1. WELCOME TO PAM WIK WARRIORS YOTEM.
AURUKUN CAPE YORK.
The Royal Flying Doctor Service Wellbeing Centre's are funded by the Australian
Government Dept of Health and Ageing

2. The Wellbeing Centre Painting.
This is the story by Dale Ampeybegan, prior to his passing, of what their art means to them.
This is what ‘Wellbeing’ means to Aurukun artists.
Myself and Nathan were known here in Aurukun as artists, as people say, we are also known as beach side people
for we come from a clan well known here in Aurukun which is ‘Apalech”. Both of us being part of the clan means a
lot to us for being recognized as Apalech Clan really means a lot.
Even our mother recognizes us as Apalech Clan for our mother is Winchanum Clan which really doesn’t matter to me
or Nathan as long as she’s our mother even though from another Clan. Myself and Nathan lived here in Aurukun all
our lives and got into everything that was provided or even given or told to us by our parents, grandparents and so
on.
We respected all things that were shown to us and we believed in it. Listening to our parents and elders a gift was
given to both of us as artists. It took us a long time to realize what it was for. Then remembering back to those years
sitting and sharing a camp fire hearing the old stories being told by our grandparents we took more interest in it. We
took it even further so we both started to paint.
Remembering those stories being told to us through the years we thought we’d put them into art works or paintings
–cause our writing and spelling weren’t too good. So we thought we’d do it with our art to tell people that we
believe in those stories that were told to us and they do have a spiritual power in them.
For myself and Nathan know very well that if we don’t do painting and art of our spiritual things I/we feel bad/sick,
our bodies ache and even our minds play up.
So doing our art about what our old people told us really helps us in so many ways and for that is the truth of our art
on the mural.
Dale Ampeybegan.

3. SOME OF THE WIK WARRIORS

4. AURUKUN
WHERE IS AURUKUN?
Aurukun is one of the larger
communities in the Cape
with a population of
approximately 1200. Most
residents are Traditional
owners of the shire and
surrounding lands. There are
5 spiritual clan groups:
Apalech, Winchanam,
Wanam, Sara (Chara) and
Puutch. There are 15
outstations that are
occupied during the dry
season.
Over 50% of the Aurukun
population was under 25 in
2006, compared to less than
35% of the Queensland
population. on the other
hand less than 17% of the
Aurukun population was
over 44 years of age
compared to over 37% of
Queenslanders. only 3.07%
of the Aurukun population
was over 65 years of age,
compared to 12.37% of
Queenslanders.
Cairns

5. • The Wik Warriors has taken some time
to gain traction in community. We have
spent an enormous amount of time
speaking with men in Aurukun about
what they think can make Aurukun a
stronger, healthier community with a
positive outlook for the future.
• Wik Warriors aims to provide the men
with a supportive group that not only
assists with issues of drugs and
alcohol, domestic violence, criminal
activity and parenting problems but
also with repairing the social
breakdown that has occurred due to
colonisation and the past practices of
various governments and agencies.
We celebrate Aboriginal
masculinities, and uphold our
traditional values of respect for our
laws, respect for elders, culture and
traditions, responsibility as leaders
and men, teachers of young males,
holders of lore, providers, warriors
and protectors of our families,
women, old people, and children
(http://nacchocommunique.com/2013/08/
08/naccho-launches-aboriginal-male-
health-10-point-blueprint-2013-2030/)

6. The Wik Warriors meet every second Tuesday at 530pm. We regularly have thirty plus
men attending to watch Indigenous movies with a cultural message and have a yarn
about whatever rocks your dugout. The men attending have shown a real interest in
improving their lives and the lives of the people of Aurukun through a more cultural
based approach to education, health, and lifestyle that is underpinned with the
importance of valued future employment. Jonathon Korkaktain Elder and Cultural Advisor

7. AURUKUN CAPE YORK
Wik Warriors plans are to involve the local male elders
and the younger males/youth in group activities such as
cultural camps on country, spear and artefact making,
community health education days, community movie
evenings and fishing and hunting groups.
All the above activities are designed to increase
participation in community events and activities (to
engender community spirit) as well as provide the
cultural education that is being lost at an alarming rate
due to the deaths of respected Elders.

8. “Self-reported benefits from involvement with
Men’s Groups include improved social and
emotional wellbeing, modest lifestyle modifications
and willingness to change current notions of
“gendered” roles within the home, such as sharing
housework”. (2010, Indigenous men’s support
groups and social and emotional wellbeing: a
synthesis of the evidence
Janya McCalman, Komla Tsey, Mark Wenitong,
Andrew Wilson, Alexandra
McEwan, Yvonne Cadet James, Mary Whiteside)
Photo John Riley

9. Men’s groups offer a justification for men who
are interested in personal change to take
greater control and gather support from each
other.
As advocated by Noel Pearson, men’s groups
play a role in strengthening traditional social
norms such as personal responsibility, mutual
respect and family obligations which have
collapsed as a result of passive welfare and
the rise of substance abuse epidemics in
Indigenous communities since the late 1960s
(Pearson, 2006).Photo John Riley

10. Media representations are hugely detrimental to
perceptions of men. Men are often represented as
disposable or as buffoons. It is possible that this climate
can make a man feel reasonably threatened and even more
isolated. Models of masculinity that include competence in
the emotional world are needed. (Jim Macnamara Media
and Male Identity) (Palgrave Macmillan, 2006)
PHOTO COURTESY BRIAN CASSEY.

