Meet Tim, Traditional Owner of Panamuunji Homeland in Cape York
Tim McGreen is the Traditional Owner of Panamuunji Homeland in Cape York. He and his wife Elaine came on board as a homeland partner and started hosting Red Earth Immersions last year. The students that have spent time on country with Tim, Elaine and their family have shared glowing stories of their experiences. Some key highlights were enjoying activities such as learning how to forage for bush tucker, picking up a few key phrases in the local language, Guugu Yimithirr, and listening to Tim spin yarns around the camp fire.
As a master storyteller, one of Tim’s favourite tales focuses on Tabletop Mountain, a towering landmark just on the other side of the creek at Panamuunji. The way the story has been passed down to him, and the way that Tim tells it, is that the mountain is made up of two sisters – a big and a little- frozen together in time. For those who stand on the foothills and look up, it’s easy to see the siblings entwined in the landscape.
As well as working with Red Earth, Tim has a number of other projects on the go. He is a member of the Hopevale Congress and was recently elected to act as its chairperson for the coming term.
Tim and Elaine are looking forward to welcoming students back to Panamuunji this coming year. With a good amount of rain over recent months, everything at the homeland is looking beautiful and green – although Tim says that means there’s alot more mowing to be done!