Language
Gugu Badhun is considered, with the Gudjal language, to be a dialect of the Warrongo subgroup of Greater Maric. The Gugu Badhun dialect has dental consonants, in contrast to the rest of Warrongo.Country
Norman Tindale estimated that the Gugu Badhun, or as he wrote it, ''Kokopatun'', occupy roughly of territory lying east of theThe Gugu Badhun inhabited the Upper Burdekin (on both sides of the river), north to Meadowbank, Glenharding and Wairuna Stations, where they had their border with the Warungu. Their southern border was the Clarke River, about where it joins the Burdekin. There they met the Gudjal. These three tribes, running north to south, formed something of a unity.The landscape of Gugu Badhun country was formed through lava flows from Kinrara volcano, which erupted 7000 years ago. The country centres on a region known as the Valley of Lagoons. The region gets its name from a number of vast, but shallow, lagoons near the Burdekin River. Some of these lagoons dry out during the prolonged dry season common to North Queensland, but others are permanent, spring-fed lagoons. The year-round water supply maintains a diverse array of birdlife, kangaroos and other mammals, and today, beef cattle. Cadet-James et al. (2017, p. 1-2) describe the landscape:
Along the watercourses, the vegetation is thick and green, but away from the water it changes dramatically. Here, the countryside is predominantly open eucalypt woodland, dominated by ironbarks and with an understory of grass. While not arid country, it is certainly not lush. Grey kangaroos and agile wallabies are the most obvious mammals, but possums, echidna, bandicoots and many others live here too. Large birds include emu and bustards, while apostle-birds, honeyeaters and parrots provide a noisy background to this archetypal Australian bush setting. In places where the basalt is on the surface, the land may appear barren, but beneath the surface the fissured rock provides the source of the life-giving springs of water that nourish these lands.
Native title
Gugu Badhun people hold native title over approximately through the Gugu Badhun People #2 Consent Determination on 1 August 2012. The Gugu Badhun Aboriginal Corporation (GBAC) is the Registered Native Title Body Corporate (RNTBC), also sometimes referred to as the Prescribed Body Corporate (PBC), incorporated under the '' Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (Cth) (CATSI)''. GBAC holds and exercises the native title rights and interests as the agent of the Gugu Badhun People.People
The Gugu Badhun people have maintained an ongoing connection to the land known as Gugu Badhun country. Gugu Badhun people have experienced colonisation and dispossession from land, but their story "is a story of achievement in the face of adversity". The first European contact with Gugu Badhun people was"At that stage, when I got to know him ick Hoolihan I didn't understand this until later, that he was born on the Valley of Lagoons in a cave, grew up, educated himself and unbeknown to me, he was an Aboriginal activist in the 1950s. He was the first President of the Townsville Aboriginal Advancement League. He came out of the Act situation. He led a bit of a rebellion of all the Aboriginal stockmen in the upper Burdekin. He encouraged them not to sign up on the employment contracts. He was a bit of a radical person. Then he joined the Communist Party. When he came to Townsville, he was very heavily involved in Aboriginal affairs in the '50s" (Noel Gertz, quoted in Cadet-James et al, 2017, p.100).Today, Gugu Badhun people gather on country annually for a Culture Camp which reinforces community ties, connection to country, and cultural values. Like all identities, the Gugu Badhun identity has evolved since before contact with Europeans, but Gugu Badhun people strongly identify with their culture, country, and community.
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