About the map
The Rainforest People Country Culture interactive map is designed to build greater awareness of one of the world's oldest living and evolving cultures—Rainforest Aboriginal Peoples, the Traditional Custodians of the Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Area. View our welcome video and introduction to this map.
Featuring the voices of Rainforest Aboriginal Peoples, this interactive map grows appreciation of the National Heritage-listed Indigenous cultural values of the Wet Tropics and educates visitors on how to respect and engage appropriately with Rainforest Aboriginal Peoples.
The map was developed by the Wet Tropics Management Authority in collaboration with SharingStories Foundation and Traditional Owners from some of the different Rainforest Aboriginal groups of the Wet Tropics. This project was supported through funding from the Australian Government.
Image: Gunggandji-Mandingalbay Yidinji Country | Wet Tropics Images
Wet Tropics Management Authority
The Wet Tropics Management Authority was established to fulfil Australia’s international obligation to protect, conserve, present and rehabilitate the Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Area, and to ensure its survival for future generations.
We acknowledge the importance of Rainforest Aboriginal Peoples’ involvement in managing the Wet Tropics and its World Heritage values and support the active roles of Rainforest Aboriginal Peoples in the ongoing management and governance of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area.
We recognise the invaluable contributions by all those willing to share their stories to produce the Rainforest People Country Culture interactive map. Their knowledge highlights the rich cultural landscape of the Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Area that Rainforest Aboriginal Peoples have managed for millennia.
Image: Yirrganydji Country | Wet Tropics Images
SharingStories Foundation
SharingStories Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation led by a passionate board with majority First Nations representation. We collaborate with First Nations communities to protect and grow languages, stories and cultural heritage.
Creativity is the vehicle we use to support cultural and linguistic continuity. We work with communities to invent, adapt and adopt new ways to interpret cultural knowledges using a range of dynamic media art forms, platforms and architectures.
We collaborated with Traditional Custodians and Wet Tropics Management Authority staff on the development, design and video production in this map and delivered training with Rainforest Aboriginal Peoples in animation to add to the videos.
Image: Map showing locations of communities SharingStories Foundation collaborates with | SharingStories Foundation Images
Credits
The development of this interactive map has been significantly enhanced by the inclusion of videos, images, and artwork, which play a key role in improving the user experience and highlighting the beauty and significance of the Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Area.
Special acknowledgment to Beau Pennefather Motlop for his original 'Ancient Guardians' artwork, which formed the basis of the map’s visual identity, and to Sonya Takau (Jirrbal Traditional Owner) and Rhett Singleton (Yirrganydji Traditional Custodian) for their illustrations, which bring some of the films to life.
Image: Image: Gulngay Country | Wet Tropics Images