Jarowair

The Jarowair people The Jarowair people are the Traditional Owners of the northern Toowoomba region, the Bunya Mountains, and parts of the northern Darling Downs in south-east Queensland. Their country extends across some of the most culturally significant landscapes in Aboriginal Australia, including the Bunya Mountains where the great inter-nation Bunya Nut festivals were held. The Gummingurru stone arrangement at Gowrie Junction, north of Toowoomba, is one of Australia's most important Aboriginal heritage sites, estimated to be around 4,000 years old. Located in Jarowair country, it served as a men's initiation (Bora) site and a gathering place for groups travelling to the Bunya Nut Festival. The festival itself was one of the largest regular gatherings of Aboriginal peoples in eastern Australia, drawing groups from hundreds of kilometres away every two to three years when the bunya pines fruited. Today, the Gummingurru Aboriginal Site continues to be cared for by Jarowair descendants and the Gummingurru Aboriginal Corporation, who work to preserve and share this important cultural heritage through guided tours and educational programs.