Full Name: Rhonda Brim

Role in the project: Indigenous Research Associate

Brief background bio: 

Rhonda Brim is a traditional owner and Elder for the Djabugay people. Rhonda works tirelessly to share her culture and traditional skills with younger generations. Her mother Winnie Brim (nee Riley) and grandmother Wilma Walker were renowned for their weaving skills. They taught Rhonda the traditional twining and coiling techniques to make baskets with river grass (Lomandra Longifolia), lawyer cane (Calamus sp.) and black palm fibre (Normanbya normanbyi).

Rhonda is a cultural educator who has taught the Djabuganydji language in schools with linguistic anthropologist Michael Quinn and Rhonda Duffin. Together they played a role in the development of the ‘Jilli Binna Cultural Resource Centre’ in the 1990s in Kuranda, which showcased Aboriginal material culture from the rainforest. Later she became a founding member of the Djabugay Elders group advising on the authentic tourist experience at the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park in Cairns.

Today Rhonda is actively involved with Djabugay initiatives such as ‘KOCA – Keeping Our Culture Alive’. She is a strong leader and spokesperson for her people, as a member of the Djabugay Tribal Aboriginal Corporation and the Djabugay Native Title Aboriginal Corporation.