The Cape Byron Information Centre (Cape Gallery) is located at the Cape Byron Lighthouse on Walgun. Boasting spectacular views the Cape Gallery is an information centre, gallery and shop operated by Arakwal National Park. In our cultural resource room you can learn about Arakwal cultural information from publications and information boards like:

• People & Land  * White Settlement  * Place of Plenty     * In the Beginning  * Life Today * Special Places
• the Bundjalung of Byron Bay Indigenous                   Land Use Agreements
• watching the film, Walking With My Sisters.

Come and see us at the gift shop where we offer publications, artwork and other gifts. Cape Byron Lighthouse, Lighthouse Road, Byron Bay. Open 9:30am-4:30pm 7 days a week (closed Christmas Day).

Click here to view some of the products available at the Cape Byron Gallery.

Click on and watch our short digital Welcome to Country video.

To find out more about Welcome to Country click here

The following Learning Materials for Place of Plenty are available for download. Click Learn More below to find out more about this program.

Learn More

No materials are online presently. In the next phase of developing this website we will upload and create links to resource materials related to this program such as:

• Link Here eg. Program outline PDFs, background information.
• Link Here eg. to relevant external website(s)
• Link Here eg. to purchase product(s) such as DVDs if available.

If you have any enquiries about this program please liaise with us through Contact Us > General Enquiry in the Menu.

The place we call Cavanbah, now known as Byron Bay and surrounding district are located in the Northern Rivers region, the northeast corner of New South Wales, Australia.  It’s about 750 kms (480 miles) north of Sydney and 165 kms (103 miles) south of Brisbane. Walgun headland, known as Cape Byron, is the easternmost point of mainland Australia. Cavenbah has always been an important meeting place for the Arakwal, neighbouring clans and people of the Bundjalung nation. Arakwal Country extends from Seven Mile Beach, south of Broken Head, to the Brunswick River up north, out to the escarpment west of Byron Bay, and east out into the Tasman Sea.

Click Here to see a dynamic map which shows you where we are. Move your cursor from the centre of the map to the left or right to see our location – in the state of New South Wales, in Australia, and the Asia Pacific region.

What’s here

Cavanbah and its hinterland are part of an erosion caldera of an ancient volcano which erupted 23 million years ago. Mt Wollumbin, the volcanic plug of this caldera and a sacred place to many Aboriginal tribes of our region, can be seen from many points in Cavanbah (Byron Bay) and on Walgun (Cape Byron, pictured here to the right). The hills and valleys of volcanic soils and their creeks come down to wetlands and estuaries lying behind long sweeping beaches, protected bays and coves with their rocky shores, and dunal systems covered in flowering heathlands and forests. These are home to many species of animal, birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles.

These include shellfish, many fish species, sharks, dolphins, whales, turtles and dugong; eagles, pelicans, seabirds and waders, pigeons, parrots, honeyeaters and many other colourful birds; wallaby, echidna, possum, native rodents, flying fox and other small mammals; snakes, goanna, lizards, frogs and more! They are all special to us and part of our stories and connection to this wonderful Country.

Cavanbah has a sub-tropical climate with hot wet summers, and cool generally dry winters with clear skies and maximum daily temperatures around 20C. This climate is beneficial for all year round outdoor living. High annual rainfall regularly feeds local waterways and productive volcanic and alluvial soils. Combined with rich food sources linked to the coastal forests, estuaries and wetlands our people were able to live here permanently for thousands of years, and support visitors when they came as well to Cavanbah (meeting place). The same applies today with relaxed outdoor living and tourism attracting people to live and holiday here from all over the world.

“Please look after our country when you come here, this is a very sacred special place. Lets work together to keep our country clean and healthy. Yoway!”  Sean Kay, Arakwal family member.

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We are strongly connected to our Country and it to us.  The Dreaming made the land and gave us the land. Song-lines and stories identify and link places and events in the Dreaming, helping us to understand their interconnected value and show respect. These places are often called significant or sacred sites.

Some sites are special because they relate to women and men’s business or activities, or to animals and plants and their maintenance, others because they are meeting places or places of sustenance for us all. Some are special because they feature strongly in our Dreaming which explains our past, present and future link to land and sea Country and to each other, both around here and further away. Sites can link us to our ancestors and they connect us to the land. They help a person feel strong about where they came from. We can live elsewhere but this is where we belong and so its important to know and understand these significant sites so that you can walk around with pride.

Here are some signficant sites to look for and to understand. These can be shared with everyone and need to be respected. Many others are known only to our law holders and elders, or where knowledge has been passed on within our community for us to protect and look after them. In this way our culture can be resilient and prosper into the future.

We have a site on Country to build our cultural centre which will be a key meeting place for our people. It is adjacent to the National Parks and Marine National Park headquarters where our corporation offices are currently based. We are busy raising and seeking the necessary funds and resources to make it a reality.

