A TAMBORINE Mountain group is seeking community input for a history project called Early Contacts Between Aboriginal Peoples and European Settlers on Tamborine Mountain.
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Project coordinator Sandra Sewell said the project was being facilitated by Tamborine Mountain Library.
"We are looking for any early family letters, diaries, photos or stories handed down through your family that mention early contact between white settlers and Indigenous people," she said.
"We have been looking at the period between the early 1800s and the 1960s, and particularly at the Wangerriburra people in the Yugambeh language region."
Ms Sewell said the project's aim was to add to existing information through research into books, journals, newspapers and church archives.
"A second aim has been to make a small local contribution to truth telling, part of the national process towards reconciliation and establishing a treaty or makarrata with Indigenous peoples in Australia," she said.
"We wish to contribute local white settler accounts to the process of truth-telling, not trespass on areas of Aboriginal knowledge and expertise.
"We have consulted local Aboriginal elders, and have kept them informed as the project has developed.
"In 2019, we searched for published sources. In 2020, we will be concentrating on early letters and journals of local families and individuals, as well as oral histories (anecdotes and stories) handed down through families and communities.
"We will welcome and acknowledge any materials you can offer."
Ms Sewell said the completed project would become a community resource, available through local libraries and historical societies.
"So, if you have information and/or materials that you think may be useful and relevant, please consider contributing it to the project and, eventually, to our community," she said.
