The digital revolution set to help Bunuba Aboriginal custodians return to country and boost Kimberley tourism

A bold digital revolution set to be undertaken by a major Kimberley traditional owner group hopes to enable more people to move out of Fitzroy Crossing and back on country. Lotterywest recently granted Bunuba Dawangarri Aboriginal Corporation $624,666 to implement a new digital strategy to boost economic and social opportunities in the region. Stage one of the strategy, the launch of a tourism website and planning for on-country internet, is expected to be unveiled by August. The grant will also help the Bunuba people prepare for a cashless post-coronavirus travel landscape by building capacity for online and card payment systems. Bunuba Cultural Conservation Institute director Joe Ross said passive income from sales generated off the website would hold long-term benefits for the Bunuba people. “We have good country for tourism, good country for beef production, and good country that people want to live on, their traditional lands,” he said. “We want (tourists) to come to our website and have the ability to design their own itinerary, book tours, pay park fees and get cultural information.” The long-term aspiration for the strategy is to enable more Bunuba people to live on country. Mr Ross said he hoped further funding to enable business activities would help the on-country population, currently about 60, swell. “Our people because of COVID and the fear of catching the virus, they want to go live out on country, so we are giving them the capacity to be able to function out there socially and economically,” Mr Ross said. “That means accessing banking, social media, emails and that, but also economically to be able to do business on country, to create a point-of-sale ability for people to swipe their cards on phone attachments and things like that. “We’re building capacity for them to live remotely, away from Fitzroy Crossing, to live on country and enjoy a much healthier lifestyle.” Mr Ross said the corporation’s strategy had been assisted by the State Government and several non-profit organisations.