Empowering Generations And Nurturing Lands

A proud Juru man, Rick Dallachy represents his people throughout north Queensland through advocacy, land and sea management and community support.

In his role as CEO of Juru Enterprises Ltd, Rick leads the commercial arm of the Juru people, often collaborating with the Native Title board based in Townsville.

“Juru is our native people,” Rick said.

“We’re a part of the Birri Gubba nation which runs from Townsville halfway out to Charters Towers down to nearly Mackay, taking in all that area.”

Retiring after almost 40 years in the electrical industry, Rick found himself representing his ancestors on the board of Juru Enterprises Ltd before taking on the CEO role after a restructure in 2017.

“Now we’ve got a staff of between 14 and 19 and our sole purpose is on our native title land between Bowen and Home Hill,” he said.

“We do land management on most of the state owned land.

“When people hear an indigenous group like ours have native title to parcels of land, they automatically think we’re coming to take their land, but native title doesn’t work like that.

“Native title is all about unused state land that’s been proven that our ancestors used to live off that land.

“We get exclusive native title rights to that land and part of the sea as well.”

Rick prides himself on offering opportunities to all but will hire fellow Juru people when he can to care for their land.

“If you go back through history, our people have been backburning and managing land all the time,” he said.

“It’s hard yakka but it’s very rewarding; our Juru descendants love working on their ancestors' land, and they really take pride in their work.”

Aside from the native title side of the business, Juru Enterprises Ltd started a pilot program six years ago aiming to drive attendance at Bowen State School by providing breakfast for all students.

The program has a huge success, growing to provide students with breakfast, morning tea, lunch and snacks five days a week, and has since been implemented at Home Hill State High School.

“The kids love it … and attendance is through the roof,” Rick said.

“The teachers are reporting that misdemeanours in the classroom are dropping, and grades are going in the right direction.

Rick also volunteers with children at PCYC Burdekin and used to be heavily involved in junior rugby league and boxing.

“That’s my passion, I just love working with kids,” he said.

“I want to see kids achieve and while I’m healthy enough and able to, I’ll do everything in my power to see kids succeed.”

Supported by North Queensland Bulk Ports, Engage Marine and FOGS Queensland, Rick hopes to see the great work of Juru Enterprises Ltd continue into the future as he plans to step aside in the new year.

While transitioning into retirement, Rick will remain involved as a consultant during the changeover period and continue his role as a valued leader of the Juru people and the Burdekin community.

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Rick Dallachy presenting Home Hill State High School student Blaize Palmer with an Indigenous Pride Award. Photo supplied