Echo of the Past, the history of Mission Beach from European and Traditional Owners’ perspectives

One of the objectives of the exhibition ‘Echo of the Past – Historical photographs from Mission Beach, 1890s – 1950s’ was to tell our story… the story from a Djiru people’s perspective and our combined story of all the peoples of the area – Leonard Andy Djiru Traditional Owner.

Leonard and David Andy with Djiru shield and swords

‘Echo of the Past – Historical photographs from Mission Beach, 1890s – 1950s’ was launched on the 10^th of March to coincide with the anniversary of the 1918 cyclone that devastated Innisfail and surrounding areas of the Hull River Aboriginal Settlement and Mission Beach.

Leonard Andy, a Djiru Traditional Owner, and artist who was instrumental in bringing the exhibition to fruition has some of his own and his people’s creations also featured. He says the 1918 cyclone changed the area for ever especially for traditional custodians, the Djiru people.

Displaying Djiru objets in Echo of the Past, Leonard Andy (a Djiru Traditional Owner) says this is probably the first time that both sides of the local story are told together; from a European perspective and a Djiru point of view.

 “For our people it destroyed the Hull River Aboriginal Settlement and South Mission Beach… Today it is called a natural disaster but for us it is probably natural because it helped reshape the forest … and it did make changes for our people here because they didn’t rebuild in 1918…. Boats came and they took our people away to Palm Island. That is where they are and still are,” Leonard Andy said.