Shaun Davies | |
|---|---|
 Davies in shopping centre signage at Redbank Queensland, 2021 | |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Occupation | Linguist |
| Known for | Advocating for Yugambeh language and culture |
| Board member of | Yugambeh Land Enterprises |
Shaun Davies is an Aboriginal Australian language activist, linguist, radio personality, and actor. He is known for his advocacy work with the Yugambeh language and culture, as well as appearances in various media.
Shaun is a member of the Yugambeh people, an Australian Aboriginal group whose traditional lands are located in South East Queensland and the Northern Rivers area of New South Wales. [1] Davies is the great-great-grandson of Julia Ford née Sandy (c.1860-1896), an Aboriginal woman who has the sole tombstone in the Deebing Creek Aboriginal Cemetery; [2] [3] Julia was a native Aboriginal woman from the Southport area of the Gold Coast and married Arthur Ford (c.1866-1954) at Nerang in 1883, Arthur was an Aboriginal man from the Murwillumbah region in northern New South Wales. [4] Shaun grew up and has spent the majority of his life in Logan City, an area his family had lived in before the arrival of Europeans. [5] As a child, he was taught Yugambeh dreamtime legends from his Elders, such as that of the janjarri (the Yugambeh Yowie), a spirit that guards the region from trespassers. [6] [7] As creative, Davies uses stories passed from his family line to increase awareness and appreciation for his traditional culture and language. [8]
While in tenth grade Shaun attended a career expo at the Brisbane Showgrounds, becoming fascinated with a booth set up by Youth For Understanding Davies subsequently did a 3-month student exchange program in France where he discovered his passion for endangered languages, like Galician. Upon returning to Australia and informing his grandmother Joan and her sister, they implored him to learn their lingo. [9] [10] Shaun learnt his Yugambeh language from his maternal grandmother, who was from the Beaudesert area, while his maternal grandfather was from Tweed Heads. [11] Davies has recorded talk in conversations with the linguist Margaret Sharpe, [12] his grandmother grew up with Joe Culham, [13] who Sharpe (then Cunningham) had recorded language from in 1968. [14]
In his spare time, Shaun enjoys the Star Trek: Discovery series, finding the show's Xenolinguistics and other themes thought-provoking. [10]
Shaun is a linguist and the Language Research Officer at the Yugambeh Museum Language and Heritage Research Centre, [15] where he has been since 2015. [16] Describing social media as the new "campfire" and technology's central importance in keeping Indigenous languages alive for future generations, Davies has worked with Snapchat, [17] aided the development and expansion of the Yugambeh App, [18] and the creation of Google's 'Woolaroo' – an open-source photo-translation platform. [19] [10] He has written/translated songs for the Yugambeh Youth choir. [20] [21] and provided Yugambeh interpretations for Ellen van Neerven's poetry. [22] Davies is an activist for Aboriginal language, and has advocated for the use of Indigenous place names over their contemporary English names, calling for Burleigh Heads and Mt Warning to be known by their Yugambeh names, Jellurgal and Wollumbin. This was opposed by Australian senator Pauline Hanson, while the Member for Burleigh, Michael Hart, was in favour so long as it was solely landmarks. Hanson subsequently featured the discussion on her Please Explain YouTube channel. [23] Shaun hosted Learn the Lingo on ABC Gold Coast - a radio show discussing Yugambeh language and other cultural subjects from 2015 to 2017, [11] and in 2019 appeared in the State Library of Queensland's Spoken exhibition discussing his personal history with the Yugambeh language. [24] Alongside Cameron Dick in 2018, Shaun opened Siemens' Fusesaver facility in Yatala, delivering a Welcome to Country. [25]
In 2020, Davies had a voice over role in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Yugambeh language series Languages of our Land, [26] as well as appearing in Disney's Spread the Word. [27] The following year, he appeared in the ABC documentary series Back to Nature where he guided the hosts through the Yugambeh language and stories associated with the Springbrook area. [15] Shaun is involved in protecting Yugambeh cultural heritage and land, being part of the consultation for the Gold Coast Light Rail construction's at Jebbribillum Bora Ring and a Cultural Heritage Coordinator, [28] he is also the treasurer of the Yugambeh Land Enterprises, and elected Representative for the Birinburra clan [29] and Native Title applicant. [30] In late 2021, Davies was announced as an ambassador for the Proud City of Logan campaign, a local government initiative featuring six local champions, chosen to represent the diversity of people and lifestyles in the city. [31] He was part of the official opening of Screen Forever 36, [32] and Tourism and Events Queensland's annual DestinationQ Forum in 2022, where he conducted the Welcome to Countries. [33] Shaun denounced the Morrison government's 2022 High Court challenge to the precedent established in Love v Commonwealth that Aboriginal Australians (understood according to the 3-part test in Mabo v Queensland (No 2)) are not within the reach of the Commonwealth's "aliens" power, Davies called the Government's actions a step backwards for Australia that undermined the foundations of Aboriginal identity. [34] Following the 2022 Australian federal election, Shaun praised the newly elected Albanese government's decision to dismiss the case, allowing Love to remain precedent. [35] Later that year he guest starred in an episode of No Offence! on the ABC. [36]
