Patricia Oakley

2024 Director Joint Management Body - Malgana Aboriginal Corporation and Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Attractions

2019-Present Malgana Ranger Program Cert 1 & 2 and 3 Conservation and Land Management

2015-Department for Child Protection & Family Support Aboriginal Business is Everybody's Business: Cultural Leadership Program

2005- Curtin University Bachelor of Education

2002 - TAFE Cert III in Youth Work

2002 - C.Y. O’Connor College of TAFE
Certificate II Business (office Administration)

2002 - C.Y. O’Connor College of TAFE
Certificate II Information Technology

I am a descendant of the Malgana saltwater people from Gathaagudu (Shark Bay) and member of the Malgana Aboriginal Corporation (MAC) and MAC Elders Advisory Council, Senior Ranger and a Director on the MAC and Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Attractions Joint Management Body. I am fortunate to be well connected to my culture and community, where I am involved in the management and education of ecosystem management and cultural heritage to protect and preserve our cultural and natural assets and revitalise our traditional Malgana language. Since 2019 I have been involved with University of Western Australia (UWA) researchers in a wirriya jalyanu (seagrass) restoration project, which is a partnership between scientists and the Malgana community to jointly develop seeding and shoot planting methods to assist natural recovery of seagrasses in the Shark Bay World Heritage Site. My accredited training and life experience provide me with a unique skill set that will enhance research projects into environmental, culture and heritage protection and traditional knowledge of caring for country.

I am passionate about preserving our natural and cultural heritage by educating the wider community to inform and assist the long-term protection and promotion of the UNESCO World Heritage Area, my home, Gathaagudu. Gathaagudu is a place that has outstanding universal value for its exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance; its outstanding examples of biological and geomorphic evolution processes; and its refuge for many globally threatened species of plants and animals. In recent history, the Gantharri (Elders) as well as non-Indigenous people of the local community have seen cultural heritage sites impacted, silenced, disturbed and sometimes exploited, as a result of the increase in visitor numbers and impact of climate change. However, despite having a rich shared cultural history, which include more than 30,000 years (but probably much longer) of Aboriginal knowledge and stories and the first shared Australian history (as evidenced since 1616 by encounters by the Dutch, the French, Chinese and Malays), the cultural heritage values of Gathaagudu are not included in the World Heritage listing. We must work hard to have our cultural values included alongside our natural values not only in recognition of our traditional ownership but to enhance protection of our beautiful home Gathaagudu.