WfHC - cover page (not to be used with pre-printed report ... - CSIRO

cattlemen and the Hughes family, the knowledge and expertise Jeff has provided has shaped
the direction and orientation of the research effort.
Figure 3. Cattle stations in lower Mitchell River catchment, with outlines of Kowanyama
managed lands (red) including Oriners and Sefton Stations. 3
A third aspect of the „Working Knowledge‟ outlined here is that contemporary work and
presence on Oriners Station is primarily based on NRM funding, resources, and priorities. An
important participant in this project was Viv Sinnamon, who has lived at Kowanyama since
1972, was heavily involved in the successful purchase of Oriners by the Kowanyama
community by 1992 and, as the longstanding manager of the KALNRMO, is still involved in
managing current NRM and heritage activity. Viv Sinnamon‟s perspective reflects his deep
commitments to Kowanyama and its people, but also commitments to Indigenous
management, NRM and cultural landscape management as important forms of work, both in
terms of maintaining ecologically valuable landscapes and in promoting sustainable
Indigenous livelihoods in remote areas. Contemporary NRM is an increasingly important
component of Indigenous peoples‟ relationships with their country, particularly in terms of
providing support for ongoing presence and economic activity in regional and remote areas.
It provides people with the resources and opportunities to visit and care for places that matter
to them, but importantly for this study, it also influences their engagements with the country.
It affects the timing of the visits people make, the activities they undertake whilst they are
there, and the particular aspects of the country they are encouraged to focus their attention
on. The „working knowledge‟ of the present day derives from past ways of living and working
on Oriners, particularly those of the cattle station era, but it is also shaped by the newer
requirements and priorities emerging from NRM and conservation. The orientation of this
report and the categories used within it reflect the priorities of this contemporary work. In this
sense it too is a „working document‟, both provisional and work-oriented in nature.
3 As discussed in more detail below, transitions in tenure will lead to greater Indigenous management
involvement in adjacent stations - Crosbie, Wulpan, and Dixie Stations (among others) in partnership
with the Queensland Government.
Working Knowledge at Oriners Station, Cape York
2