As part of our Cultural heritage team, Jill O\u2019Dea and Daen Munn manage Indigenous scouting of proposed gas developments for areas of cultural significance and help raise awareness of Indigenous culture in our Integrated Gas business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jill O\u2019Dea, one of Origin\u2019s Cultural Heritage Specialists, is a quietly spoken, Barunggam woman whose family has a long and close connection to her land around Chinchilla in south-western Queensland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her colleague Daen Munn, a Gunggari man and Traditional Owner Relationship Development Officer at Origin, says Jill is regarded as an emerging elder in her local community. Emerging elders play a vital role in Indigenous culture, maintaining community connections and preserving the stories and memories of existing elders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cJill wouldn\u2019t say that \u2013 she\u2019s way too modest, but many of us see her that way,\u201d Daen said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI remember the elders telling all the stories about our people and their connection to the land \u2013 when they spoke the young people sat up and paid attention \u2013 it was the elders\u2019 responsibility to keep the stories alive because many of them have been lost over the years,\u201d Jill said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Australia Pacific LNG, where Origin is the upstream operator, has named one of its tenements \u2018Murrungama\u2019 to respect and acknowledge the traditional owners of the land. The tenement is near Chinchilla and is the first tenement in Australia where the gas produced is reserved solely for domestic manufacturing businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Daen says the naming of the block has been welcomed as another way of raising cultural awareness among Origin staff and the wider community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n