Residents in one of Australia's most remote Indigenous towns have showcased their rich cultural heritage to international visitors for the first time.
The small community of Mornington Island, in the Gulf of Carpentaria, this week welcomed about 100 tourists from the Silver Explorer cruise ship on its way from Cairns to Broome.
"This was so exciting for our little community," Mornington Shire Council mayor Kyle Yanner said.
"We are usually in the headlines for some negative reasons and this is an opportunity to showcase how amazing and beautiful our people and our country here is."
Guests, 70 per cent of whom were Australian with the other 30 per cent hailing from overseas, were given a warm Welcome to Country, followed by a 45-minute welcome show.
Cultural knowledge tours guided by traditional owners and art tours made up the day's experiences.
"We had some of the tourists up and dancing with us, having a go … they just loved it," Cr Yanner said.
Elders told stories and gave cultural insight into the land — the salt pans, beaches, freshwater creeks, and black soil plains that make up Mornington Island.
"We got a few cars bogged, and that was fun," said Cr Yanner.
Burial and ceremonial sites were observed from a distance and their cultural significance and lores explained.
Knowledge that has been passed down over 60,000 years was shared, including bush medicine and the use of plants in constructing didgeridoos, boomerangs and spears.
"Our culture shone," Cr Yanner said.
"And the visitors just loved the whole experience."
Huge economic, social impacts
After such a successful day, the community is already preparing for its next lot of tourists.
"The benefits for our town are that people are getting paid to do what we love and that is to showcase our culture and tell our stories," Cr Yanner said.
"Not only is it important for white Australians to visit our community from a cultural learning perspective, but the next time Mornington Island features in the news for something negative, someone can say, 'I've been there, and that place is actually really beautiful.'"
A tourism industry on the island would provide a huge boost to the local economy and help foster jobs and engagement among the town's youth, Cr Yanner said.
"It means we might be able to engage some young tour guides and get some full-time jobs out of this," he said.
"All we gotta do now is get a bit more tours going, build the capacity, practise a bit more and make some full-time jobs out of it.
"There is a really bright future for the community in this."
