BACKGROUND

Kirrenderri | Heart of the Channel Country

In June 2019, the Mithaka people of South Western Queensland met with collaborators in Toowoomba to create a substantial cultural mapping project.

At the meeting, distinguished researchers from the Australian National University, University of Queensland, the Alice Duncan Kemp family, and University of Queensland Anthropology Museum, discussed how best to conserve this unique environmental and cultural heritage.

This rich resource of knowledge is presented in Kirrenderri - Heart of the Channel Country alongside objects donated by author Alice Duncan-Kemp (1901-1988).

Alice's contributions including books, letters, her personal typewriter and a significant collection of artefacts from the Duncan Kemp family collection compliment the cutting-edge archaeological discoveries and poignant contemporary Aboriginal stories, told by the Mithaka people.

Audiences are invited to explore Country through photographs and videos of 10 Mile quarry, the Debney Peace Site, and Mooraberrie station. These sites of significance underscore historic milestones and the resilience of relationships forged on Channel Country from the late 1890s to the present between Aboriginal and pioneering families, with continuing ties to Country, the cattle industry, and supporting industries.