Page 682 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 19 March 2019
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
His 15-year-long advocacy from within the Ngunnawal community also saw the relocation of the Outward Bound scarred tree, which was scarred during the construction of a canoe, to the Namadgi visitor centre for preservation, conservation and long-term management.
He chaired one of the four representative Aboriginal organisations that consult on heritage matters in the ACT and strongly advocated for the protection of Aboriginal sites. Uncle Carl was well-known in the community for his talent for recording history with his words. In an interview with the ABC in 2016, he explained how Canberra’s Indigenous heritage has shaped our community today and his role as a member of Canberra’s Ngunnawal community. “I’m proud of who I am—really proud of who I am,” he said. “Proud of my family.”
This morning, on behalf of the ACT government, I would like to extend our deepest condolences to Mr Brown’s wife, Louise; his four children, Tina, Justin, Adrian, Nevada; his seven grandchildren; and more broadly the Ngunnawal community, at this difficult time.
MR COE (Yerrabi—Leader of the Opposition) (10.05): I too rise today to express condolences on behalf of the Opposition at the passing of elder Uncle Carl Brown. Mr Brown was a prominent Ngunnawal elder and Indigenous leader, having resided in both Yass and Canberra throughout his life. He was born into a family of three sisters and four brothers: Dixie, Dorothy, Wendy, Sun, Buddy, Donald and Ati. His parents, Ossie Brown and Jean Bell, were both Ngunnawal people. They were born outside of Ngunnawal country but returned about 50 years ago.
Born at a mission in 1952, he was to go on to make a huge impact in our region. After an extensive career in the construction industry, Mr Brown began working with archaeologists around Canberra to assist in identifying and maintaining Indigenous heritage sites and other artefacts.
Uncle Brown enjoyed walking, particularly when participating in archaeological surveys. On one such walk in Googong, Uncle Brown’s son Adrian found a number of Indigenous sites in areas exposed after the dam was constructed. He described that discovery this way: “like someone just got them in wheelbarrows and took them over there and dumped them on the hill”.
Uncle Carl was an expert in finding these artefacts. He once described one such expedition in Namadgi National Park as difficult due to the steep nature of the cliffs. However, Mr Brown wrote:
You would not find much stuff up in the hills, but you would find a lot of stuff in the valleys and the creeks, not where it was high up.
It was the experiences and insight that Uncle Brown had that made these archaeological expeditions so successful, despite the very difficult terrain.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video