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The Kalumburu Women's Cultural Education and Research Collaboration Project

The Kalumburu Women’s Cultural Education and Research Collaboration Project supports senior women from the Kalumburu Community to return to remote and culturally significant rock art sites in the north Kimberley, and to share their knowledge on Country with younger community members, secondary students and rock art researchers.

The project is delivered by Outdoor School, part of the Victorian Department of Education, through its Kimberley Cultural Pathways Program, an on Country education program for Year 10 students from regional Victoria.

It is co-designed and led in partnership with Kwini/Guini Traditional Owner
Ian Waina and Kalumburu Community Elders, with the support of senior Traditional Owner Augie Unhango.

These sites are difficult and costly to reach, which limits how often community members can visit them. Each year, the Outdoor School group travels to the area at a similar time as RAA-supported researchers working on the Kimberley Rock Art Shelter Life Cycles (KRASLC) project. The project uses this timing to bring community members to the sites, where they lead cultural education in their own way and in their own time, and meet with researchers away from the immediate pressure of fieldwork.

Community members are engaged and paid as cultural educators. Elders pass site-specific knowledge to younger family members, who teach alongside them. Researchers share their work with community members and students at the sites, and students record their learning in journals
and reflections that form part of their assessment.

The project began in 2025 with Elders Dorothy Djanghara and Bernadette Waina, and younger community members Ainslie Donation and Ian Waina.

In 2026, Bernadette Waina and Melissa Waina welcomed students and researchers to Country (Dulgaar) with a smoking ceremony, visited cultural
sites and led a yarning circle with the group.

Outcomes to date

The project has now completed two field seasons, in 2025 and 2026. Each year, Elders and younger community members have shared their knowledge with students and researchers on Country. Students from regional Victoria have learned directly from Kalumburu women, recording their experiences and reflections as part of their Victorian Curriculum studies. They then take what they have learned back to their schools and communities, sharing the Elders’ messages and helping build greater understanding and respect for culture and reconciliation.

The time spent together on Country has also created something just as important: stronger relationships. Away from the formal research program, community members, students and researchers have had time to yarn, learn from each other and share experiences. These connections have helped build a deeper understanding of Wunan — the principle of sharing — and created a stronger sense of connection between everyone involved.

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