Insights from Neville Atkinson at the Dookie Hills gathering

Yorta Yorta heritage and the enduring connection to Country

This morning at Tallis in the Dookie Hills, participants in the Victoria Drought Resilience Adoption & Innovation Hub’s two‑day workshop heard from Neville Atkinson and Gaye Sutherland from Outback Academy Australia (OAA).

Neville, who leads partnerships and relationships for OAA, spoke about the Yorta Yorta people’s deep and enduring connection to Country. He shared an overview of the history of Yorta Yorta Country, which stretches along the Murray River — known in Yorta Yorta language as Dhungala or Dunggala — a river that connects communities along its path and is central to Yorta Yorta identity.

Language, he explained, is an anchor for connection. In Yorta Yorta naming traditions, the same word might be spoken twice to reflect people from one side of the river and the other, with language bringing people together across boundaries.

Neville emphasised that, according to Yorta Yorta culture and lore, ‘Biami’ — the creator — gives the inherent right to continue practising traditional knowledge, spirituality and customs.

Country, resources and trade

Gaye, an archaeologist who provides technical support to farm planning for OAA, described how Yorta Yorta clan groups traditionally structured themselves around access to natural resources. The flat riverine plains of Yorta Yorta Country contrast with the Dookie Hills, which are a rare source of stone materials such as metabasalt — known as greenstone — and chert.

The Dookie Hills hold some of the oldest exposed rocks in Victoria, with soils shaped over vast timeframes by weathering, nutrient cycling and organic matter breakdown. Mt Major, she noted, once held naturally occurring springs during the Pleistocene era, providing vital water for people and animals, making hunting possible in the region.

Greenstone from Dookie was traditionally traded for resources unavailable on Country, such as reed spears. Trade was as much about relations between groups as it was about goods, sustaining strong connections between neighbouring mobs.

Caring for Country today

Both Neville and Gaye highlighted the value of working with local First Nations knowledge when thinking about farming and land management today. Projects such as the Follow the Flowers initiative draw from this understanding, aiming to restore the health of Country and communities while supporting self‑determined, locally owned businesses.

Neville noted that recognition for First Nations voices is growing, with efforts underway to bring clarity and shared direction through regional representation. Outback Academy Australia works to make the right introductions and foster opportunities that can improve the socio‑economic status of First Nations communities.

Importantly, Neville reflected, First Nations peoples are now more often part of key agricultural and environmental conversations. This inclusion, he said, has the potential to create greater prosperity on Country than has been seen for a long time.