11. Across society young men need to be empowered to recognise and express
emotions.
As a result of male social conditioning, many men have learnt to suppress and
repress their emotions and are not so in touch with their feelings. Since we rely
on our own emotional sensitivity to tune into the emotions of others, these men
lack understanding of, and empathy towards, their partner’s and children’s
emotional needs.
Photo John Riley

12. Anger can result from men being unable to process and contain emotional arousal and
distress (especially in intimate relationships). To support greater emotional awareness by
men there is a need to challenge social norms that are reinforced through the media and
sport. This issue highlights the importance of role-modelling and education to re-frame
masculinity. Men often do not understand the consequences of their expressions of
negative emotion, and anger can be a mechanism of power and control within
relationships. Many men lack the capacity to reflect and express it verbally, even though
it is an important skill. (2010, Janya McCalman, Komla Tsey, Mark Wenitong et al)
Sunset at Obon. Photo John Riley

13. Wik Warriors is an important move forward in the community of Aurukun as it gives
ownership of the group to the local people. It is guided in its direction forward by the local
men who give the advice and ideas for activities and events as well as giving the cultural
knowledge that is so important in this time. We are seeing numbers of males passing away
who have not had the opportunity to pass on their tribal knowledge and as such we are
seeing these important cultures lost. Wik Warriors wants to be one of the supportive posts
for this cultural advancement and renewal in the community of Aurukun, with the view to
doing most of this work out of community, on country, where the men feel at ease and
away from the pressure cooker of community dynamics.
Archer River Photo John Riley

14. Wik Warriors plans to make the group self sustaining financially in the future through
spear and artefact making and then selling those items to the various service providers
and visitors to Aurukun.
Wik Warriors is in the process of approaching locally owned and operated
companies/organisations to assist us financially and we hope that this will show
community that local groups that are successful can be supportive of local ideas and
activities.
Spears, Firesticks and Grass Skirt Photo John Riley

15. This combines well with the good work Aak Puul Ngantam Cape York and Wik Projects
are doing on Wik land enabling locally owned companies and organisations such as
them, to provide the employment opportunities working country for all our
community members. Both these companies/organisations are supportive of the Wik
Warriors. PHOTO COURTSEY BRIAN CASSEY

16. We have had hard times with staff leaving and new staff coming in with their own
ideas about how things “should be”. We have had hard times where we had no men
coming due to having to change the day of the meetings. We had an extremely hard
eight month period where we had to rebuild the Men’s Group after this.
JONATHON KORKAKTAIN AND GRANDCHILD

17. We have had good times with a program where the youth who have community service
orders work with the Justice Group, Youth Justice and the Aawuch Ngangk Kemp Min Aak
(Aurukun Wellbeing Centre) to catch fish or go hunting and then assist with preparing the
meal for men’s group. We have been lucky enough to have had visits to the Wik Warriors
by entertainers such as Sean Choolburra and the legendary Archie Roach.

18. We are working closely with the Aurukun Shire Council to facilitate the erection of the Wik
Warriors Men’s Shed. This will give us the space and independence to have our meetings
and gatherings in a Men’s only area. Wik Warriors Men’s Group has now been allocated
land and, at this stage, an open shed has been erected (see image below).
The proposed Men’s Shed Photo John Riley

19. The shed requires walls, power, water, cooking facility, bush furniture, landscaping and
other facilities to enable the men of Aurukun to have a space that is solely theirs. We
have support from Aurukun Shire Council Mayor Mr Derek Walpo and have been having
discussions with Council’s Works Manager in regards to what the men want in their shed
how the floor plans should look. It is hoped that by the direct involvement of the Wik
Warriors Men in the construction of the shed that we will see positive ownership of the
building by the men and in time see it utilized by all men in Aurukun as a place of safety
and healing. Kup Murri Photo John Riley

20. So comparing pre-2010 with 2014 we think we can be very proud of the journey we have
travelled so far and we look forward to becoming a strong voice for the Wik men and their
future sons.
This we all know is central to a culturally strong, spiritually strong, Wik community.
The Blowhard family Photo John Riley
The Royal Flying Doctor Service Wellbeing Centre's are funded by the Australian Government Dept of Health
and Ageing

21. Contact details:
John Riley- jriley@rfdsqld.com.au
Ph 0409839135
Vince Koomeeta- vkoomeeta@rfdsqld.com.au
Ph 0427169233
QUESTIONS?