THE YUGGERA UGARAPUL PEOPLE (YUP) ARE THE
RECOGNISED NATIVE TITLE APPLICANTS OF IPSWICH,
AN AREA TO THE WEST OF MEANJIN (BRISBANE).
THE YUGGERA UGARAPUL PEOPLE (YUP) ARE THE RECOGNISED NATIVE TITLE APPLICANTS OF IPSWICH, AN AREA TO THE WEST OF MEANJIN (BRISBANE).
ABOUT US
Wunya. The Yuggera and Ugarapul peoples are recognised as the custodians of the land and waters around the Ipswich region, with significant and acknowledged multi-generational connections to Country—specifically to Deebing Creek and Purga Missions, central to the region’s First Nations history.
In 2017, spurred on by increasing development in the region encroaching on sacred sites, we filed a native title claim that was accepted by the National Native Title Tribunal.
First Nations people have been connected to Country in the Ipswich area for thousands of years – long before European settlement. Settlement caused massive upheaval. Across Queensland and New South Wales Indigenous people were culturally dispossessed. In many cases they were forcibly relocated from their traditional lands to colonial missions and reserves. Some of these were set up in the Ipswich region including Deebing Creek Mission, Purga Mission and Cherbourg Reserve. Despite complex challenges, our peoples and culture have survived.
Who the YUP are and how we live today is deeply shaped by these impacts, but we are more than this – we continue to evolve. We are proud of our culture, the resilience we demonstrate, and the steps we are making toward a brighter future.
LANGUAGE
The Yuggera and Ugarapul are descendants of groups of First Nations peoples who all historically spoke the Yuggera language (also written as Yugara, Jagara, Jagera, and other variants). The Yuggera language includes a range of dialects and was spoken by traditional owners of regions spanning Moreton Bay westward toward the Toowoomba ranges, including Meanjin. Now emerging leaders, elders and other advocates are struggling to revive Yuggera language.
YUP COUNTRY
This map of the recognised YUP claim area is drawn from the National Native Title Tribunal (NNTT) website (extracted January 2024) where the YUP claim is publicly accessible. The region covers an area to the West of Meanjin (Brisbane) stretching to the Toowoomba Range, north to Gatton and nearly to Esk, south to the Logan River and east beyond Ipswich to the Oxley River catchment.
CULTURAL PRECINCT FOR THE FUTURE
In May 2023 we signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Stockland, AVJennings and Moremac to begin planning a new cultural precinct to be built on the Deebing Creek Heritage Site.
Building a cultural precinct will enable local Indigenous peoples’ stories to be shared and to live on. Through a process of truth telling we intend to educate the broader community on the mission history and the significance of the whole area to our people.
OUR DREAMING STORY
The waterways provide the connection between the local mobs the Yuggera and Ugarapul people. Our people have always used the local waterways to connect with the land and provide for their people. The water provides connection, hope and nourishment. Without the water the river dries, and without our Elders our connection to the land and our culture dies. Our Elders provide the nourishment and hope for our mobs and our culture’s future.
The sand goanna is the Yuggera mob’s totem and the tree frog is the Ugarapul mob’s totem. Totems are creator spirits that link our people with creation time and The Dreaming or spiritual world of our ancestors. They were decided by Elders long ago and have been passed through the generations.
We will post the occasional YUP dreaming story in our News. Feel free to contact us if you have a dreaming story you would like to share.
For a long time people have lived at Deebing Creek and they’d said ‘We didn’t know that was a mission!’
– Roberta Graham (Elder)
For a long time people have lived at Deebing Creek and they’d said ‘We didn’t know that was a mission!’
– Roberta Graham (Elder)
