Voices of the River

The National Heritage Listed Martuwarra Fitzroy River stretches over 700km from the desert to the sea, and is a site of great cultural significance. However, the river’s cultural and ecological values are now under great threat from Murray-Darling style proposals to pump water from the river and establish an intensive irrigation industry. Traditional Owners have repeatedly made clear their support for long-term protection of the Martuwarra, through the 2011 National Heritage Listing, the 2016 Fitzroy River declaration, the 2018 establishment of the Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council, and their 2020 statement in the West Australian. Working closely with Traditional Owners and impact partners Environs Kimberley, Kimberley – Like Nowhere Else and the Kimberley Land Council, this series seeks to communicate the cultural values of the Martuwarra Fitzroy River to a broader audience, and to support the advocacy goals of the river’s original custodians.

Our vision is to convey the cultural and environmental values of the Fitzroy River to support its protection from large-scale development, and to centre Traditional Owners’ voices in media & government decision-making.

Our key pillars and impact goals are:
1. Cultural value: support Traditional Owners to protect the river to maintain culture and promote alternative, sustainable cultural industries.
2. Environmental values: protect the pristine Fitzroy River and its ecosystems, lifeblood of the Kimberley and one of last in-tact rivers.

Short term outcomes:
• Increased visibility of Traditional Owners’ opinions in the debate around the Fitzroy River (media coverage, distribution figures, views, shares, reach);
• Improved public awareness of these cultural and environmental issues (media coverage, surveys);
• Increased support for conservation of the Fitzroy River (surveys, petitions, partnerships);
• No water allocation plan announced by the WA Government before the March 2021 election.

Long-term outcomes:
• No decisions made without Indigenous stakeholder consent;
• No surface water taken from the Fitzroy River, floodplains, tributaries or alluvial aquifers;
• Legal protection of the Fitzroy River in the form of a buffer zone, National Park or other protective tenure for the lower Fitzroy catchment.

The filmmakers are working closely with the following partners, who are the leaders in these areas: Kimberley – Like Nowhere Else alliance (Pew Charitable Trusts, Environs Kimberley, WWF Australia, The Wilderness Society, Australian Marine Conservation Society, Conservation Council of WA, Whale and Dophin Conservation), Traditional Owners and the Kimberley Land Council.

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