On Tuesday, January 23, I attended the Central Coast Council meeting … (and) a decision was made, it seems unilaterally, by Administrator Rick Hart without consultation or acknowledgement of the opposing speakers or the public attendees to the meeting.
This decision was made in haste without wider community consultation and was not conducted in a democratic (way).
(Of) concern was item 2.2 Changes to the Acknowledgement of Country.
At the meeting, there was strong attendance opposing changing the Acknowledgement.
Darkinjung is only a name for the land council formed in the eighties, not inclusive or acknowledging the existing local custodians of the Central Coast.
Almost all present (at the meeting) were opposed to the change.
Mr Hart needed to require all members of the advisory committee to publicly declare all their interests before the recommendation was put to Council.
He needed to declare at the meeting how many emails he received prior to the Council meeting opposing this change.
There is no evidence (on which) to have based such a decision with researching Indigenous knowledge (and) genealogy.
This decision to adopt the change of is not inclusive of pre-existing Central Coast Indigenous groups.
It is offensive, dispossessing local land tribes, and must be challenged, investigated and rescinded.
This decision was not inclusive or representative of the true local Elders.
Email, January 25
K. Erling, Woy Woy
To the Editor,
I am a Traditional Custodian bloodline of Central Coast.
My father, grandfather plus multiple uncles were founding members of Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council.
My grandfather Tommy Sales invented the name Darkin’j’ung with a J just for the land council name.
Land councils are governed by the NSW legislative Assembly under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983.
The boundaries of a Land Council does not match Traditional tribal boundaries hence why a Land Council cannot be named after a tribe.
The current Acknowledgement to Country is not in line with the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Studys (AIATSIS) map.
Darkinoong is also spelt Darkinung and Darkinyung in the historic records.
GuriNgai,which is also spelt Kuringai, is also in the history books as Broken Bay Tribe.
Central Council Council is not honouring Bungaree who was substantial in Australian history mapping the Continent with Matthew Flinders and Central Coast Council looks as though it’s learnt nothing of Australian history that’s taught around the world.
I will not support the name my grandfather created for a statutory body to be used to wipe the GuriNgai’s broken bay tribe out of history.
Bungaree was not ‘Darkinjung’ & Central Coast Council Acknowledgement is contradicted by all history records that’s out there.
Also, no other City Councils in NSW are paying acknowledgement to a land council like Central Coast Council is doing.
In other Aboriginal nations across the state like Bundjalung or Kamilaroi Nations, City Councils acknowledge the custodians’ name, not the residing land council name, unlike Central Coast Council.
It seems to be a growing problem though, within the Aboriginal Local Land Councils across Sydney and Central Coast to deny the surviving Traditional Custodian bloodlines’ existence, with Tharawal LALC also paying Acknowledgement to themselves and denying the existence of the South West Daruk/Darug/Dharug Nations peoples.