Aboriginal Tourism and Other Partnerships

Daintree Eco Lodge & Spa is one partnership that seems to be working. The spa was recently named by Marie Claire magazine as one of the “world’s coolest spas.”

It wasn’t long after Terry Maloney assumed a freehold on the property that he recognized a responsibility to the local Aboriginals regarding the place. Until the local Kuku Yalanji Aboriginal people were forcibly removed from the land, he says, it was their “bubu”, their home. He sees himself as a “guardian” of the land and has worked hard to incorporate both local Aboriginals and their culture into his business.

It’s a “win-win situation,” he says. “The Aboriginal people can keep their culture alive, share it and expose it, whilst being gainfully employed – less dependent on welfare, experience being part of commercial life…and meet people from all corners of the globe.”

Juan Walker is one of those who has welcomed Maloney’s opportunity. Walker has worked at Daintree for a dozen years and coordinates its guided rainforest walks, Aboriginal art and culture workshops and such special events as the “Welcome to Country smoking ceremony”. Walker is candid about his culture, noting that it is fluid, incredibly diverse across the hundreds of Aboriginal tribes, and that much was lost when Aboriginals were forced to assimilate.

It’s a point not lost on Maloney who says that, in order to share their culture, Aboriginals need to learn more about it, something that can contribute greatly to a pride and ownership of their culture.