Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2024L00930:reg:2:p2
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2024L00930
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 2 (pt 2/48)
Character Range: 67719–70677

the ability to make fire; jealous men speared him in the back of his neck and flames leaped out. Kondoli fled to the nearby water to quench his burning wound and became the whale. His wound can still be seen in the spout from the whale's blowhole (Paterson & Wilson 2019).
At the Great Australian Bight in South Australia, the Mirning people are whale people, and the white whale Jeedara is their totem and part of the Dreaming, which tells how the Mirning and southern right whales are connected (Burgoyne 2000). Mirning Country is the sacred place of the Mirning People, and the Yinyila Nation of Mirning clans forms a huge yerrambai, or rainbow arch, spanning the length of the coastal area of the Great Australian Bight from Point Culver in Western Australia to near Streaky Bay in South Australia (Burgoyne 2000). The Far West Coast Aboriginal Corporation (FWCAC) manages the Far West Coast land, which belongs to the Far West Coast Aboriginal Peoples. FWCAC represents six distinct cultural groups of Aboriginal people: Mirning Peoples, The descendants of Edward Roberts, Wirangu Peoples, Yalata Peoples, Kokatha Peoples and Maralinga Tjaratja (Oak Valley) Peoples.
In Victoria, Koontapool (southern right whales) occur along the coastlines of south-west Victoria in Gunditjmara Sea Country to feed and birth. These Koontapool Woorrkngan Yakeen (Whale Birthing Dreaming Sites), are in coastal bay areas from Port Campbell to Portland, including Warrnambool.  These places on Gunditjmara Country are known resting and feeding sites for mothers and calves and are directly related to Gunditjmara Neeyn (midwives), explaining why Gunditjmara is a Matrilineal Nation.
Indigenous Australians have a long tradition of utilising beached (or stranded) whales as a food source and whale stranding's were occasions for feasting (Clarke 2001). For example, Ngarrindjeri had gathered to harvest the bodies of stranded whales well before Kringkari (pink-skinned men) arrived in their lands. Runners were sent inland telling others of the arrival of Kondoli, which was a time for ceremony and trade (Paterson & Wilson 2019).

    2.2.2     Community cultural significance
Historically, cetaceans were culturally and economically important to Australia for what they could provide: oil, whalebone, teeth, and meat. Whaling became an important industry in Australia in the early 19th century following European colonisation, with whale products a major export and contributor to the Australian economy (Gill 1966). In the 20th century, whaling was considered good for international connections and relations, and many Australian ports provided berths to international vessels, such as Norwegian, Russian and Japanese ships in both Fremantle Harbour and Sydney Harbour (Kato 2015). During the mid-20th century, shore-based whaling operated around Australia with major stations in Albany (WA), Byron Bay (NSW), Eden (NSW) and Tangalooma (QLD), for which the industry was