SANDS OF TIME: experience living history on these three tours of Minjerribah
Sonya Gellert meets the QUANDAMOOKA guides sharing the stories, artworks and history of their INCREDIBLE ISLAND HOME.
A LEISURELY boat ride from Brisbane’s Cleveland, on Queensland’s south-east coastline, sees day-trippers, holidaymakers and returning locals pull in to the sandy shores of Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island) on Quandamooka Country. Across Minjerribah, dense rainforest edges down to the surf beaches, an amber-tinted lake lies peacefully shaded by oodergoo trees (paperbark gums), and the world’s oldest living culture shares stories of its connection to this island. Take a guided journey with a knowledgeable Quandamooka tour guide and kindle a desire to learn more about a destination that’s not only beautiful but is rich with culture and reveals a remarkable history. And, with each guide working alongside the other to ensure they’re bestowing unique perspectives of Minjerribah, visitors can reserve a spot on all three tours to gain a fuller picture of this fascinating place.
Yura Tours
Ideal for small groups, couples and families who want to take a deeper look at their holiday destination, Yura Tours takes travellers on an unforgettable sightseeing adventure that reveals there’s much more to this island than its famed beaches. Founded and run by natural storyteller Elisha Kissick, a Quandamooka woman whose connection to the island runs deep – Elisha’s grandparents were both central figures in the island’s history – Yura Tours draws on Elisha’s knowledge of bush foods and other flora, Dreamtime stories, cultural practices, significant sites across the island and lessons learned from her family. Travellers of all ages are bound to learn something new on these mustdo experiences. Elisha runs a ‘Sand Beneath My Feet’ 90-minute walking tour and an Exclusive Culture, three-hour tour that takes guests along the paths walked by Elisha’s ancestors. Yura Tours also offers Cultural Picnics, where picnickers learn the Creation stories behind the native ingredients they’re about to enjoy, then indulge in a private picnic – complete with a picture-perfect view. “I make sure I’m sourcing ingredients and food from island suppliers, to support them,” Elisha says. “I even wear local artist Delvene’s shirts as my uniform,” she laughs. Yura Tours’ (Yura, meaning ‘hello’) three-hour option includes a Welcome to Country, a visit to former mission site Terra Bulla Leumeah, a tour of the Capemba (Myora Springs), a trip to Mulumba (Point Lookout Headland) and a wander through local artist and fellow guide Delvene Cockatoo-Collins’ studio.
“I make sure I’m sourcing ingredients and food from island suppliers, to support them.” ELISHA KISSICK,YURA TOURS
2 Art Walk and Workshop on North Stradbroke Island with Delvene Cockatoo-Collins
Delvene Cockatoo-Collins is a name known by many art and design appreciators. The lauded, well-established artist and Quandamooka woman welcomes people into her Goompi (Dunwich) studio, a short stroll from the ferry terminal, and is now running art and culturalcentred tours and workshops. On Delvene’s tours, her participants can begin to understand the process of harvesting and processing fibres from the island, which have been used to make traditional dilly bags, for example, and, now, artworks. She says: “Visitors come away with a survival skill and a new appreciation for what went into traditional practices.” Delvene’s mother taught her to make intricately weaved mats, and today her own artworks tell stories from these experiences and more with her mother and grandmother. The artist also uses clays and pigments from the island on her ceramics and paper works – which produce a splendid palette of golden ochre, sunset and auburn hues. In her studio, eager collectors can purchase a piece of Delvene’s collection – from artworks to clothing and jewellery, and from tea towels to bookmarks. Delvene explains that just as she is mindful when it comes to collecting reeds for her works – careful not to take more than her share as there are other weavers on the island – she says Quandamooka tour operators on Minjerribah respect one another’s area of expertise and avoid overlapping in what they talk about. This way, she says, “our tours complement each other’s”.
SeaLink Cultural Experience tours
After 30 years in the business, Matthew Burns has well-and-truly honed his tour-guiding skills. This passionate guide is a self-sufficient hunter, spear-fisher, tool carver and dancer who walks the talk. On his tours, Matthew shares his knowledge of medicinal plant usage, signal-watching in nature (observing tides, animals and plants), and shows visitors artefacts used a millennia ago. His most popular tour is the Goompi (Dunwich) Trail, a 90-minute walking tour along the shoreline that connects visitors with Quandamooka culture and history. His tours and workshops provide participants with opportunities to paint and learn to throw boomerangs, chances to learn traditional dances and listen to (then attempt to play) the didgeridoo, see his collection of cultural artefacts and learn what each piece was used for, witness a traditional smoking ceremony, and take in the island’s inimitable views. Matthew specialises in large group tours – leading up to 15 tours a week. And, he tells us, loves to see visitors leave having their “minds blown with new information”.