We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we work and live: the Punnilerpanner clan of the North Nation. We recognise the continuing connection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to land, water and community, and pay our respects to elders; past, present and future.
The original inhabitants of the Port Sorell area were known as the Punnilerpanner people, one of four groups of Aboriginal people comprising the North tribe. The Punnilerpanner people lived on the land they called Panatana. The Punnilerpanner people thrived here, enjoying the abundance and variety of food that flourished along this coast. Shellfish gathered from the ocean and estuary, eggs and meat from local bird species (including native ducks and black swans), kangaroos, emus, lizards, snakes and some plants were all valuable sources of food and medicine for the Punnilerpanner people. As you enjoy the environment that is Port Sorell, take a moment to wonder who has walked here before you, as you are walking in the footsteps of the original occupants of this land.