Bundjalung history: reserves, stations and land rights

Before you read

The history of each reserve and station belongs to the families who lived it. Much of it is held in their memories and in their own organisations, not in public records. This page is an outline drawn from government records, published histories and the organisations’ own websites. It is not a history of any community, and it does not try to say what happened to particular families. For that, go to the people and services under Finding family and records.

The Protection Board years, 1883–1969

From 1883 the NSW Government ran Aboriginal affairs through a Board for the Protection of Aborigines. For its first quarter-century the Board had no power under any Act; the Aborigines Protection Act 1909 gave it one. A 1915 amendment let the Board take Aboriginal children from their families without a court order or their parents’ consent. The Board became the Aborigines Welfare Board in 1940, and the Welfare Board was abolished in 1969. Museums of History NSW sets out both Boards and their records in its guide to Aboriginal resources in the NSW State Archives.

Under the Boards, land was set aside as Aboriginal reserves. Some reserves were run as stations, with a manager appointed by the government living on site. Settlements run by churches were called missions. In everyday speech “the mission” is often used for all three, and you will hear it that way across the Northern Rivers.

The children taken under these laws are among the people now known as the Stolen Generations. If this history touches your own family, the services listed below are set up for exactly that.

Places you will see named

These communities come up across this site. Each entry says only what the linked public sources say. Every community has its own account of its history, and that account is the one that matters.

• Cabbage Tree Island, on the Richmond River near Wardell. A 2007 NSW Government heritage study, Aboriginal Women’s Heritage: Ballina and Cabbage Tree Island, records that the island was gazetted as an Aboriginal reserve in 1893 and redesignated as a station in 1911. The 2022 floods damaged homes on the island, and residents moved into temporary housing at Wardell until they can return. Jali Local Aboriginal Land Council covers the area. See also the Ballina page.
• Box Ridge, at Coraki. The writer Ruby Langford Ginibi (1934–2011) was born on Box Ridge mission; her books include Don’t Take Your Love to Town (1988) and My Bundjalung People (1994). Bogal Local Aboriginal Land Council covers Coraki.
• Jubullum, near Tabulam on the upper Clarence. NSW National Parks manages the nearby Jubullum Flat Camp Aboriginal Area, 7 hectares that hold burials and that, in the words of its plan of management, symbolise “a period of independence of the Bundjalung people of Jubullum”. Jubullum Local Aboriginal Land Council is based at Jubullum Village.
• Baryulgil and Malabugilmah, on the upper Clarence. Baryulgil Square and Jana Ngalee Local Aboriginal Land Councils serve these communities, which sit within the area of the Western Bundjalung native title determinations. Baryulgil’s history includes the asbestos mine described below.
• Muli Muli, near Woodenbong in the Border Ranges, in Githabul Country. Muli Muli Local Aboriginal Land Council serves the community.

The interactive map lists archives, oral histories and books connected with several of these places, with notes on their access conditions.

Baryulgil and the asbestos mine

Baryulgil was the site of a chrysotile asbestos mine worked by Aboriginal people from the community. According to the Australian Asbestos Network, mining began in the early 1940s, a joint venture with James Hardie started in 1944, a James Hardie subsidiary took full control in 1953 and held it until 1976, and the works closed in 1979.

In 1984 the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs tabled its report, The effects of asbestos mining on the Baryulgil community. People from Baryulgil have also recorded their own accounts, held in collections with access conditions; the interactive map lists them.

Health questions go to a doctor or an Aboriginal medical service. Bulgarr Ngaru Medical Aboriginal Corporation, a community-controlled health service, runs a Grafton clinic that serves Baryulgil and Malabugilmah.

From protection to land rights

In February 1965, four years before the Welfare Board was abolished, the Freedom Ride led by Charles Perkins passed through Tenterfield, Lismore and Grafton on its way to Bowraville and Kempsey. The students challenged segregation in country towns, and the NSW Government describes the ride as instrumental in raising awareness of racial injustice.

In 1983 the Aboriginal Land Rights Act gave Aboriginal people in New South Wales the right to claim land and set up the network of Local Aboriginal Land Councils, several of which serve the communities above. Native title is a separate legal framework under Commonwealth law. The Federal Court has made native title determinations across Bundjalung Country since 2007, and agreements with the NSW Government now shape how several national parks are managed; see Parks, sacred places and walks.

Finding family and records

• Aboriginal Affairs NSW Family Records Service searches NSW Government records created between 1883 and 1981, including Protection Board and Welfare Board records, for Aboriginal people looking for records about themselves and their families. It gives priority to Stolen Generations survivors and their descendants, and there is no application fee.
• Link-Up (NSW) supports Aboriginal people affected by past removal policies with research, reunions and social and emotional wellbeing services, for people aged eighteen and over.
• Museums of History NSW holds the Boards’ records in the State Archives. Many are closed to the public to protect personal information, and applications to see them go through the Family Records Service. See also First Nations community access to archives.
• The Yugambeh Museum at Beenleigh holds family history and archival collections for Yugambeh families.
• Your Local Aboriginal Land Council and community Elders are often the best place to start, and the most important place to check what you find.

Frequently asked questions