Toorale joint management program

Located between the Warrego and Darling Rivers, Toorale National Park and Toorale State Conservation Area are spiritually and culturally significant to the Kurnu-Baakandji People. The name Baakandji comes from the word ‘paaka’, meaning ‘Darling River’, so the Kurnu-Baakandji People belong to the Darling River and surrounding lands.

These parks provide important access to Kurnu-Baakandji Country for the practice, renewal and creation of traditions, customs and cultural activities. This includes passing knowledge on to future generations, holding culture camps and involving Aboriginal people in decision-making about how Country is managed.

Joint management of Kurnu-Baakandji Country

In May 2012, NPWS and the Kurnu-Baakandji People signed an MoU for the joint management of 85251ha of Kurnu-Baakandji Country. Seven months later, the Kurnu-Baakandji Joint Management Advisory Committee was established, and includes 12 traditional custodians and their families, and a representative from NPWS.

The MoU sets out the principles and agreements for how NPWS and the Kurnu-Baakandji People will work together to manage Toorale. It also ensures:

• traditional custodians have a say in the protection and conservation of their lands
• Kurnu-Baakandji and other Aboriginal people have access to Toorale
• Aboriginal knowledge is applied to land management, and to the conservation and interpretation of cultural heritage.

Toorale’s plan of management highlights the importance of working together to protect the area, and the Kurnu-Baakandji People’s strong and ongoing connection to Country.

Aboriginal cultural heritage

The Toorale area contain extensive evidence of Aboriginal occupation and activity going back thousands of years.

The culturally rich reserves are home to over 500 known Aboriginal sites which include:

• artefacts
• quarries
• scarred trees, ovens, and middens  stone arrangements  tool manufacturing areas
• burials
• Aboriginal post-contact sites.

In 2012, archaeological works uncovered ‘Toorale man’ (Kaakutji), who is dated to have died over 700 years ago. An excavation near Boera Dam also unearthed over 100 stone artefacts and charcoal samples that were found to be over 50,000 years of age.