New Eurobodalla Regional Hospital cultural program

Local Aboriginal community members came together to share their knowledge about the Aboriginal artefacts and items discovered on site. 

We learned a lot about the region's rich cultural history and the artefacts' significance to culture and stories. The discovery of the artefacts showed Aboriginal people lived and worked on this land thousands of years ago

"Traditional owners and Elders along with the Cobowra Local Aboriginal Land Council and other Registered Aboriginal Parties have been working closely with the archaeologists as part of the excavation process to identify artefacts and share their cultural knowledge."

Amanda Bock - Executive Director of Regional and Rural projects, Health Infrastructures

Over a 4-week period, a team of 4 project and 8 Aboriginal site and cultural officers worked at the salvage site every day. 

The salvage team was led by Ashleigh Keevers-Eastman, Senior Heritage Consultant at Biosis, an environment consultancy. They worked on digging and sieving around 100sqm of the site (around 100 salvage pits). 

The discovery of culturally significant items included many stone tools, showing how Aboriginal people lived and worked on the land thousands of years ago.

The wider Aboriginal community from across the Eurobodalla attended a special gathering on site to hear about the discoveries from the Brinja Yuin original custodians and the team.

"The discovery of the artefacts shows clear evidence that our people lived and raised their families here. They travelled along this section of the land, taking in the seacoast south of the Moruya River to the Wagonga River at Kianga, extending some five miles inland across the landscape."

Maureen Davis - Brinja Yuin / Gadu Elder

The new hospital is a pilot project for the NSW Government Architect’s Connecting with Country Framework. 

We're working closely with Registered Aboriginal Parties on what happens next with the discovered items.

"The information session was a great opportunity for our local Aboriginal community to gain a better understanding of the archaeological process happening on site, and importantly to have their questions answered by both the experts and knowledge holders."

Maureen Davis - Brinja Yuin / Gadu Elder

The team will continue to work with the local Aboriginal community in the design and delivery of the hospital to ensure it is a safe and welcoming health facility for the entire community.

Cultural burning is an ancient fire practice used by Aboriginal people for over 60,000 years and is an integral part of connecting to Country. 

The practice of cultural burning is seen as cleansing, restoring and rejuvenating the land spiritually. It was also an important farming and land management practice to care for Country. 

"I was pretty sure it had never been done on a major infrastructure project in NSW – maybe even Australia, I knew it would show everyone just how serious we are about making this hospital a place that is culturally safe and welcoming for community."

Uncle Bunja Smith, Walbunja elder

The Eurobodalla cultural burn was performed by local Aboriginal cultural burn practitioner Andrew White from the Batemans Bay Local Aboriginal Land Council.

Andrew and his team have been conducting cultural burns in the Eurobodalla and surrounding region for more than 10 years.

"For millennia Aboriginal people managed the land through cultural burning. Today's ceremony signifies that this hospital will be a healthy and safe place where the whole community can come to be healed."

Uncle Bunja Smith

Walbunja Elder, Uncle Bunja Smith led the collaboration between Health Infrastructure and the local Indigenous community.

This is the first partnership of its kind with the Aboriginal community, where a cultural burning was performed for a major infrastructure project. 

Aboriginal Elders and knowledge holders led a traditional smoking ceremony on Yuin Country before commencing works on site.Ceremonial dancers from local South Coast cultural practitioners Muladha Gamara performed at the ceremony.

"Listening and collaborating with the Aboriginal community on this important new health facility for the Eurobodalla community, has allowed us to engage and learn about culturally significant traditions which can be incorporated into the hospital’s planning and design."

Bronnie Taylor, Minister for Regional Health in NSW

The new Eurobodalla Regional Hospital will support core clinical services to be delivered at a role delineation Level Four and will provide more health services than are currently available at both the Moruya and Batemans Bay hospitals and boost overall bed capacity.

“I think it's something that should be adopted by anyone who wants to build anything in NSW. What happened here was true reconciliation. It was people working together on a shared vision – for a shared outcome and a joint goal, and that goal is a better, stronger, and healthier community.”

Uncle Bunja Smith, Walbunja Elder