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Aboriginal culture advocate wins WA tourism award

Shannon BeattiePilbara News
VideoBurrup Peninsula is home to one of the largest ancient Aboriginal rock art collections in the world. The stories on the rocks depict the beginning of time: when the world was soft.

Ngarluma and Yindjibarndi man Clinton Walker has brought home gold from the 2018 Perth Airport WA Tourism Awards.

Mr Walker, owner of Ngurrangga Tours,won the individual excellence in aboriginal tourism category for being a proud advocate of Aboriginal culture and an outstanding contributor to the tourism industry.

He started his company five years ago as a way of showing his culture to the world and now runs different types of tours, including Burrup rock art, bush tucker, 4WD tag-alongs, and day and overnight trips to Millstream National Park.

“I really wanted to be able to teach people about my heritage and show them how beautiful the Pilbara is,” he said.

In his application, Mr Walker spoke with the judging panel about the challenges of working in an industry that isn’t very big in the region.

“I had to work really hard to boost my profile and the business because tourism isn’t exactly what the Pilbara is known for,” he said. Mr Walker used to work in the resources industry and said it was mind-boggling he now had a business that had changed the image of the Pilbara.

“I’ve worked really hard to put myself, my people and the Pilbara on the map,” he said.

“I have so much pride in my culture and the region, so it’s a relief for that hard work to have been recognised.

“My ultimate goal is to make tourism the backbone of the Pilbara. Mining isn’t going to last forever and we need a sustainable industry to fall back on.”

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