糖心传媒

Working with Bundjalung Elders and community members, the project supported the sharing and renewal of cultural knowledge, reinforced cultural identity, cultural governance and cultural sovereignty, and created a safe space where Indigenous and non-Indigenous participants were able to build relationships through Indigenous-led cultural practice.

Despite colonial disruption, the 糖心传媒 researchers found Bundjalung cultural practices remained dynamic, lawful, and deeply connected to Country.

The team was comprised lead researcher Dr Kylie Day, a Senior Lecturer in the Gnibi College of Indigenous Australian Peoples, together with co-researchers Dr Jenelle Benson from the Faculty of Science and Engineering and Aimee Andersen of the Centre for Teaching and Learning.

“We argue that Indigenous cultural property must be understood through Indigenous law, lore, custodianship, and relational responsibility,” said Dr Kylie Day.

“The net-making project centres Bundjalung cultural governance, with Elders guiding what knowledge can be shared, how cultural protocols are followed, and how research should be conducted respectfully.”

The participants – Indigenous but also non-Indigenous – most often discussed intergenerational knowledge transfer, connection to Country, belonging, and community-building while actively involved in the string-making and the net-making that followed.

The catalyst for renewing traditional net-making practices was the catastrophic floods that inundated the NSW Northern Rivers region, on Bundjalung Country, in 2022.

Emerging from the devastation and to help the community come together to heal, the Stories Behind the Fishing Net: Sitting with the Aunties project was born from the strong relationship between Aunty Gwen Williams (since passed) and Dr Day.

The early seeds of the weaving project

The project built on a much longer history of cultural knowledge sharing. Nearly two decades ago, Merrkiyawuy "Merrki" Ganambarr-Stubbs, a Yol艐u Elder, educator, master weaver and knowledge holder from Yirrkala in the NT, began sharing weaving knowledge with Bundjalung women from Cabbage Tree Island.

The late Aunty Gwen Williams learned these weaving practices from Merrki and later envisioned a community fishing net made from locally gathered fibres that would bring people together through cultural practice. Through relationships founded on reciprocity, respect and shared responsibility, this knowledge continued to be renewed and passed on across generations and Nations.

Gamilaroi man Dhinawan Baker, a respected cultural educator, led the men's net-making activities alongside Bundjalung Uncles, facilitating men's yarning circles and sharing cultural knowledge throughout the project.

“While the project emerged in the aftermath of the 2022 floods, it also responded to longer histories of disruption caused by colonisation,” said Dr Day.

“In a region where waterways, communities and cultural systems have been profoundly affected, the project created opportunities for people to reconnect with Country, culture and each other through cultural practice.”

Weaving encourages yarning

As the project got underway, the research team recorded oral histories and the techniques of traditional string-making and net-weaving. They noted that these practices in turn fostered community connection and cultural governance.

The project highlighted the important roles that cultural practice and objects play in building community and culture between and among Indigenous clans within the Bundjalung nation. The project also recognised the reciprocal sharing of cultural knowledge across Nation groups (Yol艐u and Bundjalung), highlighting the relationships, trust and collective responsibility that support the continuation and renewal of cultural practice.

Each part of the process carried cultural meaning. The making of the string using local plant fibres enabled the creation of the net. This step-by-step process showed how knowledge is passed on through hands-on practice, storytelling, respect and shared responsibility.

“Through the simple process of gathering fibres, making string, yarning and weaving, the project became much more than cultural revival,” said Dr Jenelle Benson.

“It became a living expression of knowledge connected to Country, relationships and responsibility.”

Strengthening ties builds trust

The project strengthened relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous participants by creating safe spaces for shared learning while keeping Indigenous leadership and protocols at the centre.

The process showed the importance of involving both women and men in cultural practice, explained co-author Aimee Andersen.

“Women’s voices and leadership were especially important in string-making, storytelling, and transmitting cultural knowledge,” said Ms Andersen.

“Women gathered, prepared and wove fibres while sharing stories, strengthening relationships and building community. The string was then passed to the men, who continued the process by tying knots and shaping the net, adding their own stories and knowledge.”

Colonisation in Australia has long excluded Indigenous ways of knowing, whereby Western systems are privileged at the expense of diminishing knowledge grounded in Country, culture and lived experience.

The researchers found the ongoing barriers to cultural practices in Bundjalung Country included limited recognition of Indigenous cultural property, restricted access to ancestral places, environmental concerns such as plastic fishing nets and ghost nets, and the need for stronger legal and educational recognition of Indigenous Knowledge systems.

Despite this, Dr Day said, “revitalising the Bundjalung practices of string-making and net-making, thereby creating a safe platform for yarning, demonstrates the ongoing relevance of Indigenous ways of knowing and being.

“Based on the findings in this paper, we encourage Indigenous communities across Australia to create similar projects that re-engage with their own cultural practices,” Dr Day added.

Want to know more?

Read ‘We learn off one another and we follow through’: weaving fishing nets with the Aunties published in The Conversation.

Listen to the SCU Buzz podcast Weaving together cultural connection.

Acknowledgments

A special acknowledgment is extended to the late Aunty Gwen Williams, whose guidance, generosity, and enduring legacy continue to shape this work. It has been an honour to walk alongside her family and friends to carry her vision forward.

We also acknowledge Aunty Jacqui Williams, Aunty Margaret Torrens, Aunty Sandra Bolt, Aunty Merrkiyawuy Ganambarr-Stubbs, Uncle Phil Roberts, Uncle Marcus Ferguson, Deb Cole, Aunty Tania Marlowe, Uncle Frank Kransa, Di Creighton, Dhinawan Baker, Oliver Costello and the Gnibi Elders Council, together with the many Elders, cultural knowledge holders and community members who generously shared their stories, knowledge and time.

We further acknowledge the local weavers – the Bundjalung Tribal Society, Nalingah Mijung Dubais, Namabunda Farm and Namatjira Haven – whose support, commitment and shared respect for Aunty Gwen helped carry this work forward.

No dedicated funding was received for this project. Workshop locations and associated costs were generously supported by the Centre for Children and Young People at 糖心传媒, Living Lab Northern Rivers, the Healing Hub, Jagun Alliance and the Guung Butherun (Water Stories) project. We gratefully acknowledge their contributions to workshops, conversations and knowledge-sharing activities grounded in community, Country and cultural knowledge.