Bradley hardy

Cooma Murrawarri,
Yuwaalaraay Gamileroi

Cooma-Murrawarri on his mother’s side and Yualaraay-Gamileroi on his fathers, Bradley Hardy’s connections are both local and varied – like many of the people of the region.

“A lot of people will only take one tribe, but I want to pay honour to all my ancestors”.

A modern day custodian of the Brewarrina Aboriginal Fish Traps – the Nghunnu – Bradley informs tourists and locals alike about the significance and ongoing relevance of the Nghunnu as a meeting place.

“As it was for eight different tribes years ago, so it is for more and more tribes now – we might not practice traditional corroborees now, but we gather in other ways”.

Bradley sees his role as the responsibility of sharing. Recalling the knowledge that was passed onto him as a younger man, he understands the importance of coming together, and can relate that to the modern world.

“The tours that I do are never about me – it’s one of your duties that for whoever comes in on tour, I share the truth and the history with them”.

This commitment is, for Bradley, about educating the young people in the community, ensuring that knowledge is passed on and providing that bridge of understanding to a new audience. His work, as he sees it, is to pass on that knowledge to ensure that it is, in turn, passed on.

“All this stuff is for the future, as much as the past – I can show our young people ‘look back to our old people, look what they did for us, look how they made things better for us’ and how it was all about coming together”.