A small ceremonial fire has been burning for more than 1,300 days on a dusty stretch of Wangan and Jagalingou Country in central Queensland, the second largest state in Australia.
The flame marks the site of a protest that has been going on for more than four years. It stands at the heart of a long-running standoff between part of the local Indigenous community and the Carmichael coal mine, one of the country’s most controversial mining projects.
The mine, owned by Indian energy giant Adani which operates locally as Bravus, sits just across the road. It is located on the traditional land of the Wangan and Jagalingou (W&J) people.
Adrian Burragubba and his son Coedie McAvoy have been waging a long campaign against Bravus, taking, as they see it, a spiritual stand as well as fighting for cultural survival.
“Where my land is, there’s a mine trying to destroy my country,” Adrian says. “That country is the roadmap to my history and knowledge about who I am and my ancestors.”
At the heart of their resistance is Doongmabulla Springs, a sacred site which they believe was created by the rainbow serpent Mundagudda – a powerful ancestral being in many ancient Aboriginal creation stories, often associated with water, creation and the land.