Yalingbila Mil Bibula (whales seeing hill)

Project overview

The exhibit will share the story of the island’s Traditional Custodians, the Quandamooka People and their continuous connection to the majestic Eastern Humpback whales.

The exhibit will include information on:

• Eastern Australian Humpback whales
• traditional stories and connection of the Quandamooka People to whales
• key role Mulumba (Point Lookout) has played in international whale research and whaling politics.

The exhibit will enable visitors to hear the amazing songs and sounds of passing whales. In collaboration with the University of Queensland (UQ), a special hydrophone (ocean tethered microphone) will transmit back to the research pod. This will present visitors with the unique experience of watching a whale pass, hearing its song and talking to a researcher in one place.

Yalingbila Mil Bibula is part of the Gudjundabu Marumba: Tourism for a Glad Tomorrow, a five-year strategy for sustainable tourism on Quandamooka Country (PDF), launched by the Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation (QYAC) with the State in December 2018.

Project delivery

The Queensland Government’s Department of Housing and Public Works is managing the design of Yalingbila Mil Bibula on behalf of QYAC.

The project is receiving funding from Minjerribah Futures and UQ.

Location

Yalingbila Mil Bibula will be located at 6-12 Mooloomba Road, Mulumba (Point Lookout) alongside the North Gorge Walk. Mulumba is one of the best places for land-based whale watching in the world. Humpback whales pass closer to the coast here than any other easily accessible point in Australia. On a good day, lucky whale watchers can see 200 whales pass the headland between dawn and dusk.

Scientific collaboration

Mulumba is one of the world’s most important sites for international whale research. The recording of whale songs and sounds is a key part of UQ's research into whale behaviour. Ongoing whale research from Mulumba will provide vital clues about the impacts of climate change, as well as mapping fluctuations in Eastern Humpback populations.

The unique access visitors will have to the sounds and the researchers is a powerful conservation and environmental awareness tool. It will help to create a direct connection between visitors and a singing whale. This is consistent with the Yalingbila Mil Bibula goal of conservation and scientific knowledge sharing.