Recently, we have partnered with Aunty Lorraine Brown and her sister Aunty Narelle Thomas from the Coomaditchie United Aboriginal Corp to have the Black Diamond logo interpreted and reconstructed in the style of the Indigenous country that we call home, Dharawal Country.
Local Indigenous artists bless our operations with traditional painting titled Woolongah
Aboriginal Australia has had a significant influence on the conception and evolution of Black Diamond Adventures. Recently, we have partnered with Aunty Lorraine Brown and her sister Aunty Narelle Thomas from the Coomaditchie United Aboriginal Corp to have the Black Diamond logo interpreted and reconstructed in the style of the Indigenous country that we call home, Dharawal Country.
Our original and widely recognised logo represents important features of our home landscape, Bulli, or later known as the Black Diamond District (as a result of its coal mining history). Bulli is the Wodi Wodi name (a dialect of Indigenous people from the Dharawal region) meaning two mountains. These mountains are featured on our logo and are representative of the grand escarpment that runs north to south along the South Coast of NSW, with its foundation in many spots adjoining the Pacific Ocean. The ocean is represented in our logo via the wave pattern on the bottom of the circular logo. The circular shape itself is meaningful, as circles are a prominent feature in many Indigenous paintings and stories, representing things such as water & meeting places.
Woolungah means the land between the mountains and the sea.
The title of the interpreted logo/painting is “Woolungah”, meaning the “land between the mountains and the sea”, where “dance, art, sacred places and stories of our dreaming” are held.
Features of the Woolungah painting include the two mountains and the ocean which are very special to the Dharawal people. However, a big focus in the traditional logo is Woolungah. The paintings of the dancers between the mountains and the ocean represents Woolungah, the place where learning and traditions take place!
The circles on the left and right surrounded by ‘U’ shapes are traditional symbols for meeting places. The hands on the top and the bottom are hands of the local Indigenous youth that contributed to the painting. The hands on the right have been done in Aboriginal colours and the hands on the left have been done in Torres Strait Islander colours.
We are very proud of this logo and look forward to sharing many learning experiences with local elders, custodians and traditional owners of the country we now call Australia.
Thank you once again to Lorraine Brown and Narelle Thomas. You are both an important part of Black Diamond Adventures and our ‘song line’.
Coomaditchie United Aboriginal Corporation is an Aboriginal organisation dedicated to raising the esteem, pride and dignity of young Aboriginal people in their Aboriginal culture and heritage. To find out more or to view some amazing Indigenous art please visit their website.