Help Woppaburra Woman return to country

Guddamulli✨

My name is Samala Thakialee Cronin.

I am a proud Woppaburra woman.

My people are from the Keppel Islands, which are situated off the coast of Yeppoon in Central Queensland.

For the past 11 years I have represented my people as an Applicant on our Federal Native title claim for recognition of our rights over our country.

On the 3rd of December 2021, we finally won that battle. We recieved an Exclusive Native Title rights bundle, which is the highest level of native title recognition applicable under the current legislation.

Our people returned home.

For a day.

One single day, to witness the signing of a document that had been so hard fought for, for so long.

You see our people, what remained of us, the last 17 surviving people of the Woppaburra - we were removed from our country in 1902 and dispersed throughout the state of Qld.

No Woppaburra person has lived on our islands, our country since these removals.

Our land was denied to us. It took 80 years from the removals just for a Woppaburra person to visit our country.

And we've only been visiting ever since.

Despite this physical removal - our people proved through years of relentless legal battles an unbroken, continuous connection to our country - Woppaburra Native Title Decision .

We maintained connection to our culture, our song, our dance, our customs and our identity as a people through our connection to each other and our creator.

Our country needs its people.

I have worked my entire adult life on our land claim. I've also dedicated a lot of my personal energy and time into advocacy for culture and country.

I am so tired. This battle has taken my youth from me. It has taken so much of my personal energy and now my country calls me. I need it and it needs me.

As I write this gofund me , I sit on Woppa, our great country , our big island.

This land heard the cries of our people and then has sat in silence for over a century.

There has been no Woppaburra words spoken. No Woppaburra feet on Woppaburra sand.

No Woppaburra children laughing and playing and singing to country, to make it heal.

Our country needs healing. Our people need healing. The time has come.

In the beginning of 2021 I bought a shipping container and converted it into a tiny house.

I would like to relocate this to country, which is logistically and financially a massive undertaking as our country is a group of islands off the coast of Central Queensland with only tourism infrastructure in place.

It would involve trucking my container from the Sunshine coast to Gladstone to the port where it could be loaded onto a barge large enough to ferry it to the island, where I would have to organise it being situated and put in place with no damage to country. It will cost approximately a minimum of $6000 to get my container to the island - this is flat rate for transport and does not include installation 

Then there is the Labor and equipment hire costs to get it the container installed to where it's environmentally friendly. Projected costs for this work is around 3 X that on the mainland - again because of having to freight everything over to the island. 

For me to live on country in the container - I will need a composting toilet system that has no impact on the land installed as well as a solar power set up and water tank, hot water system and plumbing, etc for basic living needs. This is expected to cost at

If I am supported to reach this financial goal, I will be the first Woppaburra person to return to country and live permanently on the land.

But I will not be the last.

More will follow and our people and our land can begin the healing journey together.

I am currently camped on the beach on my country now. There is accommodation here, through private business, but we as a people own no infrastructure on the islands.

When Woppaburra people come home, we have to pay for accommodation.

And a lot of our people simply cannot afford to pay 'holiday prices' when we just ache for a connection to our country. To physically feel it.

Now that we have native title we can begin our homeland movement.

If I am able to build my dream, my people will always have shelter on country.

We can finally come home.

Our country needs us.