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

The strong seasonality shaping key interactions at Oriners, particularly the
effects of water in the landscape on human and animal movement
The ecological value of Oriners Mob residence and associated management
activity such as fire, particularly in the early dry season. This emphasises the
importance of finding solutions to the logistical, infrastructure, and resourcing
limitations currently hampering management efforts
The significance of the 4 named permanent lagoons and of Oriners Lagoon in
particular as a key foundation for human residence.
The need to understand processes and interactions which impact on the
ongoing water volume, quality, and general health of these lagoons
The lagoons as a key focus for future management
The summary above contains many elements that would be familiar to the Oriners Mob
people and the KALNRMO. However it also contains new information and this report is the
most comprehensive summary to date of material related to Oriners Station. The sections
below consider comments and ideas for the future.
5.3 Future plans and aspirations
As previous documents from the KALNRMO archive have shown, a significant amount of
thought and planning has already been undertaken in relation to possible futures for Oriners.
At present, the task is one of rebuilding, but rebuilding in the knowledge that past successes
have been considerable, before a recent period of neglect. Oriners has long been
understood to be strategically positioned in relation to the Errk Oykangand National Park,
which is a relatively small park in a large area of land controlled by Indigenous people.
However, changes in local pastoral station tenure along other Oriners Station boundaries
may increase its significance into the future. It appears likely to become a crucial central part
of a growing assemblage of Indigenous-managed territory in the region. Discussions
between the Kowanyama Aboriginal Council and the KALNRMO about the future are
ongoing, and enthusiasm for the area from younger members of the Oriners Mob remains
strong:
Louie Native: And that‟s why I love it up there, [why] I like to go back up there.
Marcus Barber: You‟d like to build it up?
Louie Native: Yeah, build it up. It‟s only for us, you know? It‟s for the kids, for generation
after generation.
Marcus Barber: Now it seems to be starting up again a little bit. How does that make you
feel about the future?
Louie Native: I'm feeling alright, [need to] get back up there to look after the place. Look
after the country. Because that‟s a big mob of good country there that‟s going to go for
waste.
Marcus Barber: What do you think about using that country? Is it just you let it be, or should
they try and do something else?
Louie Native: I reckon, [we] should just look after the countryside real good you know?
Louie suggests that land management is the primary goal at present. Whilst it is not
envisaged that Oriners will operate solely as a commercially viable pastoral station,
managing cattle on the property will be an ongoing task and this may provide some cash
revenue at times. However the changing nature of the Cape and of local circumstances also
means that people are thinking about other possibilities:
Working Knowledge at Oriners Station, Cape York
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