Traditional owners tell their stories in a new way

Three First Nations groups from the Mungo National Park and Willandra Lakes Region World Heritage Area have launched a new mobile app called Mungo Stories: Walk Together.

The app has been launched in partnership with SharingStories Foundation, NSW Parks and Wildlife Service and students at Mildura Primary School. 

The Barkandji/Paakantyi, Mutthi Mutthi and Ngiyampaa communities worked together to create the free mobile app designed to offer visitors to the region a more dynamic experience of the park’s heritage. 

The app features ten living stories narrated by First Nations Custodians who led the work on Country and is accessible only when on Country.

Each of the stories is discovered by the app user via story markers which have been placed throughout the National Park. 

Using the app’s GPS map technology, visitors find locations within the park where they scan markers to unlock videos that share stories and knowledge from the three tribal groups. 

For a one-minute, promotional video of the Mungo Stories: Walk Together app, visit here.

The stories are narrated by Elders and include animations illustrated by school students and Ngiyampaa artist, Nola Taylor. 

The culture app is designed as an introduction to the region’s cultural heritage and complements tours run by the Mungo National Park’s Aboriginal Discovery Rangers. 

“The Willandra lakes is a very special place, as it tells us about how our ancestors once lived, evidence of how they survived an ice age, clues to what animals they ate and how they hunted them," says Barkandji/Paakantyi Traditional Owner Uncle Ivan Johnston. 

"Not only is this place significant for Aboriginal people,but also for non-Aboriginal people to learn about human history.” 

For more info visit https://sharingstoriesfoundation.org/mungo-stories, https://sharingstoriesfoundation.org/ and https://visitmungo.com.au/.