Welcome to our Gubbi Gubbi web home.
There are many stories of the Gubbi Gubbi across the Web, some are correct and some are wrong. Of those that are wrong some seriously so and effect overall understanding of who we, the Gubbi Gubbi people, really are. Over coming days this site will devote itself to education and leave the political content to the Sunshine Coast and Moreton Bay Indigenous Advisory Councils Site.
This site will be dedicated to presenting an authentic view of our culture and heritage.
The Gubbi Gubbi people once numbered about 3,500 until the arrival of Europeans. Since then our numbers have fallen to around 500. Further our people now have now have multicultural backgrounds thence introducing new viewpoints, often becoming mistaken for cultural history. Once established these errors become hard to dismiss unfortunately in some cases for reasons of financial gain.
Therefore it is our plan to present what is seen as real and to provide the surrounding information so that a complete record is provided for true understanding.
We are providing a Q & A opportunity for you to ask your questions and we will do our best to provide answers. We will also take into account challenges to our positions and treat such issues fairly and publicly.
Gubbi Gubbi people have achieved real recognition throughout Australia. One of those is Dr Eve Mumewa Fesl OAM, CM PhD. Click here to read a brief biography or download this brochure which includes pictures.
Noosa Museum, Pomona
This Museum won the 2010 ABC Radio National Award as best Queensland Regional Museum based on its Gubbi Gubbi Keeping Room and Island of Reconciliation.
Welcome
Island of Reconciliation, a short walk through parkland from Noosa Museum. Opened by then Noosa Mayor Bob Abbot and Gubbi Gubbi Elder Evelyn Serico. The island has an aura of peace, it as a place for contemplation and understanding.
The Breastplate, as shown here, represents a time when European settlers attempted to establish a hierarchy amongst the Gubbu Gubbi people. In fact the Gubbi Gubbi people are a society of consensus without any single point of authority. The Elders are respected leaders amongst the Gubbi Gubbi people.
In some ways the concept of "King" or "Queen" might be taken today as a position of authority in the past. Today the Gubbi Gubbi see it as an attempt to demean their people.
Hunting weapons, some of the authentic Gubbi Gubbi artifacts and memorabilia held by the Noosa Museum in Pomona.
Please email to GubbiGubbiinfo@gmail.com your thoughts and ideas.
This area is designed to correct stories that do not reflect true Gubbi Gubbi history, culture and heritage. Please feel free to write requesting more information on each element. We will share your questions on these aspects and our responses to develop a proper understanding of who the Gubbi Gubbi are. All information here is checked by Gubbi Gubbi Traditional Owners and Elders and is agreed by them as authentic.
The story of Coolum and Ninderry. This story is related in the Sunshine Coast Council Reconciliation Action Report by Bianca Bond. Like many things the story makes a great read but it is a fable and rejected by Gubbi Gubbi traditional owners as completely false with no heritage foundation whatsoever.
Welcome to country should be in accordance with traditional owners. Before a Traditional Welcome is requested you need to assure yourself that you are using Traditional Owners. Any enquiries to this site are immediately forwarded to Traditional Owners (Gubbi Gubbi Dyungungoo Inc) for a direct response.
The Sunshine Coast Regional Council recently released a Reconciliation Action Plan. Gubbi Gubbi Traditional Owners and Elders reject that this document represents them and disclaim any traditional involvement in the final document.
The Gubbi Gubbi language is a historic language and has dependencies based on peoples locations, uses different sounds to its English presentation amongst other features. There are few Gubbi Gubbi language speakers however some people without a traditional appreciation claim to know the language. Unfortunately this leads to bad interpretation. If this gets subsumed as real then the language dies. Unfortunately some non traditional people, without cultural background, have received financial grants in an attempt to document the language. The shame of this is that they attempt to do this from dictionaries rather than reference actual speakers. An example of this is an organisation who says "Sharing Culture programs are prepared by Indigenous people, ensuring accurate information that is culturally sensitive, appropriate and that cultural protocols have been followed. " This does not happen in relation to Gubbi Gubbi language.
There are organisation who claim such as "Interactive Community Planning (ICP) is a community development consultancy which offers a holistic solution to bring commercial activities (i.e. Mining, infrastructure & development) and Aboriginal groups, into a harmonious relationship under the Queensland Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act of 2003." The issue here is that they do not do this on the Gubbi Gubbi Traditional lands. Anyone dealing with this organisation in this area should take great care that services under the Cultural and Heritage Act in Gubbi Gubbi lands are performed with the agreement of the Traditional Owners.
From the ABC talks by Beverley Hand who claims Kabi Kabi Custodianship arise the following corrections
Kabi Kabi is a pronunciation of Gubbi Gubbi. This was documented by John Matthews who lived with the Gubbi Gubbi people. The terms Gubbi Gubbi and Kabi Kabi are synonymous. They do not infer separate tribes or different cultural background. People who tend to use the term Kabi Kabi are those that have difficulty establishing their cultural heritage. many of the stories they tell and try to ascribe are in fact more related to South Sea Islanders or Torres Strait Islanders, even Papua new Guinean.
