Uncle Owen Whyman - No. 1 NSW Senate
Uncle Owen Whyman, a proud Barkandji/Malyangapa man from Wilcannia, is the Convenor of the Indigenous - Aboriginal Party of Australia.
An outspoken and active community leader for many years, it was the degradation of his ‘mother’, the sacred Baaka (Darling River) that spurred Uncle Owen into political action. Baaka means ‘river’ and Barkindji means ‘people of the river’.
“We are river people, I am a river man. When our river is in trouble, we all are in trouble.”
The Baaka ran completely dry in 2019 / 2020, a devastating experience for ‘river people’. Between December 2018 and January 2019 there were 3 mass fish deaths in the Lower Darling, including Murray Cod which were at least 25 years old. Many fish died due to a combination of drought, over-extraction causing algal blooms, and a sudden temperature drop that caused mixing of low oxygen water. Locals also suspect pesticide residue from cotton growing contributed. These large fish death events covered a 40 km stretch of the Darling River, downstream of Menindee Lakes, New South Wales. While rainfall has filled the Baaka since, it doesn’t stay up long due to chronic over-extraction, mostly for cotton and almond growing. There have also been several fish kills in the years since, but the photos are less spectacular now that the oldest biggest fish have been killed.
Uncle Owen and his people had tried everything they could think of to protect the river, including blockading the Barrier Highway at the Wilcannia Bridge, a protest which led to many arrests and heartbreak. I political party aiming for real political power, not a plaintive pleading voice, seemed the only recourse left available.
Uncle Owen is also a Board Member of the ‘Indigenous Peoples’ Organisation - Australia (IPOA), an organisation of volunteers who arose to fill the gap caused by the demise of ‘National Congress of Australia's First Peoples’ (NCAFP). With financial support from the government a delegation of board members travelled to Azerbaijan to attend COP 29, the United Nations gathering committed to tackling man made climate change. He contributed to a panel speaking about the ‘Indigenous Decision-Making Workshops and Climate Initiates’ previously held in Sydney. Uncle Owen spoke particularly about the effect of Climate Change and over-extraction on the sacred Baaka and the social, cultural and spiritual effect on the town of Wilcannia.
So while Uncle Owen devotes much time to change via politics, he knows there are ‘many ways to skin a cat’ and continues his activism via other channels too.
As a cultural leader and respected elder in his community, Uncle Owen has a held a plethora of leadership positions, including working for Western NSW Aboriginal Legal service and as Chair of the the Paroo-Darling National Park Co-Management Committee and Board member of North-Western Water Council. He is also currently Deputy Chair of the Mutawintji National Park Board of Management and Land Council (Mutawintji has a special status as the only non-residential Lands Council in NSW).
He was also youth mentor for a local school for disadvantaged kids that has since been shut down due to bureaucratic obstinance and was the President of the Wilcannia Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (AECG).
Always eager to share Aboriginal culture and Traditional ways, Owen founded the dance group Barkindji Baaka Dance and Cultural Group where he continues 18 years of teaching traditional dance and didgeridoo while mentoring the young people of Wilcannia and surrounds.
Holding a Diploma in Primary Healthcare, he currently serves as Board Member of Maari Ma Health (Maari Ma Health is an Aboriginal community controlled health organisation dedicated to improving the health outcomes for communities in the far west region of New South Wales with a special focus on Aboriginal health.)
And if that’s not enough, Uncle Owen is President of the Wilcannia Boomerang Rugby League Football Club as well as being a coach and even player at the age of 51, last year taking the Boomerangs to victory in the Grand Final of the ‘Outback Rugby League’ Competition in Broken Hill. In 2023 he took a Wilcannia team to the Koori Knockout for the fist time in about 30 years when they made the trek to Tuggerah on the Central Coast. He repeated the satisfying, but taxing, logistical task again last year to get to the Bathurst Knockout. Oh, and he’s also President of the Wilcannia Golf Club.
Having experienced first-hand many of the challenges, tragedies, and everyday struggles faced by his people, Uncle Owen is exceptionally qualified to speak to these concerns. He believes the tide of understanding regarding Indigenous issues in Australia has turned. So despite the regular racist backlashes, including the current particularly virulent one, he intends for the Indigenous - Aboriginal Party to propel those new attitudes into meaningful change.
