- NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT VISION FOR THE NORTHERN AGRICULTURAL REGION OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Aboriginal people have cared for the lands and waters of the Northern Agricultural Region (NAR) for tens of thousands of years and maintain strong and continuing connections to Country, culture and community.
The NAR encompasses the traditional Country of a number of Aboriginal peoples and language groups. Across much of the central and northern NAR are Yamatji peoples and groups, including Amangu, Naaguja, Nhanhagardi, Mullewa Wajarri, Widi and Wilunyu. Nanda people are the Traditional Owners of Country in the north-west of the region, including areas around Kalbarri and the lower Murchison River, while Badimia people are Traditional Owners of Country extending into the eastern NAR, including parts of the Perenjori and Dalwallinu areas.
In the southern NAR, Noongar Country extends into the region. The principal Noongar group represented within the NAR is the Yued people, whose Country forms part of the wider Noongar cultural area of south-west Western Australia.
Today these are the main language groups of Yamaji people and their locations:
The boundaries between Aboriginal Countries and language groups should not be understood as simple or fixed lines. Country, cultural responsibilities, family connections and language areas may overlap, and different sources may use different names or spellings for Aboriginal peoples and languages. Traditional Owners and their representative organisations are the appropriate authorities on their Country, culture and cultural boundaries.
Aboriginal peoples remain the custodians of their traditional lands and waters and continue to care for Country, protect cultural heritage, maintain and pass on cultural knowledge, and participate in the management of the region’s natural and cultural resources.
Native title recognises the rights and interests that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples may hold in land and waters under their traditional laws and customs. Several significant native title determinations and agreements apply across the Northern Agricultural Region. Native title status and Traditional Ownership are related but distinct concepts, the presence or absence of legally recognised native title does not, by itself, define Aboriginal cultural connection, identity or custodianship of Country.
The Yamatji Nation Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) is a landmark agreement between the State of Western Australia and the Yamatji Nation. It covers approximately 48,000 square kilometres of land and waters in the Mid West, including much of the central NAR.
The Agreement settled four underlying native title claims, Southern Yamatji, Hutt River, Widi Mob and Mullewa Wadjari, through the broader Yamatji Nation process. In February 2020, the Federal Court recognised that the Yamatji Nation holds non-exclusive native title rights and interests over selected parcels of land within the Agreement area. The ILUA was registered by the National Native Title Tribunal on 30 July 2020 and conclusively registered on 26 October 2020.
The Agreement provides a range of land, cultural, social and economic benefits for the Yamatji Nation. These include the creation of a Yamatji Land Estate and a Yamatji Conservation Estate of approximately 690,000 hectares, comprising new and existing conservation areas and opportunities for joint management. The Agreement also includes measures relating to cultural heritage protection, water, economic development, housing and governance.
The South West Native Title Settlement is an agreement between the Noongar people and the Western Australian Government covering approximately 200,000 square kilometres of south-west Western Australia. The Settlement formally commenced on 25 February 2021 and comprises six Indigenous Land Use Agreements.
The Yued Indigenous Land Use Agreement is the part of the Settlement most relevant to the southern NAR. The Yued agreement area includes places such as Jurien Bay, Moora, Lancelin and Gingin. The Settlement recognises the Noongar people as the Traditional Owners of the south-west region and provides a range of measures supporting Noongar culture, land management, heritage protection, governance and economic and community development. It also provides for co-operative and joint management of parts of the conservation estate.
On 28 November 2018, the Federal Court formally recognised the Nanda people as native title holders over approximately 17,000 square kilometres of their traditional Country.
The determination area includes Kalbarri, Kalbarri National Park, Zuytdorp Nature Reserve and Toolonga Nature Reserve, as well as areas associated with the Murchison River. The determination recognises native title rights and interests across the determination area, including exclusive possession rights in some areas.
Badimia people are Traditional Owners of Country extending across parts of the Mid West and into the eastern NAR.
A native title claim by the Badimia people was determined by the Federal Court in 2015, with the Court finding that native title had not been established under the requirements of the Native Title Act 1993. A native title determination is a legal process applying the requirements of that Act and should not be understood as determining whether a people have cultural identity, history or continuing connections with Country.
