Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 GREGORY NATIONAL PARK / VICTORIA RIVER LAND CLAIM NO. 167 LEGUNE AREA LAND CLAIM NO. 188 Report No. 74 Report and Recommendation of the Aboriginal Land Commissioner, the Hon John Mansfield AM QC, to the Minister for Indigenous Australians and to the Administrator of the Northern Territory © Commonwealth of Australia 2021 ISBN 978-1-925364-65-1 (Online) Copyright Notice With the exception of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence (CC BY 4.0) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Third party copyright Wherever a third party holds copyright in this material, the copyright remains with that party. Their permission may be required to use the material. Please contact them directly. Attribution This publication should be attributed as follows: © Commonwealth of Australia, National Indigenous Australians Agency, Gregory National Park/Victoria River Land Claim No. 167 Legune Area Land Claim No. 188, Report of the Aboriginal Land Commissioner, the Hon John Mansfield AM QC, to the Minister for Indigenous Australians and to the Administrator of the Northern Territory. Use of the Coat of Arms The terms under which the Coat of Arms can be used are detailed at the following website: https://www.pmc.gov.au/government/its-honour Caution Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers should use caution when reading this report as it may contain references to deceased persons. Phone: (08) 7972 4124 Email: AboriginalLandCommissioner@official.niaa.gov.au Level 5, Jacana House, 39-41 Woods Street, DARWIN NT 0800 GPO Box 9932 DARWIN NT 0801 25 June 2021 The Hon Ken Wyatt AM, MP Minister for Indigenous Australians PO Box 6022 House of Representatives Parliament House CANBERRA ACT 2600 By email: Minister.wyatt@ia.pm.gov.au Dear Minister, RE: Gregory National Park / Victoria River Land Claim No. 167 Legune Area Land Claim No. 188 In accordance with section 50(1) of the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 (Cth), I present my report on these claims. As required by the Act, I have sent a copy of this report to the Administrator of the Northern Territory. Yours faithfully, The Hon John Mansfield AM QC Aboriginal Land Commissioner Phone: (08) 7972 4124 Email: AboriginalLandCommissioner@official.niaa.gov.au Level 5, Jacana House, 39-41 Woods Street, DARWIN NT 0800 GPO Box 9932 DARWIN NT 0801 25 June 2021 The Hon Vicki O’Halloran AO Administrator of the Northern Territory Office of the Administrator 14 The Esplanade DARWIN NT 0800 By email: govhouse@nt.gov.au Dear Administrator, RE: Gregory National Park / Victoria River Land Claim No. 167 Legune Area Land Claim No. 188 In accordance with section 50(1) of the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 (Cth), I present my report on these claims. As required by the Act, I have sent a copy of this report to the Minister for Indigenous Australians. Yours faithfully, The Hon John Mansfield AM QC Aboriginal Land Commissioner Table of Contents 1 INTRODUCTION, HISTORY AND SUMMARY OF ISSUES..............................................6 2 THE APPLICATIONS AND THE INQUIRY........................................................................11 3 TRADITIONAL ABORIGINAL OWNERSHIP: EVIDENCE AND FINDINGS...............18 3.1 THE ESTATE GROUPS....................................................................................................................22 3.1.1 Group 1: Wadaynbang – Gajirrabeng language..........................................................................22 3.1.2 Group 2: Goorrbijim – Gajirrabeng language..............................................................................23 3.1.3 Group 3: Jarrajarrany/Boolonjinja – Gajirrabeng language........................................................24 3.1.4 Group 4: Madbag – Jaminjung language.....................................................................................25 3.1.5 Group 5: Dalunggag – Jaminjung language................................................................................25 3.1.6 Group 6: Gimul – Jaminjung language........................................................................................26 3.1.7 Group 7: Ngalinjarr – Gajirrabeng language...............................................................................27 3.1.8 Group 8: Gulu Gulu – Jaminjung language..............................