The claim that Gubbi Gubbi (also pronounced Kabi Kabi) people of the Sunshine Coast took their name from the pale honey gathered from the eucalypts of the hinterland is wrong. Gubbi Gubbi meaning is a negative or no.
The Gubbi Gubbi peoples traditional lands are depicted on the DERM map which covers from the Pine River in the south to Burrum heads in the north and from the coastline to the Conondale ranges.
Aboriginal groups did not build a number of permanent huts from wattle and tea trees, positioning them about 5 to 6 kilometers apart. The tribes moved across the entire traditional lands, They followed the Coast through the summer months then moving inland during the winter months to avoid cyclones and other winter weather. Permanent homes are a feature of other people from other areas. With European arrival more permanent homes were established as lands were fenced and different customs began to overtake the Gubbi Gubbi population. Any concept of permanent residence is nonsensical and not supported by any evidence.
It is a common myth, probably arising from Nancy Cato's book "The Rape of Noosa" that gave rise to the story of Noosa getting its name from noothera or nuthuru, a Gubbi Gubbi meaning shady. Well the fact here is simple there is no Gubbi Gubbi word noothera or variation. The Gubbi Gubbi language does not contain the sibilant "s". Also in this book on page 19 is a map drawn in 1859 by Maritime Harbours Brisbane which supports the ethnic origins of the name Nusa or later to become Noosa, a derivation of Indonesian origin and supported by recorded facts. The comment in relation to this "shady" story shows poor knowledge and understanding of traditional history. There is no credible source for the "noothera" fable. There is no word in any Indigenous language in anyway similar to the Noothera story that has the meaning of shade. For Indigenous people to repeat this essentially English fable as true lacks appreciation of Gubbi Gubbi Culture. Check this out on the Q&A Page
There will be more informed heritage and history to be recorded here shortly.
Click here to add text.
Dr. Eve Mumewa D. Fesl, OAM, CM Ph.D
Education
The first Indigenous Australian to graduate with a Ph.D. from an Australian University (Monash in Melbourne). Her Ph.D. was based on a socio-linguistic study of language policy and implementation in Australia.
Graduated with a B.A. Hons degree in Anthropology (Aboriginal Ethnography)
Holds Graduate Diploma subjects in International Law from Monash University (Australia’s place in the International Legal scene and the Law of the Sea).
Masters Degree research into the Ganai language of East Gippsland
Awards
In 1988 received the Order of Australia Medal for her work with the ethnic community and in the maintenance of Aboriginal languages.
Centenary Medal for services to Queensland education
Certificate of Merit from the Planning Institute of Australia for Godwin Beach Environmental Reserve Voluntary Cultural Heritage Plan.
Appointments
Appointed to the Australia Council’s Aboriginal Arts Board and Literature Board, where she played an important part in the assessment of art and literature and paving the way for access for Indigenous Australians.
Elected as Councillor for the City of Nunawading, Victoria.
Member of national bodies including the Advisory Council on Multicultural Affairs to the Prime Minister (Bob Hawke), and National Aboriginal Education Committee.
Member of the National Museum of Australia’s Aboriginal Advisory Committee.
Represented Australian women on the World Congress of Religions for Peace at their Kathmandu Conference.
First Aboriginal woman appointed as Director of the Aboriginal Research centre at Monash University.
Others
Worked as Head Of Department Griffith University and Senior Lecturer at QUT.
Consultant to Australia Zoo.
Publications
Author of numerous articles and book chapters inc “Images of Germany” for the German Consulate.
Author of Conned! A Koori Perspective A political history of the invasion and settlement of Australia from an Aboriginal point of view. The book won an Unaiapon award.
Preparing for Publication
1.The History of the Gubbi Gubbi People
2.The Gold Tooth
3.Book of Poetry
4.In the process of developing a text book on Gubbi Gubbi language.
Sports
The first indigenous woman to represent Queensland in athletics and netball.
Queensland State Captain for its Netball representative team.
Queensland Discus Champion.
Selected for the 1956 Melbourne Olympics Training Squad.
Victorian Discus Champion.
Holder for South Australia discuss record.
Holder of discus World Record for person of her height and weight.
Current
Manages her own consultancy/lecturing business
She is associated with cultural/heritage work on the Sunshine Coast
She is a consultant to Australia Zoo (recruited by Steve Irwin)
Advisory Consultant to GPS Eco Tourism P/L
Chair of the Queensland Indigenous Languages Advisory Committee
Writes Poetry – edited “Koori Poems of the Hunt”
German Language speaker.