Badimia people continue to maintain cultural connections and responsibilities to their traditional Country.
Aboriginal peoples have lived on and cared for the Australian continent for at least 65,000 years, maintaining some of the world’s oldest continuing cultures. Over this long history, Aboriginal peoples developed diverse languages, cultural practices, knowledge systems and relationships with Country. These cultures and knowledge systems continue today.
Archaeological and cultural heritage places throughout the Northern Agricultural Region (NAR) provide evidence of the long history of Aboriginal occupation and use of Country. These include artefact scatters, shell middens, caves and rock shelters, burial places and other culturally significant places. Many places also hold cultural significance that may not be evident from archaeological remains or recorded on heritage registers.
The coast between Green Head and Jurien Bay is particularly significant for its concentration of Aboriginal shell middens. This area has been identified as containing the largest number of midden deposits in south-west Western Australia. The middens contain predominantly marine shells, together with fish remains and other evidence of the long-standing use of coastal and marine resources by Aboriginal people.
Aboriginal cultural heritage is not limited to archaeological evidence of past occupation. Country remains culturally significant to Traditional Owners, and knowledge, stories, responsibilities and connections to places, plants, animals and waters continue to be maintained and passed between generations.
European colonisation from the nineteenth century brought profound changes to Aboriginal peoples and their ability to access and care for Country. Dispossession, pastoral and agricultural expansion, introduced diseases, government policies and other impacts disrupted communities and traditional land management practices. Despite these impacts, Aboriginal peoples maintained their cultures, identities and connections to Country, and continue to exercise cultural responsibilities and care for Country today.
Native title provides one legal mechanism through which the continuing rights and interests of Aboriginal peoples in land and waters may be recognised under Australian law. Native title claims, determinations and Indigenous Land Use Agreements have changed substantially over time across the NAR. Current information about native title applications, determinations and agreements should therefore be obtained from the National Native Title Tribunal rather than relying on fixed numbers of claims.
Aboriginal cultures across the Northern Agricultural Region are diverse, reflecting the different peoples, language groups and Countries of the region. Cultural knowledge, stories, ceremonies, art and relationships with Country are passed between generations and continue to form an important part of Aboriginal identity and custodianship.
Creation stories explain relationships between people, Country, water, plants, animals and ancestral beings, and vary between cultural groups. Knowledge of the sky is closely connected with seasonal knowledge and the use of Country, built on careful observation of how the sky, seasons, plants, animals and human activity are interconnected. The NAR also contains many places of cultural and spiritual significance, including waterways, wetlands, coastal areas, artefact sites, and middens. River mouths, estuaries and other water places may also hold particular cultural significance to Traditional Owners.
Cultural knowledge and the significance of particular places are not always publicly available. Traditional Owners are the appropriate authorities on their cultural heritage, stories and culturally significant places.
Coralie Dann, Yamaji Elder. Taken from Marlaguwinmanha, Returning back to the bush 2016. Produced by Chris Lewis.
For Aboriginal people, Country encompasses more than the physical environment. It includes interconnected relationships between people, land, waters, plants, animals, ancestors, culture and spirituality. Connection to Country is an important part of identity, culture and wellbeing, and caring for Country reflects the continuing responsibilities of Traditional Owners to protect and sustain Country for present and future generations.
Across the Northern Agricultural Region, Traditional Owners continue to care for Country through cultural knowledge and practices and contemporary land and sea management. Traditional Owner-led ranger programs and jointly managed conservation areas support activities including biodiversity monitoring, threatened species management, invasive species control, fire management and the protection of cultural and natural values.
Aboriginal cultural heritage places are recorded through the Western Australian Government’s Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Inquiry System (ACHIS). In August 2026, a spatial search of the ACH Register identified 328 registered Aboriginal cultural heritage places intersecting the Northern Agricultural Region. ACHIS notes that results for complex search areas may be inaccurate.
The ACH Register is not a comprehensive inventory of Aboriginal cultural heritage. Aboriginal cultural heritage in Western Australia is protected whether or not it has been reported or included on the Register.
