Agreement to protect Gnulli heritageIn August 2011, Traditional Owners signed anagreement with Rio Tinto’s Dampier Salt to protectIndigenous heritage in WA’s Midwest.The signing ceremony between the Gnulli native titleclaim group and Rio Tinto took place at Dampier SaltsLake Macleod operation, some 100 kilometres north ofCarnarvon.The agreement signed between the two partiesestablishes guidelines on the protection of Indigenousculture, and importantly, the consultation ofTraditional Owners on all heritage matters in the area.Lake Macleod is of special cultural significance tothe Gnulli people, whose traditional country coversapproximately 87,876 square kilometers of land andsea; including the towns of Carnarvon, Coral Bay andExmouth.Lake Macleod is the westernmost lake in Australia andrecognised as a wetland of national importance due tothe abundance of birdlife and the fact that the lake isperiodically inundated by freshwater.Baiyungu Traditional Owner and Gnulli chairperson,Paul Baron, is pleased to see agreement reachedbetween his people and Dampier Salt. “The Gnullinative title group has been working for some timeto establish the protection of Indigenous heritagesurrounding the Dampier Salt operation and we arehappy that this agreement will formalise the safeguardof our cultural heritage.”Yamatji Marlpa Aboriginal Corporation (YMAC) islooking forward to both parties developing a mutuallybeneficial relationship into the future.
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