Dr Van Davy – the GuriNgai Cult’s latest white savior Part 3/3

So having looked at Dr Van Davy’s digital footprint, I was glad he answered the phone when I called. I really wanted to understand how this community minded eccentric with otherwise progressive views had been coerced by the non-Aboriginal GuriNgai cult into speaking out against the local Aboriginal Community.

When asked what brought about Dr Davy’s involvement in local Aboriginal affairs, Dr Davy answered: “I’m just interested in politics in general, and in particular those to whom an injustice is being meted out.”

“Other the last several years I have become conscious of the debate that’s going on between 2 big sections of the Aboriginal Community on the Central Coast.”

Dr Davy claimed he had kept absolutely silent on this issue for a ‘long, long time,’ until it became obvious to him that this issue was affecting planning decisions, and the ability of the Local Council and the NSW State Government to do ‘other things’.

Dr Davy advised since forming this conclusion, he did quite a bit of reading on the subject.

Dr Davy explained to me that the Central Coast Aboriginal Community (which I am fortunate enough to count myself part of) are split between those supporting the Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council; and another group supporting what Dr Davy described as the GuriNgai and Awabakal mob – otherwise know to readers of this page as the GuriNgai Cult.

Dr Van Davy was advocating on behalf of the GuriNgai as he believed they were a downtrodden genuine Aboriginal mob, which he believed for the simple reason that it’s what he was told by Tracey Howie, and then by subsequent GuriNgai followers. Conflicting evidence was avoided, or explained away as attacks by the ‘enemies’ of the GuriNgai in Howie’s fantastical tribal war with the Darkinjung.

Dr Davy explained that he is sensitive to injustices faced by persecuted people such as the GuriNgai, who were literally facing extinction without his assistance, and so over time he came to want to fight beside them to end the injustice, to do his part.

Dr Davy insisted he read everything put in front of him, and that it was Tracey Howie feeding him the information he relied upon. Tracey Howie presented herself as a Knowledgeable Aboriginal Elder who was willing to share her precious wisdom with the non-Aboriginal Dr Davy. Davy himself completely unaware this was in order to manipulate him into actively making life harder for actual Aboriginal People by providing support, encouragement, and an air of legitimacy to the fanciful non-Aboriginal GuriNgai group.

Dr Davy advised he was first connected with Tracey Howie of the GuriNgai Cult over a 2 hour yarn prior to his 2015 Australia Day speech.
In 2015 Dr Davy created the Pearl Beach Aboriginal History group which produced 2 publications of varying quality that represent the published output of the GuriNgai Cult.

Dr Davy has since been expelled by this group he founded for reasons he can’t explain, and was distraught that people like Tim Selwyn appeared to have rejected him. During this time Dr Davy insisted he was very respectful to Tracey Howie and made sure she was always included and had representatives involved every step of the way, believing Tim Selwyn and Kay Williams were operating independently of Howie’s influence.

Over the course of our conversation it became abundantly clear Dr Van Davy had been hoodwinked, sold a lie and taken advantage of by the GuriNgai in the exact same manner as Bob Waterer, Dr Geoff Ford, Dr Michael Bennett and poor old Jim Wafer before him – older, usually retired academics looking for one last big adventure to cement their legacy, only to be taken advantage of by Tracey Howie and the organisation she represents and discarded when no longer useful.

While running the Pearl Beach Aboriginal History Group, Dr Davy read and studied what was presented to him by Tracey Howie, and began running talks and smoking ceremonies featuring the GuriNgai. Dr Davy advised he never saw any evidence in support of her claims, and he felt it was audacious to ask Howie to support her claims.

Dr Davy told me Tracey Howie’s ‘enemies’ claim she is not Aboriginal, and he believed this was misinformation being spread by the Local Aboriginal Land Council, as this is what he was told by Tracey Howie.

Dr Van Davy was pleasant and cordial throughout our conversation, and was clearly taken aback at the news of who had until quite recently been an avid supporter of. He was already disappointed by the lack of respect he had received from them after all of his efforts to help them, and I was a gentle as I could be in breaking the news he has been deceived.

Yes Dr Van Davy did harm to Aboriginal People, the community, and Aboriginal organisations by repeating what he was told by the GuriNgai Cult, and yes he is an adult and responsible for his own choices and actions, BUT Dr Davy is a human being, who was tricked by people who literally make their living tricking people, he is a victim of the GuriNgai Cult, and in this we had common ground. I explained this to Dr Davy and was met with immediate resistance with him exclaiming “I haven’t had ANY encouragement from them to speak on their behalf! In fact I was taken aside by Tim Selwyn and he was pretty much undermining Tracey and her Authority, and he said he liked my ideas and would get in touch, but he never did.”

Dr Davy said he had read the Filling the Void Report several times and had shared it with Tracey Howie, who had also read it. What shocked me was the following admission:

” I thought to myself, well what would I be doing if I was putting in a Native Title Application and on the form in the top right-hand corner you’ve got to put the name of who your representing. And so what they (the GuriNgai) did, what I worked out and then talked to them about, what they did is they read all the research at the time, and at the time the view that Guringai was the word was current, and so they just took it.”

“Now Tracey doesn’t argue that line anymore… she argues something else now, that Guri is man and Ngai is woman, and that clashes with the Filling the Void Report, and I can’t do any better than that.”

I explained to Dr Davy that Native Title Claimants do not face the situation he is describing, as by definition in order to be able to seek Native Title a claimant would have to already be legally defined as an Aboriginal Person.

Dr Davy went from extolling his solutions to Native Title and his plan to fix it, to admitting he was not familiar with the 3-part test which sets the legal definition in the place for who is and is not Aboriginal, so this was explained using Tracey Howie as an example. Dr Davy asked for evidence of Tracey Howie’s deception, and I thanked him and emailed him a link to guringai.org Dr Davy expressed concern at what I had to say regarding the GuriNgai being fraudulent and criminal and after about 45 minutes or so he thanked me for the call and we said our goodbyes.