More than 100 people embarked on the “Tour de Carmichael”, a 105-kilometre cycle for Country through sacred Wangan and Jagalingou land to Adani’s coal mine site in the Galilee Basin in early May. They reached the mine site on May 7.
The four-day action was led by Wangan and Jagalingou man, Coedie MacAvoy, son of Uncle Adrian Burragubba.
“It's distressing to see the change in landscape. We don’t know what damage the mine will do to our sacred Doongmabulla Springs. That's why we're here — to expose Adani's destruction of Country,” MacAvoy said.
The tour had previously stopped at a number of significant sites to the Wangan and Jagalingou people, and camped at “Dalgayu Dina”, the site on Adani’s pastoral lease where McAvoy and others have built a coroboree ground and campsite.
“Adani has in the past tried to evict us from our own land, and when we resisted that they tried to grant permission only to Wangan and Jagalingou people," he said.
"We haven’t accepted that, and this has opened up new precedents for Aboriginal people: going on to pastoral lease to practice and maintain our culture, and bringing non-Indigenous people to put them through ceremony and have a cultural event without the hindrance of Adani or police.
“As Wangan and Jagalingou cultural custodians, it’s our duty to protect our country. So we’ll keep coming up with different ways to resist Adani and other mining companies who are trying to open up the Galilee Basin. We will definitely be back with another Tour De Carmichael.”