Visiting Country respectfully
Much of Bundjalung Country is national park, and some of it is now managed under agreements with Bundjalung people. Some places matter enough that custodians ask visitors not to climb them, or to look only from a distance. This guide covers how those arrangements work, which places to treat with care, and where to learn on Country from Aboriginal-run walks and centres.
Native title and park management are different things. A native title determination recognises rights in land and water; how a park is run day to day is usually settled in a separate agreement, often an Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) registered with the National Native Title Tribunal. The arrangements differ from park to park. Three that come up across this site:
Byron Bay
The Arakwal ILUA, signed on 28 August 2001 with the NSW Government, led to the creation of the park. It was gazetted on 26 October 2001, and its plan of management describes it as the first national park in Australia created under an ILUA, with the Byron Bay Arakwal people as joint managers alongside NSW National Parks.
Kyogle, Woodenbong and the Border Ranges
In February 2007 the Githabul people, the Githabul Nation Aboriginal Corporation and the NSW Government signed an ILUA covering more than 112,000 hectares of national parks, reserves and state forests around Kyogle, Woodenbong and Tenterfield, including the Tooloom Falls Aboriginal Place. It set up a Githabul National Parks Management Committee to advise NSW National Parks. Native title over the area was recognised later that year.
Iluka to Evans Head
NSW National Parks describes the park as one of a group where the Bandjalang People’s native title rights have been recognised, under Federal Court determinations from 2013.
“Joint management” covers a range of arrangements, from advisory committees to shared decision-making, and the detail is in each agreement. For how a particular park is run, ask the native title corporation or NSW National Parks rather than relying on a summary like this one.
Some places are protected by law as well as by custom. Under the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974, the Minister can declare an Aboriginal Place where land has special significance to Aboriginal culture, and Aboriginal objects such as middens are protected wherever they are. Custom goes further than the law: custodians ask for care at many places that carry no legal declaration at all.
Mount Jerusalem and Nightcap National Parks, Whian Whian State Conservation Area
A 42-kilometre, four-day walk running one way from Manns Road to the Minyon Falls lookout. NSW National Parks acknowledges the Widjabul Wia-bal and Minjungbal People as the traditional owners of the land it crosses, and gives the name’s meaning as “Old People’s Track”. It can be walked self-guided with campsites booked through National Parks, or with guided operators whose tours are partly led by local Aboriginal guides.
Tweed Heads South
Run by the area’s Aboriginal community. Its tours explain the significance of the bora ring, which can be seen from the Walk on Water track.
Goanna Headland, Evans Head
A walking trail that crosses the headland, follows the coastline and returns through coastal heath.
Walgun / Cape Byron
Cultural tours with Delta Kay are led by Arakwal Bundjalung woman Delta Kay.
Burleigh Heads, Gold Coast
Owned and operated by the local Aboriginal community, connected with the Traditional Custodians of the wider Yugambeh language-speaking group. It runs guided walks on Burleigh Headland.
No. The summit track has been closed since 2020, and in December 2025 the NSW Government extended the closure to 30 June 2027 while safety and cultural questions are worked through. Wollumbin is a declared Aboriginal Place and a men’s sacred site, and NSW National Parks asks visitors to respect Bundjalung wishes and not climb it.
An area of land the NSW Minister has declared under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 because it has special significance to Aboriginal culture. Wollumbin and Tooloom Falls are two Aboriginal Places in Bundjalung Country. Many significant places have no declaration, so the absence of one does not mean a place can be treated casually.
It means traditional owners have a formal role in how a park is run, set out in an agreement with the NSW Government. The arrangements vary: Arakwal people are joint managers of Arakwal National Park under a 2001 Indigenous Land Use Agreement, while the 2007 Githabul agreement set up a committee that advises National Parks on the Githabul parks.
Options include the Gidjuum Gulganyi Walk through Nightcap National Park with guided operators, tours at the Minjungbal Aboriginal Cultural Centre in Tweed Heads South, cultural tours with Delta Kay in Byron Bay, and walks on Burleigh Headland with the Jellurgal Aboriginal Cultural Centre on the Gold Coast. Check with each provider for current times and bookings.
Or jump to another guide:
Where Bundjalung Country runs, why no single map is official, and who holds the boundaries.
Arakwal, Githabul, Bandjalang, Widjabal, Nyangbal, Yugambeh and the other names you will meet.
Dialects, why spellings differ, and the language centres that actually teach and publish.
Which Northern Rivers town names come from Bundjalung language, and which came from Britain.
The coastal park between Iluka and Evans Head, its campgrounds, and the Iluka rainforest.
The Protection Board years, the reserves and stations, and where to look for family records.
Contact
Use the form below or email info@bundjalung.au for email hosting, web hosting, corrections, or a new Bundjalung community page. Identity checks are used to reduce impersonation and protect the domain.