Cairns & Great Barrier Reef is home to diverse Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, with opportunities for delegates to connect with Traditional Custodians through cultural experiences, storytelling, art, performance and Country-based activities.
The region is the ideal place to delve deeper, absorb age-old wisdom and be inspired with direct access to Traditional Custodians, both elders and the new generation.
Delegates will forge connections with sacred surrounds. Be welcomed by a smoking ceremony that cleanses and diverts bad spirits, learn traditional hunting techniques on historic fishing grounds, or gain insights into ancient artforms with rock art tours. Follow the songlines across the landscape where the night skies come alive with the stories of ancestors.
Here are nine ways to connect your delegates with these ancient cultures 60,000 years in the making.
A Welcome to Country
Protocols for welcoming visitors to Country have been a part of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures for thousands of years. Clear boundaries separated the Country of each group. Crossing into another group’s Country required permission. Hosts would welcome visitors, offering safe passage and protection of their spiritual being. Visitors respected the land-owner group’s rules whilst on their Country. Today, these protocols have been adapted to contemporary circumstances.
A Welcome to Country is held at the beginning of an event and can include singing, dancing, smoking ceremonies or a speech in traditional language or English. It is delivered by Traditional Owners, or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have been given permission by Traditional Owners to welcome visitors to Country.
For events held in Cairns & Great Barrier Reef, organisers can also include an Acknowledgement of Country as part of the event program. Unlike a Welcome to Country, an Acknowledgement of Country can be delivered by anyone.
Find out who our Traditional Custodians are for the different areas within Cairns & Great Barrier Reef.
A Walkabout Adventure
Spend a day away from the conference room learning the traditional hunting and gathering techniques of the coastal and rainforest Kuku Yalanji people with Walkabout Cultural Adventures. Venture into the mangroves in search of mud crabs and collect shellfish in tidal pools at Cooya Beach north of Port Douglas. If your group’s hunt proves fruitful, the catch will be cooked to enjoy; hopefully with the addition of a succulent mud crab.
The journey continues north to the Daintree Rainforest and Mossman Gorge where delegates can explore Kuku Yalanji Country with local Aboriginal guides, learning about traditional hunting practices, bush foods and plant use, with opportunities for a swim in a local freshwater stream.
A Dreamtime Walk
The Ngadiku Dreamtime Walk at Mossman Gorge provides an opportunity to explore Kuku Yalanji Country with a local guide, learning about traditional stories, bush foods, native plants and cultural practices. The experience can include a smoking ceremony and interpretation of the cultural significance of the rainforest and surrounding Country.
A Pamagirri Experience
For those shorter on time, but still wanting to dive into Australia’s history, Rainforestation Nature Park is perfect. Located in the World Heritage Wet Tropics Rainforest at the top of Kuranda Range, the nature park offers a delightful insight into the Pamagirri’s culture and community. Delegates watch a 20-minute tribal dance show in a natural rainforest setting before taking a guided Dreamtime walk modelled on the Rainbow Serpent. A much-loved group challenge is always testing delegate boomerang and spear throwing abilities.
A Daintree Dream
Down Under Tours can create a flexible Aboriginal experience to fit your event agenda. The Daintree Dreaming Program is an exclusive Aboriginal cultural journey from coast to rainforest aboard luxury vehicles for your delegates. After exploring the lush rainforest of Mossman Gorge, your group journeys to the mangroves and mudflats of Cooya Beach to join a traditional Aboriginal fishing expedition with a Kubirri Warra clan member. Or if you’d rather stay on dry land, the group is invited to join resident artist Binna at Janbal Art Gallery for an immersive Aboriginal Art Class, to share KuKu Yalanji culture through painting and storytelling.
A Dreamtime Dive
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have maintained important relationships with the land and sea for thousands of years. Add an unforgettable cultural spin on your delegate’s day on the reef with Dreamtime Dive & Snorkel. Your group will be welcomed to country by Indigenous Sea Rangers and hear the creation story of the Great Barrier Reef, gain a deeper understanding of how they have interacted with the reef throughout the generations before exploring coral gardens below.
A Flame-Lit Forest
Like a scene from a fairytale, your group is guided down a flame lit path to an enchanting marquee set in tropical rainforest surrounded by twinkling fairy lights and flickering candles, welcome to Flames of the Forest. Let the sounds of the didgeridoo played by local Aboriginal brothers permeate the air and listen to the stories of their culture and land. Feast on a tropical tasting menu fusing local and native produce in a contemporary dining experience.
An Art Class
Delegates can take away a souvenir that means more than most with their own hand-painted boomerang or canvas guided by acclaimed Aboriginal artist, Brian “Binna” Swindley, owner of Janbal Gallery. Art is an important part of Aboriginal culture and Binna will help delegates understand stories through painting. Browse the 100% Aboriginal owned and operated Janbal Gallery and maybe even purchase an additional piece of authentic Aboriginal art to take home.
An Ancient Eco Tour
Take a journey across the Trinity Inlet and through the mangroves to a lesser-known part of Cairns for an authentic delegate experience with a timeless culture. Here, on Mandingalbay Yindinji land, your group will be welcomed to country with a cleansing smoking ceremony followed by a guided walk with Indigenous Rangers discovering the bush supermarket and pharmacy. The Hands On Country Eco Tour explores ancient rainforest, coastal and estuarine landscapes and the animals that call these habitats home. For something different, large groups are able to participate in a Deadly Dinner or overnight stays.
A Fair Full of Art
One of Australia’s premier Indigenous art events, Cairns Indigenous Art Fair, is held in Cairns & Great Barrier Reef with thousands of people flocking to the event each year in July. The main attraction, offering an ethical art marketplace, takes place across three days at the Cairns Convention Centre; Cairns comes alive hosting many satellite events around town. Delegates can purchase authentic Indigenous art, interact with artists, engage in industry talks, participate in workshops such as basket weaving and watch film screenings and traditional song and dance performances from across the region.
A Memory is Made
Cairns & Great Barrier Reef invites delegates to embrace the spirit of this place, where stories are shared and memories are created. An event ticket or tour booking is like a backstage pass to the stories and traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation.
Business Events Cairns & Great Barrier Reef is a complimentary service offering support to meeting and event planners looking to bring a business event to our breathtaking location in Australia.
