Adelaide Hills Council acknowledges that we undertake our business on the land of the Peramangk and Kaurna Nations. We acknowledge their deeply spiritual connection with Country and we pay our respect to Elders past, present and future as the Custodians of this ancient and beautiful land.
We are committed to working together to ensure that Peramangk and Kaurna culture and traditions are preserved and valued. Together we will care for this country for the generations to come.
As Australians, we are all here, woven into this country. As part of our reconciliation journey, there are truths to tell, stories to celebrate, and relationships to grow. Reconciliation is at the heart of our nations' future.
Reconciliation
Reconciliation is about Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians talking, walking, and working together to overcome the reasons for division and inequality between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians.
Reconciliation is a nationally recognised approach to:
- Recognising and celebrating Aboriginal culture and contributions
- Building and strengthening our engagement with the Aboriginal community
- Acknowledging the impact of the past for Aboriginal people
- Building a future together.
For everyone
Reconciliation is not a niche topic; it is relevant to all people:
- Peramangk and Kaurna traditional custodians
- Non-Aboriginal people who live and work in the area
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who live and work in our area.
The Adelaide Hills Reconciliation Working Group will share information and resources for the community though the Adelaide Hills and Mount Barker District Councils' websites.
Reconciliation Action Plan
Adelaide Hills Council and Mount Barker District Council are committed to working in collaboration with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members of our community to develop and progress Reconciliation Action Plans.
Adelaide Hills Reconciliation Working Group
The Adelaide Hills Reconciliation Working Group (AHRWG) is a regional reference group that assists the Adelaide Hills and Mount Barker District Councils to develop and implement their Reconciliation Action Plans. It also provides general advice on matters that impact the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.
There are nearly 600 residents in the Adelaide Hills region who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander (2016 Census; 220 in the Adelaide Hills Council district and 360 in the Mount Barker District Council). The councils of this region recognise that the Aboriginal heritage and living culture of First Nation Peoples is a fundamental part of our district and thriving communities.
Meet your Adelaide Hills Reconciliation Working Group
Deanne Hanchant-Nichol
A descendant of the Tanganekald and Ramindjeri peoples through her grandmother, and of the Barkindji peoples through her grandfather, Deanne also has family connections to the Narungga and Kaurna people. Deanne's mother's family are descendants of the Prussian Weinerts who arrived in the hills in 1841 and settled in Lobethal.
Deanne works as a consultant for Aboriginal employment and development at UniSA. She was a writer of the 2014 Reconciliation Action Plan and instrumental in establishing a Kaurna Welcome for the new Vice Chancellor in 2013.
She is a recipient of the Vice Chancellor's Professional Staff Excellence Award, for reconciliation and working across boundaries, as well as a Gladys Elphick Award, for influencing positive change for Aboriginal people in the workforce.
Deanne is also a Hills Treasure.
Lou Turner
His experiences have led to a belief in the value of reciprocity and Lou aspires to seek understandings and solutions that can embolden processes of reconciliation between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. He believes that this can be achieved through a mutual exchange of ideas and a willingness to heal our past and grow a proud future together.
Lou expresses faith in the process of harnessing collective strengths to raise and sustain a future of united voice that can talk of a national identity we can all own and be proud of.
Jane Longbottom
As part of her Bachelor of Social Work at the University of Queensland, Jane worked for a small Aboriginal community-controlled welfare service in inner city Brisbane for three months in 1974. This changed her life completely. Over the years, Jane has worked for other Aboriginal organisations and has been involved with Aboriginal staff and programs in mainstream settings.
Jane's involvement in the development of Reconciliation Action Plans for large not for profit agency has shown her the many benefits active RAPs bring to both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal service users and staff.
Jane continues to learn more about her own internalised racism and the reality of white privilege and its influence in all aspect of life. She also continues to learn more about the necessity of truth telling about the real history of country since colonisation and the ongoing violence injustice perpetrated against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Andrew McNichol
He has worked extensively with the Ngarrindjeri community in Murray Bridge as both as a community workship leader and performing arts instructor.
It was personally transformative for Andrew to work as an artist in residence within the Yuendumu community. On his second visit, he was given a skin name, tying him to kin in order to work alongside indigenous artists under their guidance. This gift of kinship to the Walbiri community had a very powerful effect on him.