Search the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Inquiry System (ACHIS)
Aboriginal peoples hold detailed knowledge of Country developed and passed between generations over thousands of years. This knowledge encompasses relationships between people, plants, animals, water, climate and seasons, as well as cultural responsibilities, practices and ways of caring for Country. It continues to inform the management of land, water and biodiversity across the Northern Agricultural Region.
Two-way science, sometimes also called right-way science, brings Aboriginal knowledge systems and Western scientific approaches together in respectful partnerships. Traditional Owners may work alongside scientists and land managers in activities such as biodiversity surveys, threatened species conservation, monitoring environmental change, managing invasive species and restoring Country. Effective partnerships recognise Traditional Owners as knowledge holders and decision-makers and respect cultural protocols about how knowledge is collected, interpreted, shared and used.
Aboriginal knowledge is also part of Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP). ICIP includes cultural and ecological knowledge, languages, stories, cultural practices and information about culturally significant species and places. Some knowledge may be restricted or may only be shared with the permission of the appropriate knowledge holders. The use of Aboriginal knowledge should therefore respect cultural authority, appropriate attribution and Free, Prior and Informed Consent, including the right of Traditional Owners to determine whether and how their knowledge is shared and used.
Respectful collaboration between Traditional Owners, Aboriginal organisations, researchers and natural resource managers can strengthen understanding of Country and support environmental management while ensuring that Aboriginal knowledge, cultural values and custodial responsibilities are recognised and protected.
Wabarl (Badimia language for Malleefowl Leipoa ocellata). From left: Photo by Dave Curtis. Photo by Jarna Kendall. Artwork by Tayha-Marie Walley.
Mobilising Indigenous Knowledge for the Collaborative Management of Kimberley Saltwater Country; Report to the Kimberley Indigenous Saltwater Science Project (KISSP) Working Group, July 2017. B.J. Austin, C.J. Robinson, G. Lincoln, R.J. Dobbs, F. Tingle & S.T. Garnett.
Traditional Owners continue to care for Country across the Northern Agricultural Region through Aboriginal-led land management, ranger programs and partnerships with government agencies, natural resource management organisations, researchers and other land managers. Activities include protecting cultural heritage, monitoring native plants and animals, managing weeds and feral animals, restoring habitat and passing cultural and ecological knowledge between generations.
Aboriginal ranger programs provide opportunities for Traditional Owners to work on Country while supporting environmental management, cultural heritage protection, employment, training and the continuation of cultural knowledge. The Western Australian Government’s Aboriginal Ranger Program supports Aboriginal organisations to lead land and sea management according to local priorities.
Joint management of conservation areas is also increasing the role of Traditional Owners in decisions about Country. Under the Yamatji Nation Agreement, approximately 470,000 hectares of conservation estate is to be jointly vested and managed by Yamatji representatives and the State, supported by a Yamatji ranger program. These arrangements recognise Traditional Owners as active partners in the long-term management and protection of Country.
European exploration and settlement of the Northern Agricultural Region increased during the mid-nineteenth century. Coal was discovered on the Irwin River in 1846, followed by lead and other minerals along the Murchison River in 1848. Mining began at the Geraldine Mine in 1849, Geraldton was established around the same period, and pastoral and agricultural settlement expanded across the region during the following decades.
Colonisation had profound impacts on Aboriginal peoples. The expansion of pastoralism, agriculture, mining and towns restricted access to Country, water sources and culturally significant places. Introduced diseases, dispossession and successive government policies disrupted communities, cultural practices and traditional land management, while Aboriginal people also provided important knowledge and labour to the developing pastoral and agricultural industries.
Despite these impacts, Aboriginal peoples maintained their cultural identities, knowledge and connections to Country. Traditional Owners continue to care for Country, protect cultural heritage and pass knowledge between generations today.
Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Inquiry System
Badimia Bandi Barna Aboriginal Corporation
Badimia Land Aboriginal Corporation
Bundiyarra Aboriginal Corporation
Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage
Nanda Native Title Determination
Noongar People of Western Australia
South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council
South West Native Title Settlement
Yamatji Marlpa Aboriginal Corporation
