CQUniversity Australia
 

Engaging Indigenous people within Higher Ed

CQUniversity's Office of Indigenous Engagement recently hosted a visit from the Oodgeroo Unit of Queensland University of Technology (QUT), at Rockhampton Campus.

Professor Anita Lee Hong, Director of the Oodgeroo Unit, and Lone Pearce, Project Officer, met with Office of Indigenous Engagement staff to discuss employment issues and best practice models for engaging Indigenous people within the higher education sector, including governance matters.

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Gemfields are tourist gold mine, says CQU study 

Preliminary research conducted by Central Queensland University shows tourism and associated industries in the Gemfields are stable in terms of continuing business and provide an important basis for sustainability of the Emerald, Sapphire, Rubyvale, Anakie and Willows communities.

"The people of the Gemfields have developed intuitive and innovative approaches to dealing with socio-economic pressures by recognising and capitalising on their communities' unique characteristics, culture and history," explained CQU's Dr Daniel Teghe.

PhotoID:1649 "The lived experience of mining and of local lore, and real opportunities for adventure and discovery add to the attraction. The 'Fields appear to have rebounded [from the early 90s] economically and now appear to be viable in the long run," added Dr Teghe.

The communities are an important part of Central Queensland and Emerald Shire for a number of reasons, according to the research, including the production of uniquely Australian jewellery and faceted gemstones; and their unique characteristics as mining areas with an interesting 'pioneer' history and culture, which is the basis for a lively and highly sustainable tourist industry.

"We know current reduction in sapphire-mining activities is due to a short boom in large-scale machinery mining during late 1970s to mid-1980s. The result appears to have been an over-production of gems which very rapidly led to the demise of most small-scale miners, and also made most large scale-mining operations unsustainable in the medium- to long-term run," said Dr Teghe.

"This contributed to a very high rate of unemployment with some residents leaving the Gemfields permanently," he added.

According to the research, most fossicking-related businesses had been operating for nearly 11 years. About two-thirds of them reported that the number of visitors has increased since they started up, while the rest said it remained about the same.

About 44% of the tourists are believed to come from out of state, with about 24% visiting from overseas. Most of these visitors are likely to spend time in Emerald and other locations in Central Queensland, contributing to the area's economy as a whole. (Photo: Emerald Shire Council)