More than 50,000 hectares of land at Cape York has been returned to Aboriginal Traditional Owners, after a 22-year effort that might pave the way for further ancestral land tenure resolutions. An area of about 54,500 hectares known as Sandstone East, about 90 kilometres north-west of Cooktown, has been returned to the Binthii, Balnaggarr, Nhirrbanh, Wundall and Wunuurr clans after Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships Curtis Pitt handed over the title deeds at a ceremony at Hopevale on Wednesday.
The state government had purchased the area from private landowners in 1994 with the intention to return the land to the traditional owners in the future. Not-for-profit organisation Balkanu Cape York Development Corporation worked on behalf of the traditional owners with the state government for more than two decades to determine areas of significance at Sandstone East and ensure everyone’s voice was heard.
Balkanu Cape York Development Corporation chief operating officer Terry Piper said while the process was lengthy, the journey was important. “It is quite a process and took some years to work through, the journey is just as important as the outcome in terms of how people are involved and ensuring that people feel happy with the outcome,” he said. Binthii traditional owner Stewart Wallace said it felt “amazing” to have this “long struggle” finally sorted out. “We have put a lot into it,” he said. “Now that we have got what we wanted, we are pretty happy, we are ready to stand up in the real world and be counted.”
Mr Wallace said it gave his clan and others the confidence to go into economic and sustainable avenues alongside different levels of government for the benefit of future generations. “The indigenous population as a whole will benefit from around this area for employment and other avenues as well,” he said.
