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PHOTO CREDIT: Shannon Brett PHOTO CREDIT: Rhett Hammerton

Can you describe your uncle and his vision for the land? There is a Welcome to Country, followed by a tour of the property where they
Uncle Bennett is the eldest of all Nana’s twelve children. He is a respected elder learn about all the different plants and their uses.
in the Kuku Yalanji community and whenever I have questions or need advice, The property is made up of sections, including rows of plants for medicine,
KUYU KUYU I know. His knowledge about our kinship/family lines, culture and country is cultural tools and bush tucker.
I often turn to him. To me, Uncle is one of the most knowledgeable persons
vast. There are few elders in our community that we can turn to for this advice
The men made woomeras, while I do my weaving sessions with the women.
and knowledge.
They then walked out on the mudflats to go hunting with kuku yalanji cultural
tours (Uncle Bennett’s sons). They also participated in tree planting on the
Over the last couple of years, I’ve visited my Uncle and the family block he block at the end of their visit.
A place for weaving stories and cultural resilience. has been working on at Cooya Beach (Kuyu Kuyu). He and his family have
Delissa Walker talks about the land her uncle reclaimed where been working tirelessly to vegetate and maintain the land with the support of Can you say something about the land where you presently live?
other organisations such as Jabalbina and Kubirriwarra Yalanji Corporation It
Cooya Beach (Kuyu Kuyu) is an important hunting ground for our people.
she brings female relatives together to weave stories is truly a sight to see. Imagine a big field at the mouth of the river dedicated to The name means there are “many fish”. All year round you can catch fish there.
traditional plants and spaces to make traditional tools and weaving workshops
Seafood is plentiful.
What do you do on that land? We also do a “Walker Women’s’ weaving lesson” at Cooya Beach. This is a
I do weaving lessons. There are black palm trees I planted in Daintree that have beautiful get together for all the nieces and aunties to sit around, tell stories and
now been transplanted on the block to create a space to do weaving lessons. Just practice traditional basket weaving. This will be an ongoing get together for our
over a year ago I taught the women recruits from the Indigenous Navy Reserve. family. It’s nice to see the young ones giving it a go but also the older Aunties
It was a whole day cultural program. relearning how to weave to keep that practice alive.
30 Port Douglas Travel Planner PORT DOUGLAS MAGAZINE 31