In March of 2023, Davies appeared weekly on Radio National Awaye's Word Up!, each episode featuring a different Yugambeh word and its history. [37] [38] [39] [40] Shaun returned for a second consecutive year to perform the Welcome to Country for Screen Forever 37. [41] Davies was quoted in local news article criticising the failure of NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service to engage with the Murangburra clan of the Yugambeh people, condemning the closure of Wollumbin National Park and ensuing public controversy, which was done without the involvement of the local families. [42] [43] Following a protest by hikers on Australia Day in 2024, Shaun was quoted again in a debate between 2GB's Ben Fordham and NSW State Minister Penny Sharpe with Fordham questioning why Davies and other Indigenous leaders were being ignored. [44] Shaun has conducted additional linguistic work on the Yugambeh–Bundjalung languages and collected good evidence that previous classifications of the dialect chain have over differentiated between the varieties. [45] Davies performed the Welcome to Country for Screen Forever 38. [46] [47]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-2017 | Learn the Lingo | Co-Host | ABC Gold Coast [11] |
| 2022 | Classic Breakfast | Himself | Interview |
| 2023 | AWAYE! | Guest | Episodes: Mibuladululbay, [37] Wayjang, [38] Nyliah, [39] Yugambeh [40] Word Up! Segment Radio National |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Spread the Word | Himself | Episode 2: Garu-galen [27] |
| 2020 | Languages of our Land | Voice Over | 10 episodes [26] |
| 2021 | Back to Nature | Himself | Episode 1: The Green Cauldron [48] [49] |
| 2022 | Language and Me | Himself | ABC Special [50] |
| 2022 | Gardening Australia | Linguist & Language Research Officer | Credits for Oh Christmas Tree (Yerrbill with Clarence) [51] |
| 2022 | No Offence! | Himself | Episode 3: Yugambeh [36] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Gold Coast Film Festival 20th Anniversary | Voice Over | Mini-Documentary, A Gold Coast Film Festival production; Also First Nations Linguist [52] |
The Gold Coast, often referred to by its initials G.C., is the second-largest city of Queensland, Australia, after Brisbane. It is Australia's sixth-largest city, the most populous non-capital city, and the state's after Brisbane, with a population over 600,000. The Gold Coast is a coastal city and region located approximately 66 kilometres (41 mi) south-southeast of the centre of the state capital, Brisbane. The city's central business district is located roughly in the centre of the Gold Coast in the suburb of Southport. The urban area of the Gold Coast is concentrated along the coast, sprawling almost 60 kilometres, joining up with the Greater Brisbane metropolitan region to the north and to the state border with New South Wales to the south. Nicknames of the city include the ‘Glitter Strip’ and the ‘Goldy’. The demonym of a Gold Coast resident is Gold Coaster.
The Logan River is a perennial river in the Scenic Rim, Logan and Gold Coast local government areas of the South East region of Queensland, Australia. The 184-kilometre (114 mi)-long river is one of the dominant waterways in South East Queensland that drains the southern ranges of the Scenic Rim and empties into Moreton Bay after navigating the City of Logan, a major suburban centre located south of Brisbane. The catchment is dominated by urban and agricultural land use. Near the river mouth are mangrove forests and a number of aquaculture farms.
Beenleigh is a town and suburb in the City of Logan, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, the suburb of Beenleigh had a population of 8,425 people.
Broadbeach is a suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Broadbeach had a population of 6,786 people.
South East Queensland (SEQ) is a bio-geographical, metropolitan, political and administrative region of the state of Queensland in Australia, with a population of approximately 3.8 million people out of the state's population of 5.1 million. The area covered by South East Queensland varies, depending on the definition of the region, though it tends to include Queensland's three largest cities: the capital city Brisbane; the Gold Coast; and the Sunshine Coast. Its most common use is for political purposes, and covers 35,248 square kilometres (13,609 sq mi) and incorporates 11 local government areas, extending 240 kilometres (150 mi) from Noosa in the north to the Gold Coast and New South Wales border in the south, and 140 kilometres (87 mi) west to Toowoomba. It is the third largest urban area in Australia by population.
