177. Bunuba Elder Jimmy Dillon Andrews
On Jandamarra, spiritual power & building cultural enterprise
Welcome back to Fitzroy Crossing. Jimmy Dillon Andrews is a highly respected Bunuba elder and founder of Bungoolee Tours, nationally renowned for the cultural experiences it guides people through. These include journeys deep beneath the limestone of the Napier Range into Tunnel Creek, and through the heart of the incredible Windjana Gorge, carved from a 35O million year old Devonian Reef. The spiritual significance of these places to the Bunuba people is immense, having tended all this for at least 46,000 years.
Jimmy Dillon Andrews during the conversation (pic: Olivia Cheng).
“You can grab that feeling when you’re coming to Aboriginal culture. Yeah, I’ve seen many came to me and tell me we had that feeling. ”
They’re also central to the legend of famed Aboriginal warrior Jandamarra. Jimmy is a descendent of Jandamarra, describing him as a ‘man of magical power’. The story of Jandamarra is one of this Country’s most gripping and important ones, that still too few of us know about. So we’re fortunate to hear Jimmy share it here. Along with some other stories foundational to this Country, from footy, to of course the extraordinary flood this year.
We go on to explore the keys to his enterprise success, and his visions for the future (along with the Voice referendum). And all with Jimmy’s unhurried, quietly spoken gravitas - as if whispering long-accrued secrets of Country. Join us, on a now dry patch of the Martuwarra Fitzroy River bed, by the old Fitzroy Crossing.
Head here for automatic cues to chapter markers (also available on the embedded player above), and a transcript of this conversation (please note the transcript is AI generated and imperfect, but hopefully serves to provide greater access to these conversations for those who need or like to read).
Recorded on the bed of the Martuwarra Fitzroy River at the old Fitzroy Crossing on 9 August 2023.
See more photos on the episode web page, and to see more from behind the scenes, become a subscriber via the Patreon page.
Click on the photos below to zoom in, and hover over them to see captions where added (all photos by Anthony James unless noted).
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You can hear the conversation with Petrine McCrohan in ep.106, Therapeutic & Cultural Economies (poignantly, the cover slide photo was taken on the fallen bridge).
Music:
Regeneration, composed by Amelia Barden, from the soundtrack to the film Regenerating Australia.
Song performed live by Jimmy Dillon Andrews.