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The unique Aboriginal stories behind Australia's islands

Whether you’re visiting the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland or Coastal New South Wales, the Creation stories of Australia’s many islands – there are 8,000+ of them – hold a long and spiritual connection to Indigenous communities.  

Owner and guide, Dwayne Bannon-Harrison on beach with clients, Ngaran Ngaran Culture Awareness, NSW © Tourism Australia

Owner and guide, Dwayne Bannon-Harrison on beach with clients, Ngaran Ngaran Culture Awareness, NSW © Tourism Australia

The Dreaming is often connected to the creation of natural wonders: sacred places that hold special cultural significance for local Aboriginal communities. Many Dreaming stories see ancestral spirits visit Earth in human form – to create Australia’s native animals and plants, waterways and landscapes – before transforming into a part of the landscape themselves. On a tour with a coastal Custodian, you’ll learn that in some of the most evocative stories, these spirits become islands. “In one of our Dreaming stories, two sisters made the ocean and then they rested on Split Solitary Island, which we call Wirriiga,” says Gumbaynggirr/Bundjalung man Clark Webb, who owns and operates Wajaana Yaam Gumbaynggirr Adventure Tours on the New South Wales Coffs Coast. “They placed their digging sticks in the shape of an ‘X’ and rested on either side of it – the younger sister on the northern side and the older sister on the southern side – before turning themselves into stone and becoming Split Solitary Island. They then made off into the night sky and became part of the Pleiades star formation, or the Seven Sisters.”

Guide on SUP board, Waajana Yaam Gumbaynggirr Adventure Tours, New South Wales © Tourism Australia

Guide on SUP board, Waajana Yaam Gumbaynggirr Adventure Tours, New South Wales © Tourism Australia

This is just one of the captivating Dreaming stories you’ll learn on a stand-up paddleboarding or kayaking tour with Wajaana Yaam Gumbaynggirr Adventure Tours, which take place on three culturally significant waterways in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Feel the magic of the landscape as your Aboriginal guide brings the Gumbaynggirr Dreaming to life.

View of Mystery Bay with mountain in the background, Eurobodalla National Park, Ngaran Ngaran Culture Awareness, New South Wales © Tourism Australia

View of Mystery Bay with mountain in the background, Eurobodalla National Park, Ngaran Ngaran Culture Awareness, New South Wales © Tourism Australia

From the two sisters to the two sons: Ngaran Ngaran Culture Awareness founding director Dwayne Bannon-Harrison, a Yuin/Ngarrugu descendant, says the Creation story of Barunguba (Montague Island) is central to his company’s immersive guided experience on the New South Wales South Coast. The Dreaming story, he says, is about Mother Gulaga (Mount Dromedary) – a sacred mountain within Gulaga National Park, in Djiringanj/Yuin Country – and her two sons. When Mother Gulaga’s eldest son, Barunguba, wanted to move away and explore his independence, she entrusted him with the responsibility of holding the connection between saltwater and the land. He thus became the island that bears his name. But when her younger son Najanuga wanted to follow suit, Mother Gulaga insisted he shouldn’t venture into the sea, so he became Najanuga (Little Dromedary mountain).

Walkabout Cultural Adventures, Cooya Beach, QLD © Tourism and Events Queensland

Walkabout Cultural Adventures, Cooya Beach, QLD © Tourism and Events Queensland

In Tropical North Queensland, Kuku Yalanji man Juan Walker believes Dreaming stories are best told on Country by an Indigenous guide. Book a tour with his company Walkabout Cultural Adventures, based near Port Douglas, and your Kuku Yalanji guide will happily share the evocative Creation story of Snapper Island, which is part of their traditional Sea Country in this lush corner of Australia. Just remember to keep an eye out for crocs while you’re soaking up the fascinating stories.  

Dirk Hartog Island, Wula Gura Nyinda Eco Cultural Adventures, Shark Bay, WA © Will Wardle Media

Dirk Hartog Island, Wula Gura Nyinda Eco Cultural Adventures, Shark Bay, WA © Will Wardle Media

Over in Western Australia, Wula Gura Nyinda Eco Cultural Adventures operates a walking tour through World Heritage-listed wilderness areas, giving you the chance to discover the ancient Creation story of Wilybidi (Francois Peron National Park) and Wirruwanna (Dirk Hartog Island National Park), the latter the state’s largest island.

A Tiwi artist painting shells © Tourism NT/Shaana McNaught

A Tiwi artist painting shells © Tourism NT/Shaana McNaught

Head to the Top End of the Northern Territory and off the coast of Darwin lie the Tiwi Islands. On a day tour here with Tiwi Tours you can visit the Museum with its displays of traditional art and depictions of Tiwi Dreaming stories. Guides may tell you the story of Mudungkala, an old blind woman who created the islands when she was carrying her children to a safe place.