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Seabourn Pursuit's godparents are traditional Aboriginal owners of far north Kimberley

The godparents for expedition ship Seabourn Pursuit are the Wunambal Gaambera people, traditional owners of the far north Kimberley.

Helen Hutcheon, Australasia correspondent

April 18, 2024

2 Min Read
Credit: Seatrade Cruise News

The naming ceremony will take place during Seabourn’s inaugural Kimberley voyage that departs Broome for Darwin on June 22.

Representatives of the Wunambal Gaambera people will meet the ship on June 29 when she calls at Vansittart Bay and tenders passengers to Jar Island for the ceremony and to view ancient rock art.

First traditional owners as godparents

Seabourn is the first cruise line to appoint Australian Aboriginal traditional owners as godparents and said it is a ‘symbolic gesture’ of stewardship and responsibility towards the environment and the communities it visits and its commitment to sustainable tourism.

Seabourn will make a donation, along with funding already received from Tourism Western Australia, to develop a self-sustaining industry for Wunambal Gaambera artists to sell their arts and crafts.

‘We believe no one can give a better blessing to our ship than the communities we visit,’ President Natalya Leahy said. She had hinted at special news to come when speaking on the luxury CEOs panel at Seatrade Cruise Global

Transformative power of travel

‘We truly believe in the transformative power of travel and when we visit local communities we are able to both celebrate their culture and drive positive sustainable changes in the places they call home,’ Leahy said.

‘When we set out to name the godparents for Seabourn Pursuit we knew we wanted to do something that celebrates this special moment for the ship and also allows us to drive long-term sustainable positive change in line with the values Seabourn and our guests stand for.’

Seabourn’s support

Catherine Goonack, chairperson of the Wunambal Gaambera Aboriginal Corporation, thanked Seabourn for its support.

Goonack said as garrangarru, or godparents, the Wunambal Gaambera people look forward to sharing their culture with Seabourn’s passengers.

 

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About the Author

Helen Hutcheon

Australasia correspondent

Helen Hutcheon did her cadetship on a shipping magazine and worked in P&O’s Sydney office for seven years as a public relations journalist.

For 19 years she was deputy editor of Travel Week, which was Australia’s leading trade newspaper that covered major local and international industry events.

In 2008 the late legendary Rama Rebbapragada presented her with an award from Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd ‘in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the cruising industry.’

In 2010 she won the Neil Frazer Award for ‘outstanding contribution to the cruise industry,’ elevating her to CLIA Australasia’s hall of fame.

She has been the Australasia correspondent for Seatrade Cruise Review since 1997 and for Seatrade Insider (now Seatrade Cruise News) since its launch in 2000.

 

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