Goose Island access regained by Narungga people from 2024 in South Australia's eastern Spencer Gulf
The Narungga traditional owners regained access, via a native title decision, to Goose Island (Mayibarrdu) in South Australia's eastern Spencer Gulf from 2024 after Scotch College in Adelaide ended its licence to use the island for its Year 10 students outdoor education. Goose Island was part of a conservation park protecting sea birds and sea lions.
Images courtesy Scotch College and Bonzie Digital Atlas of Australia
Adelaide’s prestigious Scotch College ended its access to Goose Island on South Australia’s eastern Spencer Gulf from 2024 after the island was included in the Yorke Peninsula. native title granted to the Narungga people.
The Australian federal court in 2023 recognised the Narungga people as native title holders of the Yorke Peninsula, including Goose Island at the tip of Wardang Island and 13 kilometres from Port Victoria. Scotch College had used the island for outdoor education school camps since 1966, through a licence agreement with the state government environment and water department.
After a request from the traditional owners, Scotch College announced it would stop using Goose Island, called Mayibarrdu in Narungga language, at the end of 2024 – three years before its licence to access the site was due to expire. Scotch College principal Trent Driver said he was “profoundly disappointed” that the school’s younger students would not be able to use the island where their activities including sailing, kayaking, wildlife studies, land regeneration, snorkelling through shipwrecks in the area and swimming with sea lions.
Narungga Nation Aboriginal Corporation chief executive Doug Milera thanked Scotch College for its decision to relinquish the licence and said the move would allow the Narungga people to reconnect spiritually to the land, as well as explore new cultural tourism opportunities for the wider community: “For the 60-odd years. Scotch College has held their licence to operate on the island we’ve not really been able to access it.”
Goose Island was part of a protected conservation park within five kilometres to 12 kilometres of the sector between west and northwest of Port Victoria. The conservation park included Goose Island, Little Goose Island, Seal Rocks and White Rocks to the immediate north of Wardang Island with Beatrice Rock, Island Point and Rocky Island all to the east of Wardang Island, and Boat Rock and Bikini Islets on the west side of Wardang Island.[3]
The conservation park was proclaimed in 1972 to conserve an offshore breeding and refuge area for sea birds and the Australian sea lion (neophoca cinerea). The park was identified by BirdLife International as important in supporting more than 1% world’s black-faced cormorants. The conservation park was classified as an ICUN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Category III protected area.
