The record was broken in Brisbane on Sunday when 221 people gathered in King George Square playing clapsticks joined by 173 people playing the didgeridoo simultaneously.
The crowd had also attempted to break the record for the largest ensemble of didgeridoo players set by 238 players in 2006 in the UK.
While the didgeridoo record wasn’t broken on Sunday, organiser and didgeridoo player Gurridyula Gaba Wunggu said it means there is a chance for another group to take up the challenge.
A supplied image of a flash mob of people playing didgeridoos and clapsticks as they gather around the Aboriginal flag at King George Square in Brisbane. Credit: Malcolm Paterson/PR Image
But to Mr Wunggu, who travelled more than 1000km from his home in central Queensland, the event is about more than setting a record.
Three years ceremony to protect Country
It’s about marking three years of reoccupation of country and continuing the fight to protect sacred water sources.
The Wangan and Jagalingou man has been camping on the Adani’s mining lease in central Queensland for three years, holding a ceremony called Waddananggu (the talking).
A fire has been kept burning within a bora ring since the beginning of the camp, just one kilometre away from the Carmichael coal mine.
“Today is a chance to celebrate all we have achieved together at Waddananggu and bring our fight to save our sacred Doongmabulla springs to the heart of Magandjin/Brisbane,” Mr Wunggu said.
Adani’s mine has poisoned and depleted the water from the sacred Doongmabulla springs, he said.
Adani mine destroying water sources
“Water sources like Doongmabulla all over the country are being destroyed because our governments are failing to stand up to greedy mining companies and protect the water.
“Which is why today we came together – tribes from all corners of the nation – to raise our voices together to heal the water and protect Country.”
Mr Wunggu said the event is a chance to celebrate the achievement of continuing ceremony for three years but also to draw attention to his fight against Adani and its Australian subsidiary Bravus.
“We haven’t stopped fighting because we can’t stop fighting,” he said.
Wangan and Jagalingou Traditional Owners during NAIDOC celebrations in Clermont, Queensland. Credit: Supplied by Wangan and Jagalingou Custodians/PR Image
In a statement to AAP, Bravus Mining said the Waddananggu camp was unauthorised, and organised by anti-fossil fuel lobbyists.
“(The camp) is used as the centrepiece of a public relations campaign that is dishonest, deceptive and marginalises the cultural authority of the Wangan and Jagalingou people,” a spokesperson said.
The mining company said it was proud to work with Wangan and Jagalingou traditional owners through its Indigenous Land Use Agreement, Cultural Heritage Management Plan and Indigenous Participation Plan.
