I feel connected to my country and am glad out culture is being passed down
Daniella grew up in Lismore, on Bundjalung country, but her family is from Baryulgil. A town with a history of asbestos mining that devastated her ancestors and culture. Daniella talks through the journey of reconnecting with the land of her people.
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00:00My family is from a small town called Bayugul in northern New South Wales.
00:10It's a place of extremes.
00:13There's breathtaking beauty in the landmarks where my ancestors have walked and swum for
00:18thousands of years.
00:23But seeped into the soil is great sadness.
00:28About a kilometre away from Bayugul is the stars of an asbestos mine.
00:33Its deadly legacy has drilled deep into the community.
00:38My great-grandfather, M Pop, worked at the mine.
00:43Mum says they used to come home covered in white dust.
00:47It was so thick, all you could see was their eyes and their big smile.
00:51I never got to know them.
00:53The mine closed in 1979.
00:57Within a decade, they both died.
01:02My parents moved to Lismore before I was born.
01:06When I was 12, my parents brought me and my four brothers back to Bayugul to teach us
01:12about our culture.
01:18At the pines, I learnt how to find honey from native black bees.
01:24It was the first time I tried juggle, witchetty grub.
01:28It tastes good when it's cooked.
01:32The long bridge is where I spent many hot summer days.
01:38I float down the river on my back, looking at the sky.
01:43From the first time I came here, I knew this is my country, my home.
01:50A lot of knowledge about my tribe, the Wurlubul tribe, died with my great-grandfather.
01:57I'm sad the knowledge was lost because of the mine, but I'm glad I can still learn
02:02about my culture to help it survive for future generations.