Transcript for Traditional Owners workplace interview

[Speaker: Elise Hull]

My name's Elise Hull. I'm an Adnyamathanha and Arabana woman from the Flinders Ranges in South Australia. I currently live and work in Mildura on Latji Latji Country and I've been working with the Aboriginal Water Unit for about 17 months now at DEECA.

What does water mean to you?

As an Aboriginal person, my connection to land, sky and water carries me throughout life. As an Australian, I also like fishing, kayaking, boating, all the good things that we get to do and enjoy about our country.

For me, and probably many other Aboriginal people, water isn't just this singular concept. So, to me, when I think about water, I think about, you know, the Red River Gum tree that my dad was born under in a dry creek bed. I think about fishing and that cultural practice of providing for my family. I think about, you know, my aunts teaching me how to weave with the reeds. I think about, really, water and waterways is a classroom for Aboriginal people, and I think it's also a classroom for other Australians too. It's where we learn, it's where we try things out and it's where we learn how to actually fend for ourselves and do the things that we need to actually have, you know, good, healthy lives out on Country.

What is your working in water story?

My study and career path, I think, proves that you don't have to have everything figured out, but you do have to have an idea for how you're gonna keep your career moving forward. I left school after year 10, but what I did was constantly look at full-time jobs and pathways that kept me moving forward. One of those ways was I started as an administration assistant in a local small business before moving on to undertake a librarian traineeship. After that, I actually decided I wanted to do university. I studied to become a teacher, and I taught for a couple of years before then looking for other opportunities.

My interest working in the Aboriginal Water Unit really stems from when I was employed as an Aboriginal Water Officer in the Mildura region. So, working with Traditional Owners doing engagement events. When the opportunity to work with the Aboriginal Water Unit came up, that was something I was really keen in pursuing. We work alongside Aboriginal Victorians and Elders because they hold a lot of the traditional ecological knowledge that can be used to help with water planning and delivery across the state. We work alongside scientists and really intelligent people who are subject matter experts in all the things that we need to know in order to deliver water that meets cultural objectives and environmental objectives.

Why is the involvement of Aboriginal Victorians in water important?

As Traditional Owners gain more access to waterways and they have more input and more of a decision-making role in the management of waterways, what we're actually gonna see is benefits for the whole of Australia. We're gonna see places that, you know, are nicer to play, nicer to boat in, nicer to fish in. We're gonna see cleaner water and we're gonna see re-vegetation in areas of some of those native species that really support cultural practices as well.

I think in order for Traditional Owners to become more involved in water, we actually need to take it back to the cultural practice of taking family out onto Country, sharing our knowledge about the landscape. So, whether that's sitting down with your parents, your grandparents, and them telling you stories about how the landscape used to be, you might actually then pick up information that you can use later on to be involved in the water space. You might come to, you know, water corporations and you might say, back in my granddad's day, this is what we used to do in this area, and that actually informs and keeps you involved in the process and makes sure that Traditional Owners' voices are heard throughout.

What do you love about working in water?

What I really love about my job is working with Traditional Owners and engaging with them on the work that we do. So, sometimes that means sitting around a campfire, having a yarn about the wetlands and the waterways, speaking to our aunts and uncles about what they wanna see out in the landscape. You hear some really cool stories, but you also get that fire in your belly to improve the condition of waterways across Victoria because you wanna bring that back to them as well.

I think what we're doing now is we are continuing the work that some of these, you know, Elders, our aunts and uncles, have started and we're actually embedding that into our practice. So, previously where it might have just been a casual conversation and a yarn about what have you seen out on Country here, now we're starting to see that come through in these more formal documents that get put forward. So, when we consider sites that need to be watered, we actually have Aboriginal cultural values and uses that are part of that process.

For me, some of the unique characteristics of Victorian waterways is that it's a place that I can really feel myself. So, practicing culture. Whether it's weaving with the reeds that grow along the riverbanks, fishing for golden perch in the Murray River, playing with clay on the banks, and even just sitting down and meditating and thinking, for me waterways-- it's really intrinsic to who I am, but I know that a lot of other people across Australia also get to experience it in this way as well.