As well as a meeting and gathering place, we can hold workshops and activities there, as well as present cultural displays including art, music, dance, and our publications and products for viewing and purchase. In the meantime you can see a range of these at the Cape Gallery up at Walgun (Cape Byron) and on the Gallery pages of this website.

Keep watching this space – if you’d like to be advised of progress on the cultural centre then become a ‘Friend’ and subscribe to our free online newsletter by providing your details in the subscription box on the main Menu – we’ll keep you updated!

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A range of public and private galleries, collections and places include the creative work of our people, and display work that reflects the spirit of our Country.

We may provide links to these so that you can view these works and creative effort. Check in from time to time and see what links there are!

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We are keen to establish an online gallery that presents and promotes a wide range of our creative arts and products, our publications and materials for viewing and purchase. In the meantime you can see a range of these at the Cape Gallery and Artist pages of this website.

The online gallery will be established in a future stage of our website development. If you want to keep posted on this subscribe as as Friend (check the main Menu to the left below the Blogs) and we will send you updates on this, and other creative news from our community.

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 See and hear what some of our creative people are doing in art, dance, music, storytelling and crafts. This gallery space provides a brief outline and showcases their work. Some works can be purchased and skills can be employed if you are interested. Come and have a look.

We will update this space over time so come back again and see who is here and find out what they are doing!

Our Aboriginal culture gives us a sense of belonging to the land, the sea and to each other. It links the past, present and future and is expressed through our stories, art and songs, our dance and ceremony, and the way we understand and respect Country. Much has been handed down from our ancestors over a long time and we work to keep this valuable knowledge and connection to Country alive. Maintaining our cultural traditions and looking after Country is important for our identity and well-being, and shows respect to our ancestors.

“Our culture is one of the most beautiful cultures in the world. It feels good to be a part of my culture, it makes me feel connected and have a strong identity and belonging. I think it is very important for all Australians to understand Aboriginal Culture and learn and recognise Aboriginal people as the First Australians and people that have been here for thousands and thousands of years. We need to learn and unite and look after this land we all call home .“ Nigel Stewart, Arakwal family member.

Through these ancestors we are connected to Country in northern New South Wales that extends along the coast from Broken Head in the south to the Brunswick River (Durrumbul) to the north, past Julian Rocks (Nguthungulli) out into the Tasman Sea to the east, and into the Byron Bay hinterland to the west.

We continue to have a strong association with this area which includes the coastal town of Byron Bay, known by the Bunjalung people as Cavanbah, which means ‘meeting place’. Many of us live and work here, or if living elsewhere visit whenever we can. To all of us it is our true home. Click on and watch the video below and learn more from Arakwal family member, Delta Kay, who shares stories and information about Cavanbah.

Our relationship with this Country is more than just a place to live. It’s the living, breathing source of all life, our spiritual home and home of our ancestors’ spirits.

Being in and part of Country keeps us connected to our culture and our ancestors. It’s our duty to look after Country. We look after Country and Country looks after us.

Through family and long term relationships over many generations we are also connected to Country and Aboriginal communities up and down the coast and inland, not just in the Northern Rivers region but much further afield.

Likewise they are connected to us, and Country here, and this is important for maintaining our traditions, knowledge and stories that go back to the Dreaming time.

Our People, the Byron Bay Arakwal, have lived around the Byron Bay area for thousands of years. Before the many changes brought by European settlers, we used to live off the land and the water. It provided us with many foods from plants, bushes and trees. We want our children, grand-children and their grandchildren to know how we once lived and to also be able to use the food from these lands.

We want them to know our special places.

(Linda Vidler, Lorna Kelly, Dulcie Nicholls, Byron Bay Arakwal Elders)

Traditionally we learn, teach and do things in ways that connect us with Country and to each other. These include dance and ceremony, story telling and song, crafts and art, and being in Country connecting with nature and doing things like walking and swimming, hunting and gathering. These help us to belong to, and care for Country. To do this properly we need to Stop, Look and Listen (Binungal!) when visiting Country.

Click here to read our Bush Rules.

Impacted by the influx and settling of non-indigenous people in our Country, our traditional knowledge and skills have been fragmented and in some cases lost. We are rebuilding and adapting to strengthen our culture. This includes the shared stories we now hold with the wider community in which we live and work. We have included different ways of learning and caring for Country that come from this experience and new relationships that have formed in recent times supporting our cultural renewal and caring for Country.

The meaning and messages of our culture remain the same, strongly connected to our ancestors and continuous storylines of this Country and our people. This is shared in our Arakwal clan, with the wider Bundjalung nation and Aboriginal peoples, as well as with the general community, to strengthen awareness and respect for Country and Aboriginal culture.

Our workshops, tours and cultural programs are about learning together, supporting Arakwal values of Knowing Country, Respecting Country and Caring for Country. They focus on transfer of knowledge and practical learning for our own people, and for the wider community.

For our people it’s about:

• Connecting to Country and each other – getting back on and looking after Country, strengthening our relationships with each other and the wider community.

