Want to know about the history of Yuragir National Park in northern New South Wales?

An excellent point of reference is There were always people here: a history of Yuraygir National Park .

Written by Johanna Kijas and published by the New South Wales Department of Environment and Climate Change, this publication is one to treasure. I've been on the lookout for something such as this for many years.

The publication explores the ways in which:
* Aboriginal people have retained their connections to Country
* settler Australians have created new lives and formed new attachments to the landscape
* complex historical and social forces and conflicts have shaped the creation and establishment of Yuraygir National Park.

It also records some of the wonderfully rich memories that people have of this landscape. It records the way they experience it, the way they remember it, how they continue to revisit it, and how the landscape itself provokes powerful emotions.

I must acknowledge that it was a review by blogger perkinsy that pointed me in the direction of this excellent publication. Thanks, perkinsy!

Here are some extracts from perkinsy's review:

One of the features of this publication is the incorporation of both Aboriginal and settler histories into the narrative.  The custodial relationship of the local Aboriginal people to the land prior to European settlement, during the difficult period of colonisation through to today is recognised throughout.  Australian history did not start with European settlement, the Aboriginal people had lived here for thousands of years.  Acknowledgement of this is also reflected in the title – ‘there were always people here’.

 ... there is enough information for a reader who is interested in a particular issue mentioned in the publication to follow up more detailed sources through the footnotes and the extensive bibliography.

This is more than a synthesis of the work of others.  Kijas has sought to address the gaps in our knowledge of the history of the area.  The contribution that this publication makes to our knowledge is through the many interviews that Kijas has done with those people whose families made a significant contribution to the area, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal.

Read perkinsy's review of There were always people here.

Credits: Department of Environment and Climate Change and Yvonne Perkins