just don’t get a little verse saying ‘this is the traditional land of the Gomeroi people’, it actually offers information to promote understanding of our culture,” she said.
“It allows, I believe, a small step towards reconciliation.”
The Oxley lookout project was developed by the land council, the historical society and funded with $10,000 from the Tamworth Regional Council public art budget.
Historical society member Jan Morris wanted to see more Gomeroi-centred projects flow on from this venture.
“My little dream that I have been trying to start a conversation about is that it would be wonderful for Tamworth to have an Aboriginal museum,” she said.
“We need to bring that history right up so everybody is aware of it.”
Len Waters, who was recently recognised for work developing local Aboriginal cultural tours, said there was a wealth of knowledge, but it just needed to be promoted.
“I think this is a brilliant idea and I think even though it might be small, I believe a lot more things can be done,” he said.
“Once we start putting stuff out there and people start to learn about it, it certainly provides a shift in perceptions about Aboriginal people in general when you’re a little bit more informed.”
Lookout significance
Mr Waters said where the Oxley Lookout now stands would have served as a navigation and observation for the Gomeroi people in the area.
“Aboriginal people navigated from the top,” he said.
“So the Oxley Lookout was a very important part of seeing across the plains, seeing who is coming.
“Also to see different areas where you might be looking at going whether it’s hunting or other sorts of gathering or just sitting and passing the time and actually making the axe-heads.”
Mr Waters said most place names around Tamworth had retained Indigenous names and the new information was the start of something significant.
“The main settlement here was Calala,” he said.
“Tamworth has only been here for 200 years, but Calala before has been around for probably thousands of years.
“Look at places like Nemingha, Nemingha is just a description of where the two rivers meet.
“Calala is the place around the water.
“Attunga and Moonbi talk about the resources.
“Currabubula talks about the springs coming from the mountains.
“Duri actually talks about snake trails through the reeds but there’s a bigger Dreaming story of that, it tells of another creature that reigned supreme in the Dreamtime.
“Even Nundle (the river mouth) and Niangala (the eclipse).”
Jacob McArthur
Jacob McArthur is opinions editor for The Canberra Times and Australian Community Media. As part of the Canberra Times' production team, he helps the people of Canberra and beyond get the stories they need, when they need them across a range of platforms, while helping maintain a high editorial standard. Before moving to Canberra in 2020, he started with Australian Community Media in 2015 as a journalist for The Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he kept a close eye on Tamworth Regional Council. Jacob was also the co-host of ACM's Water Pressure podcast where he and Jamieson Murphy took a deep dive on issues and key decisions arising during one of the region's worst droughts on record.
Jacob McArthur is opinions editor for The Canberra Times and Australian Community Media. As part of the Canberra Times' production team, he helps the people of Canberra and beyond get the stories they need, when they need them across a range of platforms, while helping maintain a high editorial standard. Before moving to Canberra in 2020, he started with Australian Community Media in 2015 as a journalist for The Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he kept a close eye on Tamworth Regional Council. Jacob was also the co-host of ACM's Water Pressure podcast where he and Jamieson Murphy took a deep dive on issues and key decisions arising during one of the region's worst droughts on record.
