Beaches, national parks and hiking trails…. Australia is truly an island that spoils us with natural wonders and spectacular beauty. And it’s home.

The decision this month to award native title to almost seventy percent of the Eyre Peninsula is significant for the Barngarla people, South Australia and everyone who calls this island home. The decision was long overdue and followed almost 20 years of establishing evidence to support the claim, consideration and argument.

The idea that a connection to land can be proven to be extinguished astonishes and challenges. A sigh of relief was apparently heard when the implications of the decision became clear: the connection has not been extinguished, “we can still call this place of our heart and history ours…”

The anthropological and international significance of the culture, history and contribution of the traditional owners of this island home is remarkable.

It’s been a clumsy road, fraught with difficulty… But this decision opens a way for co-habitation to be acknowledged without undermining claim to native title. It’s one more step in the right direction. Hopefully the next one won’t be so overdue.

JW

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