1. Statement of Settled Aboriginal Position

The matter of “Guringai” or “GuriNgai” identity, custodianship, or cultural authority over the Central Coast and Northern Sydney is settled and not contested by any legitimate Aboriginal body, statutory authority, or recognised community. Local Aboriginal Land Councils, peak Aboriginal organisations, government agencies, and Aboriginal families; have formally and repeatedly rejected the claims of non-Aboriginal individuals and organisations asserting “Guringai” or “GuriNgai” identity in these regions (guriNgai.org, 2023; Metropolitan LALC et al., 2020; Darkinjung LALC, 2022; Aboriginal Heritage Office, 2015).

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2. Authority of Aboriginal Land Councils and Peak Community

Aboriginal Land Councils (including Darkinjung LALC, Metropolitan LALC, Awabakal LALC, Biraban LALC, Bahtabah LALC, Mindaribba LALC, and Worimi LALC), along with the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council (NSWALC), are legitimate custodians, protectors, and spokespeople for Aboriginal land, culture, and heritage in their respective areas, as provided by the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 (NSW) (NSWALC & NTSCORP, 2011; Darkinjung LALC, 2022).

As clearly documented by guriNgai.org (2023), these bodies have issued formal resolutions and open statements declaring there are no registered native title holders, applicants, or legitimate “Guringai/GuriNgai” claimants in Northern Sydney or the Central Coast, and that the “Guringay/Gringai” people are, and have always been, north of the Hunter River (guriNgai.org, 2023; Metropolitan LALC et al., 2020; Darkinjung LALC, 2022).

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3. Public Record, Evidence, and Advocacy by guriNgai.org

guriNgai.org, led by the Marramarra Carigal, has played an instrumental public interest role in documenting, exposing, and debunking the fraudulent “Guringai/GuriNgai” narrative. This has included:

• Publishing a comprehensive timeline tracing the origins, propagation, and refutation of the “Guringai” myth, including genealogical fraud and fabricated descent lines such as the “Bungaree–Sophy–Charlotte Ashby” narrative (guriNgai.org, 2025; see A Long Con Gone On Too Long).
  
• Providing open-access evidence tables of Land Council letters, Federal Court decisions, registrar correspondence, and statements from the only legitimate Guringay community, demonstrating that so-called “GuriNgai” claimants have no genealogical, legal, or community basis (guriNgai.org, 2025; Darkinjung LALC, 2022).
  
• Archiving the repeated and public withdrawal of government, council, and NPWS recognition of “Guringai” identity or heritage in the region, following the evidence and leadership of Aboriginal community (guriNgai.org, 2023; Rice, 2021).
  

guriNgai.org has also actively documented the cultural, social, and material harms caused by the persistence of these fraudulent claims, including impacts on Aboriginal data sovereignty, governance, and intergenerational trauma (guriNgai.org, 2025).

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4. Legal and Statutory Confirmation

• The Native Title application (NC2013/002) made by “Awabakal and Guringai People” was discontinued in the Federal Court after the State of NSW determined there was “an absence of credible evidence to support the claimants’ connection to the areas claimed” (Metropolitan LALC et al., 2020; Darkinjung LALC, 2022).
  
• No individuals asserting “Guringai” descent are registered as Aboriginal Owners under Section 170 of the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 (NSW), as confirmed by the Registrar and published on guriNgai.org (Courtman, 2020; guriNgai.org, 2023).
  
• The only legitimate Guringay (Gringai Kabook and Watoo) group is located at Barrington River in Gloucester, north of the Hunter, and has itself formally repudiated the extension of its traditional lands to the Central Coast or Sydney, stating: “We have no reason to acknowledge or accept this group as members of the Guringay peoples… we also do not acknowledge or accept the claims that the Guringay Traditional Lands covered the areas of Sydney’s Northern Beaches, the Central Coast or Newcastle” (Darkinjung LALC, 2022, Annexure E; guriNgai.org, 2023).
  

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5. Community Consensus and Policy

• The Marramarra Carigal, via guriNgai.org, bungaree.org, and A Long Con Gone On Too Long, provide public testimony and maintain a verified record of opposition to the “Guringai/GuriNgai” simulation, as do Darkinjung LALC, Metropolitan LALC, and all relevant Aboriginal bodies (guriNgai.org, 2025; bungaree.org, 2025).
  
• Government and policy agencies, including NPWS and local councils, have withdrawn references to “Guringai” following this evidence (Darkinjung LALC, 2022, Annexure F; guriNgai.org, 2023).
  

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6. Conclusion

There is no ambiguity: the use of “Guringai/GuriNgai” as an Aboriginal identity or authority in the Central Coast or Northern Sydney is fraudulent, universally rejected, and must not be recognised by any institution, agency, or researcher. Ongoing citation or recognition of these claims constitutes a breach of Aboriginal cultural authority, legal process, and ethical standards (guriNgai.org, 2025; Darkinjung LALC, 2022; Metropolitan LALC et al., 2020; NSWALC & NTSCORP, 2011).

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References 

Aboriginal Heritage Office. (2015). Filling a void: A review of the historical context for the use of the word ‘Guringai’. https://www.aboriginalheritage.org/wp-content/uploads/AHO-Report-Guringai-Filling-a-Void.pdf

bungaree.org. (2025). Genealogy and evidence archive. https://bungaree.org/

Courtman, N. (2020, August 21). Registrar, Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 – Correspondence to National Native Title Tribunal.

Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council. (2022, May). Submission to Central Coast Council First Nations Accord.

guriNgai.org. (2023). A long con gone on too long [Evidence archive and analysis]. https://guringai.org/

Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council et al. (2020, June 3). Letter to the NSW Premier: Local Aboriginal Land Council concerns regarding Guringai claims of Traditional Ownership.

NSW Aboriginal Land Council & NTSCORP. (2011). Our culture in our hands: Submission in response to the Reform of Aboriginal Culture and Heritage in NSW.

Rice, S. (2021, May 21). ‘Guringai’ rejected over Indigenous link doubts. The Australian, 1–2.