The Gummingurru Stone Arrangement Site

The Gummingurru stone arrangement near Meringandan, 25km north-west of Toowoomba, is one of Australia's most important historical Aboriginal sites, estimated at around 4000 years old.  It was a men’s initiation site and also a site where different tribal groups met on their way to the Bunya Nut Festival.  Traditional travel routes extend out in all directions from the site to places such as the New England Plateau, Clarence and Dawson Rivers, Central Queensland Highlands, Fraser and Moreton Islands.

With the forsight of former owner (and cattle farmer), Ben Gilbert, Gummingurru is one of few stone arrangement sites to have survived white settlement and farming activities on The Darling Downs.  The site contains arrangements of stones placed on the ground to construct images of animals, plants, circles, concentric circles, the profile of a human face and pathways. 

Traditional owner and caretaker of the site, Brian Tobane (Jarowair), and local indigenous artist Donna Moodie, have been working for over 5 years to promote the preservation of Gummingurru, through facilitating the involvement of different agencies to support a range of on-ground works and management activities (eg. Vegetation Management Plans, The Teaching and Learning Centre, Traditional Owners Trust, site mapping, Sustainable Economic Development Plan, Artifact preservation, Future Plant Nursery).  Agencies liaising with the Traditional Owners include the Indigenous Land Corporation (ILC), Skill Centred, TAFE, Traditional Owners, Department of State Development, Rosalie Shire Council, and the Condamine Alliance.