A rising star in the sector has a few thoughts as to why the Kimberley dominates in terms of WA’s Indigenous tourism experiences
JAWI woman Rosanna Angus has been in the tourism game for a long time, having hosted cultural talks out of Kooljaman at Cape Leveque for years.
Ms Angus’s friendly demeanour and ability to talk passionately about her country have left a lasting impression on thousands of visitors over that time.
So, when Kooljaman was mothballed in 2021, Ms Angus used the setback to start her own business running tours out of Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm to her grandfather’s country on Ewuny (Sunday Island).
Of course, she wasn’t entirely alone; it helped having grown up with Cygnet Bay’s James Brown, who Ms Angus said had been supportive of her endeavours.
“If it wasn’t for Cygnet Bay I would not be where I am today,” Ms Angus told Business News.
“I wanted to grow the opportunity to bring people on to country, to the islands, because of the history connected to the island space with Sunday Island mission.
“I needed to tell my family story for that island space, for Jawi people, and that’s why I started.”
Ms Angus’s Oolin Sunday Island Cultural Tours has grown rapidly in just three years, along the way named Australia’s best tour guide by Australia’s Top Tourism Town Awards, securing a partnership with Australian Geographic to run women’s tours, and working with luxury cruises.
It has also been a steep learning curve.
“I have three days a week of tours … but every day is paperwork, that is my life now,” Ms Angus said.
“We are born tour guides, born storytellers, we are educators, which is all part of those cultural obligations when you grow up. “Business models don’t suit us Aboriginal people.
I can’t employ some non-Indigenous person to tell me what to do in my business, but you can employ your family and they can tell you what to do because it’s done with a level of respect and understanding.”
Ms Angus has undertaken a Master of Business qualification at the Adelaide Institute of Business and Technology and has been working with consultants to change her sole trader status to better suit her goals and offer more training.
Her success in this endeavour would add further depth to the Kimberley’s already thriving Indigenous tourism scene.
The Western Australian Indigenous Tourism Operators Council website makes clear how the Kimberley has become the epicentre of the state’s Indigenous tourism industry.
Broome and the Dampier Peninsula are home to 16 Indigenous tourism experiences listed with WAITOC, part of 31 cultural tours listed in the Kimberley. The rest of WA, including Perth, has 31 cultural tours listed.
Twenty-one of 25 Indigenous[1]owned campgrounds and accommodation facilities, nearly half of the art galleries, and more than half of Indigenous events and festivals are in the Kimberley.
Ms Angus said the sector’s success in the Kimberley was possible because family-led businesses and operators were careful not to tread on each other’s toes.
“We don’t just create businesses for the sake of creating our businesses to take over someone else and be in competition,” she said.
“Everybody delivers a product that is kind of different to each other and offers different experiences and services.
“I don’t tell [my clients] anything to do with Broome, Beagle Bay, or any other business.”
Ms Angus said while some Broome and peninsula operators had agreed to cross-promote, there was a tendency for some communities to operate in siloes.
“The peninsula is good because it has Ardi [Dampier Peninsula communities] as a stronghold, bringing all operators together under the banner of it,” she said.
“But then you’ve got communities who just support their own entities.
“If we could all come together in the room and see tourism as more than just ourselves in this community, that is a bigger picture.”
A flashpoint has emerged over the 2028 banning of boats motoring through Garaanngaddim (Horizontal Falls).
The Liberal Party of WA and some local operators have criticised the decision as bad for tourism.
Supporting the move are the state government, Dambimangari traditional owners, WAITOC, and a host of prominent individuals Business News spoke to in Broome.
Controversy and disputes of this nature are comparatively rare, however, given the accolades heaped on the Kimberley’s Indigenous tourism operators.
Gija woman Rebecca Sampi is the latest among this cohort to be recognised, having joined the finalists in the individual excellence category at this year’s WA Tourism Awards.
Ms Sampi is head guide at Kingfisher Tours in Purnululu National Park and has trained more than 25 people in tourism.
With just 17 per cent of visitors to WA getting an Indigenous experience – 81 per cent say they want one, according to Tourism WA research – tour guides such as Ms Angus and Ms Sampi are crucial to bridging the gap.
Kooljaman 2.0
The closure in 2021 of Djarindjin and Ardyaloon communities’ Kooljaman eco-resort at the tip of Cape Leveque sent shockwaves through the industry.
Deteriorating infrastructure and the high cost of redevelopment were cited for closure of the resort, which was a trailblazer in Indigenous and ecotourism since opening in 1989.
Kooljaman’s operating entity, Bardina, was granted a 21-year lease extension by Kooljaman Land Aboriginal Corporation, which means it can seek third-party investors to undertake the rebuild.
Djarindjin Aboriginal Corporation chief executive Nathan McIvor said “Kooljaman 2.0” would likely switch its focus to high-end tourism.
“Let’s just say it’s a work in progress,” he said.
“There is a master plan we are starting to work towards.
“It is a beautiful place in Australia, and it needs to cater to those high-end tourism dollars, rather than the backpacker who’s coming in their Kombi.”
Any decision on the future of the resort will be in the hands of both communities.
DAC itself has made some moves in the tourism industry of late, opening a caravan park in 2022 next to its roadhouse, which has benefited from the sealing of the Cape Leveque Road.
Mr McIvor said the two facilities had given Djarindjin’s tour guides more exposure than they received while based at Kooljaman.
The neighbouring Lombadina community has also opened a caravan park.
Located in the heart of the community, the caravan park has cabins, a lodge and campgrounds, and is a hub for kayaking, mud crabbing and fishing tours from the picturesque bay the community sits on.
