The Tribal Warrior
Our flagship vessel, plays a key role in important
Australian ceremonies.
 |
| The Tribal Warrior may be the oldest
working boat in Australia. Based in Sydney Harbour, she is
a unique piece of our maritime history. The boat has been
restored and is lovingly cared for by members of the Tribal
Warrior Association and the students of the Tribal Warrior
Indigenous Maritime Training Program.
The Tribal Warrior Association uses the boat to train Aboriginal
youth to attain their Master Class V Commercial Maritime Certificate
and other qualifications. The first four students completed
the program in November 1999. |
 |
Her masts are carved and painted in Aboriginal motifs. On all public occasions
and celebrations, the Tribal Warrior flies the Koori Flag.
The special events jib sail has the words "It's a Koori harbour"
and a Black Duck (Guindaring) painted in Aboriginal design. This
is the totem of the Yuin - south coast of New South Wales.
On August 2001, after a departure
ceremony at Cockle Bay, the Tribal Warrior and her
crew left Sydney Harbour on a voyage to circumnavigate
Australia, visiting every major Aboriginal community on Australia's
coastline.
On her epic voyage, the Tribal Warrior was warmly welcomed
in every port by local communitiesand attracted much media attention.
The Tribal Warrior returned to Sydney on 9 June 2003 after
a momentous 648-day circumnavigation of Australia. The historic
voyage of reconciliation marked the first circumnavigation of Australia
by an Australian Aboriginal vessel, crewed by First Australian mariners.
|
|
History of The Tribal Warrior
The Tribal Warrior is a 15.4 metre gaff-rigged ketch,
originally named Mina. She was built in the Torres
Strait as a pearling lugger and is more than 100 years old.
The history of pearling has not always been a happy one for
Aboriginal people - abuses were common and the work was hazardous,
with divers in the water for up to 10 hours a day.
In the 1980s, the Ganabarr Morning Star Clan, traditional
people of the Arnhem Land and Gove Peninsula area, adopted
the boat. They named her Wutuku, meaning "drifting
wood".
On Sorry Day, 1999, the Tribal Warrior underwent
a traditional smoking ceremony to purify, cleanse and heal
past memories.
On 9 June 2003, Tribal Warrior completed her epic
648-day circumnavigation of Australia. |
|
Specifications
| |
|
15.4 metres |
| |
|
4.1 metres |
| |
|
32 tonnes |
| |
|
83.5 KW Gardner 6LW |
| |
|
8 knots |
| |
|
20 + crew |
|
|
|