The Albert River is a perennial river in the South East region of Queensland, Australia. Its catchment lies within the Gold Coast and Scenic Rim Region local government areas and covers an area of 782 square kilometres (302 sq mi). The river provides potable water for the town of Beaudesert.
Far North Queensland (FNQ) is the northernmost part of the Australian state of Queensland. Its largest city is Cairns and it is dominated geographically by Cape York Peninsula, which stretches north to the Torres Strait, and west to the Gulf Country. The waters of Torres Strait include the only international border in the area contiguous with the Australian mainland, between Australia and Papua New Guinea.
Yugambeh, also known as Tweed-Albert Bandjalang, is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken by the Yugambeh living in South-East Queensland between and within the Logan River basin and the Tweed River basin, bounded to the east by the Pacific Ocean and in the west by the Teviot Ranges and Teviot Brook basin.
Shari Sebbens is an Aboriginal Australian actress and stage director, known for her debut film role in The Sapphires (2012), as well as many stage and television performances. After a two-year stint as resident director of the Sydney Theatre Company (STC), in 2023 she will be directing productions by STC and Griffin in Sydney, as well as Melbourne Theatre Company and Malthouse Theatre in Melbourne. She is on the board of Back to Back Theatre.
The Yugambeh, also known as the Minyangbal, or Nganduwal, are an Aboriginal Australian people of South East Queensland and the Northern Rivers of New South Wales, their territory lies between the Logan and Tweed rivers. A term for an Aboriginal of the Yugambeh tribe is Mibunn, which is derived from the word for the Wedge-tailed Eagle. Historically, some anthropologists have erroneously referred to them as the Chepara, the term for a first-degree initiate. Archaeological evidence indicates Aboriginal people have occupied the area for tens of thousands of years. By the time European colonisation began, the Yugambeh had a complex network of groups, and kinship. The Yugambeh territory is subdivided among clan groups with each occupying a designated locality, each clan having certain rights and responsibilities in relation to their respective areas.
The Kombumerri clan are one of nine distinct named clan estate groups of the Yugambeh people and the name refers to the Indigenous people of the Nerang area on the Gold Coast, Queensland. Australia
Ellen van Neerven is an Aboriginal Australian writer, educator and editor. Their first work of fiction, Heat and Light (2013), won several awards, and in 2019 Van Neerven won the Queensland Premier's Young Publishers and Writers Award. Their second collection of poetry, Throat (2020), won three awards at the 2021 New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, including Book of the Year.
Borobi was the official mascot of the 2018 Commonwealth Games, in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. Borobi is a male koala with blue fur and unusual markings on his paws. The name Borobi is derived from a dialect used by the Yugambeh people, an indigenous Australian group from the Gold Coast region. The mascot, along with its fictional back story, was revealed in April 2016. Borobi is based on a character submitted by Merrilyn Krohn, the winner of the GC2018 Mascot Design Competition.
The Wanggeriburra clan are one of nine distinct named clan estate groups of the Yugambeh people and the name refers to the Indigenous people of the Tamborine area in the Scenic Rim, Queensland, Australia.
The Yugambeh–Bandjalangic peoples' are an Aboriginal Australian ethnolinguistic group identified by their use of one of more of the Yugambeh–Bundjalung languages and shared cultural practices and histories. There are roughly 15 individual groups, who together form a wider cultural bloc or polity often described as Bundjalung or "Three Brothers Mob".
Margaret Clare Sharpe is a linguist of Australian Aboriginal languages, specializing in Yugambeh-Bundjalung languages, with particular regard to Yugambir, She has also done important salvage fieldwork on the Northern Territory Alawa language.
Silverbark Ridge is a rural locality in the City of Logan, Queensland, Australia. It is situated along the development corridor south of Brisbane in the Greater Flagstone development area and is one of four new suburbs in Logan to house a predicted population boom between Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
Patricia O'Connor is an Australian Aboriginal elder of the Yugambeh people. She is known for her work in reviving the Yugambeh language and opening the Yugambeh Museum. In 2014 she received the NAIDOC Award for Female Elder of the Year, and in 2019 she was named a Queensland Great.
Ysola Mary Best was an Australian author and elder of the Yugambeh people. Best is known for her works and role in preserving the language, history and culture of the Yugambeh. She wrote about aboriginal culture and history. Most of her published works are about the Yugambeh language group of South East Queensland.
Ted Williams is an Aboriginal Australian elder of the Yugambeh people. He is known for his advocacy work with Yugambeh culture and various media appearances. In 2017, he launched the Queen's Baton for the 2018 Commonwealth Games alongside then Queen Elizabeth II and fellow elder Patricia O'Connor.