First Acknowledgement of Country signs on NSW roads

The Yaegl people of the lower Clarence Valley and the Darkinjung people of the Central Coast will pilot a program to signpost Aboriginal Country using Aboriginal language, with six signs installed in Yaegl Country and six in Darkinjung Country.

Protocols for welcoming visitors to Country and offering safe passage have been part of Aboriginal culture for thousands of years.

The signs came about after an elder from Yaegl reached out to Garry Ferguson, Senior Aboriginal Engagement Specialist in North region, to say they wanted some signs to tell people whose country it is. This request was brought to the Traffic Engineering Services team, who initiated and led a collaborative project to deliver not only a sign for the Yaegl nation, but establishment of a TfNSW Signposting Country policy that would support the installation of these signs on State roads across NSW.

Successful collaboration with the community and multiple Transport groups across Infrastructure and Place, Regional and Outer Metropolitan and Customer Strategy and Technology, enabled Traffic Engineering Services to successfully deliver this pilot project.

Collaboration delivers multiple benefits

George Shearer, Principal Manager Aboriginal Engagement Team, said that there are so many benefits to installing the signs. “It recognises Aboriginal people as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the land, and it informs the wider community with insights of the world’s oldest continuing culture.”

The program is also helping to achieve the Aboriginal Languages Act 2017, which seeks to promote, reawaken, nurture and grow Aboriginal languages across NSW.

More importantly, says George, “It’s educating people, supporting someone to be proud of who they are, it’s helping strengthen their connection and cultural identity, and improving wellbeing that will help our communities.”

Commenting on the process, David Lance, from the Traffic Engineering team encouraged others who had an idea to do something to help achieve reconciliation, to reach out to other teams.

“Often people feel uncomfortable and worry about doing the wrong thing, so they do nothing,” said David. “A couple of white fellas couldn’t write this policy on their own. A big part of this has been us getting to know more about the Aboriginal culture. It has been a really valuable experience for us.”

Blueprint for future signage

Once the pilot is completed, the Traffic Engineering team’s Signposting Country Technical Manual will be a blueprint that can be used by any team in Transport, providing guidelines for incorporating Acknowledgement of Country signage into the delivery of major projects, or when replacing existing signage.

Congratulations to all involved who have worked on this important initiative, including Kellee McGilvray, David Lance, Jon Avery and Phil Oliver from Technical Services and George Shearer, Garry Ferguson and David Nalder from the Aboriginal Engagement team.

A special thanks to North region teams (ROM - Community and Place branch) for their support in delivering on the initiative, and RAP sponsors of the project Jason Gordon and Peter Church.

See the signs!

Look out for the signs when you’re heading up the north coast this summer, and remember to respect and recognise the long-standing Aboriginal culture of the country you are travelling through.

Darkinjung signs

M1 Pacific Motorway, northbound – north of the Hawkesbury River near Cheero Point (Jolls Bridge)
Empire Bay Drive, northbound – north of Wards Hill Road at Empire Bay
Pacific Highway, eastbound – south of Walmsley Road at Ourimbah
M1 Pacific Motorway, southbound – north of the Warnervale (Sparks Road) interchange at Bushells Ridge
Scenic Drive, southbound – south of the Pacific Highway near Doyalson
Pacific Highway, southbound – south of Montefiore Street, south of Catherine Hill Bay

Yaegl signs

M1 Pacific Motorway southbound – Chatsworth Island (early 2021)
M1 Pacific Motorway – north of Black Snake Creek, east of Grafton (early 2021)
Big River Way, northbound – north of Ulmarra ferry access
Big River Way, southbound – south of Tucabia-Tyndale Road
M1 Pacific Motorway, southbound on-ramp – Yamba interchange
M1 Pacific Motorway, southbound – Maclean interchange

This initiative contributes to a number of the agreed actions set out in our Reconciliation Action Plan including:

Action 9: Increase Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander supplier diversity to support improved economic and social outcomes
Action 10: Promote respect for Aboriginal heritage and increase inclusion of Aboriginal art.
Action 11: Embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander co-design principles across Transport Cluster Projects

View the original article here.