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Duane Byrnes is known to the nation as one of the stars of the SBS reality series Alone Australia. Locally, he’s renowned as a father of two, a junior rugby league coach with Thirroul Butchers and a respected member of the Indigenous community.
A proud First Nations man, with heritage from Wonnarua Gamilaroi and residing on Dharawal country, Duane is now back at his day job as a Catchment Field Supervisor (Biosecurity) with WaterNSW after – spoiler alert – 10 days alone in the wilderness in Tasmania last year. Our thanks to Duane for sharing his story.
Tell our readers a bit about yourself.
I like to think I’m a common kind of guy in this community. I’m a proud father of two who enjoys a wide variety of sports and is passionate about the environment, particularly native bushland restoration and invasive species management. I would say this passion is also driven from my Indigenous descent where I feel we as humans are not separate from the environment, instead we are a part of it and it’s our responsibility to look after her.
I’ve played for several soccer clubs across the region, but it’s only been over the last four years where I have more involvement with communities.
I’m one of the Under-7s coaches for Thirroul Butchers, I play a role in the organisation for the Appin Massacre Memorial service each year and in my leadership role with WaterNSW I engage with Local Aboriginal Land Councils and other agencies across a variety of spaces, including cultural heritage, bushfire management and biosecurity.
How’s the rugby league coaching going?
To be honest, I underestimated the enjoyment this would bring me. Being a bit of a role model and a helping hand to a young group of kids and watching them create a special bond is so awesome ... even at this young level, I can see it having positive effects in areas like self-esteem, physical literacy, and mental and social wellbeing, and I believe that’s something that is so important for kids to grow up with.
How was your time on Alone Australia?
It’s a hard one to explain but it truly was a special time that I think I will draw upon certain aspects from it for the rest of my life. In short, I felt physically fine in my capabilities to keep going, even if that meant eating fish raw (it was so tasty!).
I knew the kind of driven people I was up against and there’s only one winner, right?
Mentally, I felt like I didn’t have it in me to try and go the distance of what it would take to win, regardless of money. So instead, I created good memories and left when I wanted to.
What does NAIDOC Week mean to you?
To me NAIDOC Week is a week to celebrate and even educate. It’s to acknowledge that we are still here and are only getting stronger and prouder.
On all platforms … we can come together and celebrate our culture, history and achievements. It would be amazing to see non-Indigenous peoples of Australia celebrate with us as they are now custodians of the lands now too, yeah, be proud of the strong black history this country has.
I’m still on my path of learning more about it and it’s such a beautiful and powerful connection, one that I think more people can learn and understand. You will love where you live and appreciate many things in life if you do. I love how there’s a different theme every year too, this comes from us telling the rest of the peoples what being First Nations is like or about.
To me, it is a week for all Australians to recognise, respect and celebrate our rich culture through local communities, government agencies, local councils, schools and workplaces. I also enjoy watching the National NAIDOC Week Awards that celebrate the outstanding contributions from First Nation artists, scholars, and achievements in sport.
‘Yes’ or ‘No’ in the referendum for a First Nations Voice to Parliament?
Oh geez, I try to stay away from politics and bureaucracy, but I understand its importance, especially because we have been fighting for some form of power since the ships came in.
Look, if the purpose of the Voice is to advise the Australian parliament and government on matters relating to the social, spiritual and economic wellbeing of First Nations people, then surely that’s a forward step and forwards is where I want to be heading in our future so I’m a ‘Yes’! Especially if that means more environmental protection and Cultural heritage protection across the country. So many cultural sites are protected across most of the world, yet ours keep getting destroyed and are an afterthought in developments.
NAIDOC Week is on from July 2 to 9. This year’s theme is ‘For Our Elders’.
