Dr George Musgrave (1921 – 9 February 2006) was an elder of the

Kuku Thaypan Kuku may refer to: People * Emir-Usein Kuku (born 1976), Crimean Tatar human rights defender * Kuku people, an ethnic group in South Sudan * Kuku Yulanji, an Aboriginal people of the Daintree region in North Queensland, Australia Places *K ...

clan and a famous

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n bush tracker. He was an Agu Alaya speaker. Honouring Tommy and George Musgrave

. He was born in his own country, near Rinyirru National Park. As children, he and

Tommy George Tommy George Sr. ( – 29 July 2016) was an elder of the Kuku Thaypan clan on Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia. He was the last fluent Awu Laya ( Kuku Thaypan language) speaker. Biography He was born in his own country, near Rinyirr ...

Senior were hidden in mailbags by the station owner, Fredrick Sheppard, to avoid removal by police and welfare officers. As a result, they were able to grow up with their own people, and learn traditional law and language, management practices of their country and how to live off the land. Recently, they were able to successfully claim continuous ownership of traditional lands, and retain custody of some land at Gno-Coom (Saxby Waterhole). George's senses were so sharp he could follow a week-old trail through dense scrub at night. He could identify tracks that were up to two months old. In August 2005 he was asked to track an off duty policeman who had become lost while pig hunting. Despite being 84 years old, he found the man in less than a day. He also worked as a community policeman and musterer. Together with

Senior, he founded the Ang-Gnarra Aboriginal Corporation at Laura, Queensland, the biennial Laura Festival of Traditional Dance and Culture, the Traditional Knowledge Recording Project and the Cape York Land Council. They campaigned to protect the world-renowned Quinkan rock art near Laura, where they carried out custodial duties for special places, including the rock art galleries. They shared their knowledge of the bush, their language and their customs with researchers and visitors. It would be difficult to find a piece of scholarly work on traditional language, culture or country in

Cape York Peninsula Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación ...

that does not credit their expertise. In 2005 he and Tommy George were each awarded an honorary Doctorate of Letters by

James Cook University James Cook University (JCU) is a public university in North Queensland, Australia. The second oldest university in Queensland, JCU is a teaching and research institution. The university's main campuses are located in the tropical cities of Cairn ...

for their knowledge of traditional Aboriginal Law.

Publications

* George, T., & G. Musgrave (1995). ''Our country, our art, our Quinkans''. Laura, Queensland: Ang-Gnarra Aboriginal Corporation.

External links

Ang-Gnarra Aboriginal Corporation
at Laura
Traditional Knowledge Recording Project

Cape York Land Council

Last Trackers of the Outback film on YouTube

References

JCU honours Cape York elders

* ttp://www.archimuse.com/mw2005/papers/kateli/kateli.html Interpretation and Personalisation: Enriching Individual Experience by Annotating On-line Materials {{DEFAULTSORT:Musgrave, George 1921 births 2006 deaths Australian Aboriginal elders