Nilpena: A land of wonder and connection for Traditional Owners

As a proud and respect­ed Adnya­math­anha woman, a flu­ent speak­er of her native lan­guage, Pauline is a vital mem­ber of the co-man­age­ment board of the Ikara-Flinders Ranges Nation­al Park — and as such the new Nilpe­na Edi­acara Nation­al Park — pro­vid­ing key insights into indige­nous affin­i­ty, cul­tur­al under­stand­ing and rela­tion­ships and man­age­ment of the lands.

Born in Hawk­er and spend­ing her ear­ly years with her par­ents on a sheep sta­tion at Martin’s Well, she has always had a spe­cial con­nec­tion to the land around her, pre­fer­ring to be mus­ter­ing or fix­ing wind­mills with her dad than doing school work; being one with the land has been an impor­tant lega­cy of her child­hood she still car­ries strong.

Now, not only a local iden­ti­fy, Pauline is a proud, sin­cere and knowl­edge­able ambas­sador for the Adnya­math­anha peo­ple, giv­ing of her time, shar­ing her insights and knowl­edge in tours edu­cat­ing vis­i­tors about bush tuck­er and local stories.

For Pauline, Nilpe­na and the pur­suit of World Her­itage in the north­ern Flinders Ranges rep­re­sents a fur­ther oppor­tu­ni­ty to pro­mote an inter­na­tion­al appre­ci­a­tion of Abo­rig­i­nal cul­ture, and to help fur­ther in the restora­tion and reha­bil­i­ta­tion of the land – through pro­grams includ­ing Oper­a­tion Bounce­back, sav­ing the yel­low-foot­ed rock wal­la­by from extinc­tion in South Australia.

Want to grow your under­stand­ing of the tra­di­tion­al own­ers of the Flinders Ranges?

Learn more tra­di­tion­al lands of the Adnya­math­anha peo­ple at South Australia’s new­ly opened Nilpe­na Edi­acara Nation­al Park, locat­ed in the North­ern Flinders Rangers.

To ensure the preser­va­tion of this sci­en­tif­ic and cul­tur­al­ly sig­nif­i­cant area, entry to Nilpe­na Edi­acara Nation­al Park is by guid­ed tour only. Book­ings can­not be made at the entrance and must be organ­ised online pri­or to arrival.

For fur­ther details or to book vis­it: Nilpe­na… — Nation­al Parks and Wildlife Ser­vice South Australia