A surf club was told it would have to pay $2,000 to an Aboriginal corporation for the rights to hold surf and swim fundraisers on a public beach.
The Yamba Surf Club, in far northern New South Wales, had applied to the Yaegl Aboriginal Traditional Owners Corporation to use the town’s main beach to hold four events, including a pincer carnival and an ocean swim to raise funds during the summer.
The club was told it would have to pay a $500 service fee for each event for the corporation to perform Welcome to Country ceremonies.
Members of the surf club made the request after the Yaegl people were granted native title to land in the area in 2015, and a stretch of ocean in 2017.
While Yamba Surf Club members were furious about the fee, Yaegl Traditional Owners Corporation general manager Bill Walker said a “misunderstanding” was to blame.
he said The daily telegraph the request should have come from the local council or state government, and the fee they were charged, not the surf club.
‘It’s a confusing process. We receive a lot of negative things from people who don’t understand the welcome to the country. “We don’t do it to make a living, we do it as a cultural activity, paying for the service and generating income like any other organization,” he told the publication.
‘If it is a government agency that does it, we charge because it is a legitimate act. But we’re not going to charge the surf lifesaving club.
The Yamba Surf Club, on the far north coast of New South Wales, had submitted an application to the Yaegl Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation to use the town’s main beach to hold four events, including a nippers carnival and a swim in the ocean to raise funds during the summer.
‘As far as I’m concerned, they can still go about their business and we won’t charge them a service fee, because the right people didn’t come to us in the first place. “It should have been the state or local government.”
The surf club directors had written to the corporation telling them that they understood the importance of respecting native title rights ‘and we are committed to ensuring that our activities comply with all relevant regulations and agreements.’
A Yaegl official responded to the surf club stating that a ‘service fee’ of $500 was required to be paid ‘directly to the Corporation, who will then hire a native Yaegl holder to administer a Welcome to Country.’
“The Corporation will send an invoice for payment once the event has occurred and as we are a non-profit organization (sic) we would appreciate a quick turnaround time for payment to be administered,” the letter said.
“This will help all visitors and participants of these fundraising events retain an understanding of the importance of respecting the native title rights and interests of the Yaegl people in land, sea and waterways when competing or visiting our beautiful country Yaegl.”
The club was told it would have to pay a $500 service fee for each event for the corporation to perform Welcome to Country ceremonies (pictured, Welcome to Country ceremony before the Super Rugby match)
TO The standard fee for welcome-to-country ceremonies ranges from $300 to $750, according to the National Association for the Visual Arts.
A member of the surf club told the publication that many people were “outraged” by the request.
“It’s pretty un-Australian to charge anyone to use the beach, let alone volunteer lifeguards who want to compete and raise funds for their club,” he said.
Another member added that the surf club was already struggling financially.
They added that the club The only fundraisers were ocean swimming, a trivia night and a crab race.
Mr. WalkerIt helped Yaegl have non-exclusive native title rights over the beach and reaffirmed that the surf club would be free to carry out its activities.
A welcome to country is a ceremony performed by traditional custodians to welcome visitors to their ancestral land and is usually carried out in the form of singing, dancing and smoking ceremonies.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Yamba Surf Club and Yaegl Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation for further comment.