Womans Dreaming of the Dolphin and the Turtle

New South Wales - Arakwal National Park

[This is the print version of story http://www.abc.net.au/rn/features/walkpark/prog6.htm]

Arakwal National Park was established in 2001 following the signing of an historic Indigenous Land Use Agreement between the Arakwal community and the NSW Government.

This resulted in the award of the prestigious Fred M. Packard International Parks Merit Award at the 5th World Parks Congress of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature in Durban in 2003.


Program Transcript

Jason Di Rosso: Hello, Jason Di Rosso here on Radio National Summer.

Today, the return of our special Summer series, A Walk in the Park. Over the next five days, we’ll join Roger Penny and Jane Stapleton as they follow their fascination for National Parks around Australia.

They’ll take us to some glorious places in New South Wales, Queensland, and Tasmania.

Their first stop is right in the heart of one of New South Wales’ premier tourist towns, Byron Bay. It’s called Arakwal National Park. Not many people have heard of it yet, but it’s a great story, beginning with a native title claim by the Arakwal people, and ending up in a magnificent national park. It’s all turned out so well that it’s already picked up an international award.

Here’s Jane.

Jane Stapleton: Glad you could join us on our walk. I’m heading down to the beach to meet Linda Vidler, an Arakwal elder. But first, over to Roger, who’s with Delta Kay from the Cape Byron Trust.

Roger Penny: Delta, you run a program called Dolphin Dreaming; what’s the significance of that?

Delta Kay: Dolphin Dreaming was created by my sister Yvonne Stewart, and she started it because there’s such a huge demand for Aboriginal knowledge and, here in Byron Bay, there’s so many schools and, we thought: “Why not have our own program that schools can tap into?” Not only schools, but also adult groups. Yes, so that program’s run at Cosy Corner, or The Pass, whichever venue people would like, or through the National Park we do a Bush Tucker Walk.

Roger Penny: And what’s the significance of that?

Delta Kay: Dolphin Dreaming - because that’s our women’s totem. Yes, people ask us: “Why are there so many dolphins out there?” And we say, “Because that’s our totem, and a totem is a bird or animal that we’re not allowed to harm, we always must protect it”, and that’s why there’s so many dolphins there, because our women, over these thousands of years, have always protected our dolphins. Aboriginal Art Meanings

A DREAMING is an explanation or “story” of how something began or was created. It can also explain relationships between a person and their environment.


CORROBOREE DREAMING - Lorni Hyland

This is a celebration (Corroboree) for good fortune. Giving thanks for food, protection, family and community.
1st Row (Goannas) - Good bush tucker, plentiful food supply.

2nd Row (Warriors) - Hunters and protectors.

3rd Row (Circles) - Small circles = camp-fires and large cirlces = camp-sites, symbolising togetherness of family and community, respectively.

OCEAN DREAMING - Lorni Hyland

This is a DREAMING of life, life giving and nurturing.
1st Row (Dolphins) - Draws a parallel between dolphins and humans. Dolphins, nurture their young, as do humans. The dolphin in Aboriginal culture, is often associated with a human spirit.

2nd Row (Circles) - Representing life cycles, the continuation and celebration of life.

3rd Row (Turtles) - Like the difficult journey the nesting turtle makes to lay its eggs in the sand, the road of parenthood and survival is not always easy.This is a DREAMING of life, life giving and nurturing.

Dolphins, in Aboriginal culture, like western culture, are often associated with the human spirit. This design is about lessons we can learn from the Dolphin. It shows that we, like the dolphins, must have a balance of life. Outside the serious survival issues of life, we should take time to enjoy the simple things that are around us, such as family, the sun and the waves.
http://dreamings.com.au/Retail/dreamings.php