First Contact

The area surrounding the Bond Store would once have been part of a cultural landscape that supplied food, shelter and other essential resources for Butchulla people — a well-resourced place beside the Moonaboola (Mary River).

Before you is a bronze shield, the first cast from the Butchulla Warriors’ Memorial. It is a model based on the type of shield that would have been used by a Butchulla warrior.

In traditional times, conflict between Aboriginal groups involved spears being thrown, retrieved and returned between opposing sides until a resolution was reached. At first contact with colonisation, this balance was violently disrupted. When Butchulla Country was first invaded, its men stood to defend their land, their families and their ancient laws. Outmatched by weapons but driven by responsibility to Country, many lost their lives in the violent clashes that followed first contact — an unequal encounter between spear and musket, defender and intruder.

The full First Contact Butchulla Warriors’ Memorial stands in Queens Park and was created by Butchulla Elder Uncle Glen Miller and fabricated by Olds Engineering, Maryborough. The memorial honours Butchulla men who lost their lives defending their Country and stands as a powerful act of remembrance, respect and reconciliation.

Watch the video here to hear Uncle Glen share the story of the memorial and its significance, then take a short walk to Queens Park to experience the memorial in place.