Andrew is currently the Artistic Director of the local arts group, Arts Excentrix, (formerly Dance Excentrix), an organisation that has made a huge contribution to Community Cultural Development in the Adelaide Hills and Mt Barker regions since 1987 providing performances and educational opportunities.
Hayley Willis
Hayley has been in an Aboriginal education role for over 11 years, currently working as an Aboriginal Services Engagement Officer for the Department for Education.
Linking local schools with reconciliation events and activities is important for Hayley, as is creating more curriculum resources for Peramangk Country.
Hayley organises the 'Just Too Deadly Awards' which is an annual event that celebrates Aboriginal students living in the Adelaide Hills.
Jade Brook
Jade currently works as an Aboriginal Community Education Officer at a local Hills school, runs a consultancy service that works with local businesses to support them in how to be culturally competent and culturally safe. Jade is also one of the founders of APPS - Aboriginal People Providing Service and is on the board of Woven.
Jade is has a full scholarship to study Aboriginal Christian Leadership and is currently in her second year. This is a national program run by Australian's Together. Jade also has a Dipolma of Leadership with Alphacrucis. Jade loves standing strong for her community and family.
Ros Cameron
She currently works in Mount Barker in specialising in the Education of Aboriginal and Torres Stait Islander students and families.
Ros loves sharing Aboriginal history and culture with students and the community. She heads up a committee for Flaxley Woven, a place where Arts & Culture meets community - Reconciliation in action!
She is also very creative and loves to sing. Ros is a visual artist.
Jessica Szilassy
Jessica is a hills resident of over twenty years, and recognises and respects the cultural heritage and history of the Aboriginal peoples of our district.
Jessica is keen to further her knowledge of, and engagement with, our First Nations community. She feels strongly that we need to support and promote opportunities for reconciliation, cultural understanding and truth telling with our wider community, so that we may work toward a promising future together.
Native Title
What is Native Title?
The Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) was introduced following the landmark Mabo decision to recognise the prior rights and interests held by First Nations in Australia’s lands and waters.
In 1982, Eddie Mabo and other Torres Strait Islander people decided to fight for their ancestral right to their land.
They argued to the courts in Queensland that Australian law didn’t recognise that Indigenous people had a system of law and ownership before British settlement.
After a long battle, a decade later in 1992 the High Court ruled that Indigenous traditional title to the land had survived British settlement. The concept of ‘terra nullius’ was abolished and the native title was recognised.
After the momentous Mabo Case, the Native Title Act 1993 was passed by the Australian parliament.
“We cannot imagine that the descendants of people whose genius and resilience maintained a culture here through 50,000 years or more … will be denied their place in the modern Australian nation." Prime Minister Paul Keating, 10 December 1992
The Native Title Act establishes a legal framework to manage interests in lands and waters held or claimed by Indigenous and settler Australians.
The Act has methods for Indigenous groups to make an application to the Federal Court to have their Native Title rights formally recognised through a determination.
It also has ways for other people or organisations, like State and Local Governments to be involved in claims and resolve native title applications through negotiation and mediation.
Who are the Traditional Custodians of the Adelaide Hills?
The Traditional Custodians of the Adelaide Hills are the Peramangk and Kaurna peoples. More information on the Aboriginal history of the area can be found on the Council website via the link below.
On 21 March 2018, after 18 years of legal proceedings the Kaurna people were recognised as native title holders for lands around Adelaide including a significant area within Adelaide Hills Council.
Shared Country
As a part of our continuing work on reconciliation across the district, we have partnered with mantirridesign to create Shared Country, a visual reminder of our district's traditional custodians, the Peramangk and Kaurna Peoples.
The artwork is drawn from the Shared Country mural located on Torrens Valley Road, Gumeracha and reflects the Seven Sisters, arranged as waterholes along the course of a river with coolamons laying amongst thickets of sedges.
Elements of the Shared Country design
More information
For further information about the Council's reconciliation program, please contact:
Lynne Griffiths
Community and Cultural Development Officer
8408 0552 | lgriffiths@ahc.sa.gov.au
Hamilton Hill reserve named after traditional Kaurna Elder Lewis Yarlupurka O’Brien
As part of Aboriginal Place Naming Action Plan, Adelaide Hills Council features traditional Kaurna names for the Hamilton Hill reserve.