Recognition of Southern West Yiradyuri is critical to the future of our People and Country
Southern West Yiradyuri people have an inherent responsibility to uphold our lore, law, values and expectations.
Our services acknowledge this responsibility and we encourage all people, groups, businesses, governments and institutions to engage with our organisation on matters relating to, or impacting upon, Aboriginal culture, heritage, land, water and the sky within Southern West Yiradyuri Country. As a Registered Aboriginal Party under the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Act, and now supporting a registered native title claim over Southern West Yiradyuri Country, we are best placed to guide genuine engagement grounded in authority and knowledge of Country.
Work with the Traditional Owners of Southern West Yiradyuri Country
Cultural education, ceremony, heritage, Country care and language, delivered by the people who hold the knowledge and the responsibility for this Country. If your work touches our Land, Water or Sky Country, start here.
Three ways we care for Country, and the people on it
Southern West Yiradyuri people have an inherent responsibility to uphold our lore, law, values and expectations. Every service we offer carries that responsibility.
Learning and Culture
Build real cultural capability in your people, about Country and with Country.
- Cultural education and training
- With-Country Camp
- Ngandhi Bala-dhu? game
Ceremony and Language
Open your event properly and get names and words right, with cultural authority.
- Welcome to Country and ceremonies
- Language and naming
Country and Heritage
Protect what matters on the ground, from first assessment to restored landscape.
- Cultural heritage
- Natural resource management
- Bio-cultural governance
Choose a service to see what's involved
Each service has its own enquiry form, so your request goes straight to the right people.
Cultural Education and Consultancy
Yiradyuri ways of knowing, built into how your organisation works.
We work with schools, institutions, businesses and government to bring Yiradyuri knowledge, values and traditions into real learning and working environments, respected in their own right rather than added on. Our longer term vision is a Yiradyuri education pathway, from early learning through to a Yiradyuri university.
For the strongest results, pair training with a With-Country Camp and the Ngandhi Bala-dhu? game. Learn about Country, learn with Country, and walk in someone else's shoes.
Cultural education enquiry
With-Country Camp
Learn with Country, not just about Country.
An immersive, Elder-led camp on our property near Kengal Aboriginal Place at The Rock. Participants walk significant landscapes, learn from Knowledge Holders, share meals and yarning circles, and leave with a genuine connection to place. Recently piloted with the University of Melbourne's Grimwade Centre.
Every camp is co-designed with you. Costs, duration, accommodation, safety and accessibility are agreed in advance.
Ngandhi Bala-dhu? Cultural Awareness Game
A timeline of facts and lived experience, played together.
Ngandhi Bala-dhu means "who be I" in Yiradyuri language. Every card is dated, from 1788 to today, so players see these events are not distant history. Exhibited at the Museum of Australian Democracy and featured on NITV News, it is played online on phones with the board on a shared screen.
Every paid place includes a certificate of attendance issued by SWYC. This game may be confronting. 13YARN: 13 92 76. Lifeline: 13 11 14.
Welcome to Country and Ceremonies
A living cultural practice, not a formality.
Under our traditional laws and customs, Southern West Yiradyuri people carry the responsibility to welcome visitors onto Country. We open Country to you, and you carry a responsibility to walk it with respect. Every request is considered by our Elders, who decide the right ceremony and the right person for your occasion.
Booking terms
- A request is confirmed only once endorsed by our Elders. Smoking Ceremonies are offered only where the Elders consider them appropriate.
- We respond within two business days of a request made with two weeks' notice. Cultural consultations needing Elder and community input can take several weeks.
- Once confirmed, an invoice is issued for full payment, due eight working days before the event.
- Cancellations with less than 48 hours' notice incur 50% of the agreed fee.
- Please observe cultural etiquette throughout, which we will advise at booking where needed.
Ceremony request
Language and Naming
Names carry Country. Getting them right matters.
Language is embedded in our natural and spiritual landscapes. We help organisations, businesses and government use culturally appropriate language, Wiradyuri or English, from street and building names to public documents and Acknowledgements of Country. We work closely with the Budyaan Wiradyuri Language Trust, and partner with each community a project affects, as with the Griffith Hospital naming.
Language and naming enquiry
Cultural Heritage
Engage before you break ground. It's required, not optional.
Much of the knowledge of our story and creation places is not recorded in AHIMS. It is held by Southern West Yiradyuri people. Our Aboriginal archaeologist, environmental specialists and field team deliver end-to-end heritage services, backed by an established heritage consultancy partner, at the scale of major infrastructure such as wind and solar farms.
Cultural heritage enquiry
Natural Resource Management
Country care grounded in customary knowledge.
Our team brings hands-on skill in revegetation, pest control, land and waterway restoration and landscape maintenance, for projects of any scale, always to safety and cultural standards. We are also pursuing joint management of national parks and reserves, and formal protection of significant landscapes, including through Indigenous Protected Areas.
Natural resource management enquiry
Aboriginal Bio-Cultural Governance
Owning or leasing land here comes with responsibility. We help you meet it.
Anyone who inherits, leases or buys land and water on Southern West Yiradyuri Country takes on responsibility for its resources. We guide that responsibility through Original Biodiversity and Kinship principles, including how production, trade, conservation and farming of plants and aquatic life are managed.
Bio-cultural governance enquiry
Cultural capability works best when it's holistic
Our three learning services are designed to work together. Most organisations start with one and build from there.
Cultural training
Presentations and field trips that build understanding of our history, culture and heritage.
LEARN WITHWith-Country Camp
Time on Country with Elders and Knowledge Holders, where learning becomes connection.
WALK IN THEIR SHOESNgandhi Bala-dhu?
Facts and lived experience from 1788 to today, played and discussed together.
Simple for you, right for Country
Tell us what you need
Choose a service above and send an enquiry. It comes straight to our team.
We consider it properly
Where culture is involved, our Elders guide what is appropriate and who should deliver it.
Scope and quote
We confirm the scope, timing and fee with you before anything is booked.
Delivered with authority
Our people deliver it, on Country or with you, grounded in knowledge of this Country.
Not sure where to start?
Tell us about your project and we'll point you to the right service and the right people.