29 May, 2024

Kaurna Cultural Sites Mapped on Website

The City of Adelaide has worked in partnership with the Kaurna Yerta Aboriginal Corporation and Kaurna Community members to complete a Cultural Mapping Project, entitled Kaurna Voices, which was launched during Reconciliation Week. 

The interactive webpage is hosted on the City of Adelaide website and incorporates a map of the city showing sites of cultural significance supported by historical text, archived images, oral history and video recordings featuring Kaurna Elders and Community leaders.

The two-year Kaurna Voices project completes an action in Council’s Stretch Reconciliation Action Plan to “utilise the Kaurna cultural mapping project to capture sites of significance in the City and North Adelaide”.

The project has recorded Kaurna Cultural heritage through storytelling and research. It acknowledges the Kaurna Community as the Traditional Owners and Native Title Holders of the Adelaide CBD and Park Lands, the first over a capital city in Australia. The project has gathered stories relating to the cultural significance of the Adelaide Park Lands, CBD and North Adelaide to Kaurna people. There are rare descriptions of traditional Kaurna rites around death and accounts of the spiritual connection to Country.

The research conducted for this project has aimed to incorporate Tiati, or Truth-telling, to ensure authentic Kaurna stories are told. The stories tell of the destruction of Dreaming tracks and important cultural sites - especially along Karrawirra Pari / River Torrens. The research presented also includes information about Kaurna Culture and heritage and more recent historical accounts of Kaurna life in the city.

The project features oral history interviews with Kaurna Elders Dr Lewis Yarlupurka O’Brien AO, Aunty Yvonne Agius, Aunty Lynette Crocker, Uncle Mickey Kumatipi O’Brien and Kaurna Yerta Aboriginal Corporation Chair Mitzi Nam.

The oral history accounts explore themes of Kaurna Culture, history and language. Uncle Lewis explains the complex legacy of colonisation on Kaurna identity and how kinship, family, loss of language and culture were impacted by the 19th century process of colonisation. He reflects on the important themes of the connection between place, language, Kaurna identity and Adelaide.

Similarly, Aunty Lynette Crocker reflects on the importance of how Kaurna cultural identity is tied to history and place – to dispossession and removal - and back to possession through a rediscovery of place and culture and language revival.

Uncle Jeffrey Newchurch, who was also interviewed, praised the City of Adelaide for sensitively working with the Kaurna community on the cultural mapping of important sites within the Adelaide CBD, Park Lands and North Adelaide.

“Kaurna Cultural sites are not just dots on a map - Kaurna Cultural Heritage is entwined through the whole of Kaurna Country,” he said.

“Cultural mapping is a healing process. Connecting to Culture gives young Kaurna people a voice and a purpose. By working in partnership with Council - it aids the Reconciliation process.” 

Kaurna Voices was officially launched by Lord Mayor Jane Lomax-Smith at a ceremony in The Pilgrim Hall on Wednesday 29 May.

Colin James