Kokatha and their partnership with Barngarla and Kuyani to manage Camp Wiru – or Camp Beautiful as it’s referred to by the Elders, has recently caught the attention of the national media. Here is an article that has appeared on SBS.
Aboriginal families locked out of their communities are quarantining in ‘Camp Beautiful’
About 280 kilometres north of Adelaide, native title holders have joined forces in the hope of saving the lives and culture of those considered among the most vulnerable to coronavirus.
With many Aboriginal people in South Australia displaced from their communities during the coronavirus pandemic – and unable to return while those places remain under lockdown – representatives from the Kokatha, Barngarla and Kuyani peoples knew they had to act.
Hundreds of people from Davenport, Yatala and the APY Lands had been away from their land and homes for medical or family reasons when news of the rapidly escalating COVID-19 pandemic broke in February.
In March, the South Australian government announced the three communities would be locked down within days, meaning many people would have to isolate for 14 days before they would be allowed to return.
Even though the Biosecurity Act restrictions have since been lifted, many people still haven’t been able to return home or are concerned about spreading COVID-19, so Camp Wiru – or Camp Beautiful as it’s referred to by the Elders there – was established.