• Encouraging development of  our Arakwal community members, leaders and elders, including mentors and champions of our cultural values.

• Providing and supporting education, training and work opportunities linked to our cultural experience, programs, workshops and activities.

For the wider community it’s about:

• Learning about and respecting Country and our culture – how we do things and applying this when visiting and being on Country.

• Supporting and contributing to our effort, working together caring for Country, strengthening our culture  and valuing our people.

• Building trust and encouraging reconciliation, an understanding of our journey as a people, and how we have been challenged and had to adapt to change, particularly in recent times.

• Click play below to view the Dubay Dancers story which shows us learning together (Video 123MB)

Through our program activities, and any workshops and tours, we aim to encourage and achieve real cultural learning for our people and for the wider community. They are varied to suit:

• the age group, or awareness level
• any difference in men’s and women’s business, and
• whether its for our Mob, or for the wider community.

They promote building of relationships, knowing and caring for Country, communicating our cultural values, and working together to improve understanding and our quality of life.

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A totem is an animal, plant, another natural object like rock, river or tree that is connected to a person ancestrally. It can have an emblem such a wooden pole or decorated object to represent it. Much of our art is connected to and reflects the power of  totems and how they are connected together in the story of life.

A totem connects us to Country, to each other and the Dreaming. In nature all creatures and objects have their place and importance, and so do we in our community and in our relationship to Country. By being connected to totems and what they represent we individually and collectively share responsibility for each other and Country. In this way we each make sure that we don’t do wrong by Country, that we look after Country, and it will look after us.

There are totems that link us together as women and as men, as a clan or land-connected unit, and as a bigger tribe of people living in Country. Wajung, the dolphin, is the  totem of the Arakwal women, and Miwing, the sea-eagle is the men’s totem, and our clan totem is Kabul, the carpet snake. We are the carpet snake people.

Each of us is given an individual totem that we need to learn about and understand, and help protect and maintain for the future.In this way we all play our part in respecting and caring for Country.

We have used some of our key totems as messengers on the website to introduce our culture and explore Country. Below is some information about them. An abridged version of this information is used for scroll-overs linked to main page headings of this website.

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The programs, tours and learning activities here are for our people and the wider community. They are about experiencing our culture, strengthening awareness and understanding, as well as respecting and looking after Country.  They help develop our knowledge-holders and custodians through ancestral stories and sharing of responsibilities to maintain our culture and look after Country.

Learn More

This is the place where we got all the news about our local crew and local issues. It’s about keeping updated on what’s happening here now. In this section of our youth zone we talk about local Arakwal youth in every day life and in action in the arts, sports, surf and street skating, music, dance and culture,. This is our space to connect and share dreams with our community and beyond.

Hey!  Our Young, Black and Deadly crew are into ….

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Keep yourself informed on what  our indigenous stars have been getting up to. This includes profiles – think music like Jessica Mauboy – who starred in the film ‘Brand Nue Dae’; surfing – our own local Dale Richards taking it to the legend Kelly Slater; and Keil Williams-Weigel, NAIDOC 2011 Youth of the Year; and Ashleigh Barty, who is powering in tennis. They are putting in the work and showing the way!

We’ve put up some videos from YouTube to share what’s happening with some cool artists, musicians and people in our oz indigenous communities like the Mornington Island and Wilcannia mobs. We are going to look for some global crew as well so come back and have a look later.

Check them out! Go to the video pictures below and click on them!

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The Arakwal Dubay (meaning women) Dancers are a dance troupe that practice and perform traditional dance. We have performed at local gatherings and key regional events including NAIDOC week, The Blues Festival and Splendor In The Grass. We perform a twenty-minute set and each dance has significance and meaning. For example, our welcome dance is about sweeping out the bad spirits and bringing in the good.

Our troupe is made up of local Indigenous women. 

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Lots of effort and creativity have gone into developing this website so far. We would like to acknowledge those who have contributed their time and skills, and provided photos, written and digital material that you can see here. The website was developed by Sustainable Futures Australia (www.sustainablefutures.com.au)  for, and in liaison with the Arakwal People of Byron Bay.  Seed funding was provided by the Cape Byron Marine Park Authority (NSW Department of Fisheries) through the Aboriginal Parks Partnership Program, with additional funds provided by the Arakwal Aboriginal Corporation.

We acknowledge your input and effort, and thank you!

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Hey, check out this video of Sean Kay, one of our older Arakwal brothers shredding some local waves around the Bay – totally cool!
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Young, Black & Deadly is a way for Arakwal youth, kids and friends to keep in the loop and into the creative scenes that have people talking. Check out what our mob is doing, connect with us and get inspired!!!

We let you in on what our crew are doing, as well as issues and trends going on here, there and everywhere. There are links to cool local and national acts; surfing, music, dance and sport legends. We’re keeping you connected to culture, coz we’re Arakwal and proud of it!

intro to Joint venture development at Wategos

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