…”Jamba Dhandan Duringala (“the place of happy frogs”), about 100km east of Cunnamulla in the south-west of the State, covers 22,720ha of claypans and shallow lakes, woodlands and mulga shrublands, floodplains and sand dunes. This is Kooma country, the heart of the traditional lands of the Kooma people covering a large area of the southern mulga lands between the Balonne and Warrego rivers. In 2000 the Kooma Traditional Owners Association Inc. (KTOAI) acquired title to Murra Murra and Bendee Downs, an 87,000ha aggregation, long used for wool and beef production. They saw the properties as a base for developing social, cultural, educational and economic programs for the benefit of Kooma people.…”The Kooma people lived on the lands now recognised as Murra Murra and Bendee Downs for hundreds of generations.”

 ‘The place of happy frogs’ by Richard Johnson in Nature Refuge News Issue 9 2007 [Qld. parks and Wildlife Service Nature Refuge Unit] 

The Kooma People's determination area falls within the Maranoa, Balonne, Murweh and Paroo local government regions.

http://www.qsnts.com.au/publications/KoomaPeople-NativeTitleConsentDetermination.pdf 

…”Under river gums and coolibahs Kooma woman Nefertiti Fogarty shows her children the stone flakes their forebears used to skin kangaroos. She and her people have returned to their country in the Cunnamulla district, about 900km southwest of Brisbane. This week they formally put aside 23,000ha of their land in a conservation agreement with Sustainability Minister Andrew McNamara. It brought into being the largest and most diverse nature refuge in the mulga lands. It's called Jamba Dhandan Duringala – place of happy frogs – and its conservation means its amphibians will no longer be trampled under the heavy hoofs of domestic stock.”

…”The reserve between the Balonne and Warrego rivers safeguards wetlands, woodlands and wildlife from development. It was cut from the 86,900ha combined Murra Murra and Bendee Downs sheep and cattle stations over which the Kooma gained title in 2000. The rest of the properties have been leased to graziers to ensure a commercial return.”

‘Cunnamulla mulga refuge a win for the environment’ by Brian Williams, CourierMail April 25, 2008

…”Among Indigenous Australians, there is a spiritual link between the person and his/her Ancestor through the land and animals on the land. This unique relationship with the land is evident in the efforts surrounding Native Title action to protect the rights of indigenous Australians to their traditional lands. It is also the unique connection with the land that led to the KTOAI [Kooma Traditional Owners Association Inc.] forming and taking possession of the properties at Bendee Downs and Murra Murra, and that drives the KTOAI to bring more Kooma people back to Kooma Country. (p. 21)

Bendee Downs is located 630 kilometres West of Brisbane. The site has limited facilities, including the shearing shed, shearer’s accommodation, shower and toilet block, generator room and airstrip – none of which are currently in use. Bendee Downs is bordered by several small homesteads, with South Glenn, Bonna Vonna, Melray, Werona, Rollo, Ryandale, Deiran and Gamarren all within 25km.” (p. 26)

Solar Ice at Bendee Downs - Engineers Without Borders Australia Challenge 2010

…”On 25 June 2014 the Kooma People had their native title recognised by the Federal Court of Australia with the consent of all parties. The Kooma People were recognised as holding exclusive possession over areas of the Murra Murra and Bendee Downs Pastoral Stations. The claimed area spans about 2,950km² in the south-west region of Queensland. It includes the Bendee Downs and Murra Murra pastoral properties, and other areas around Bollon, bordering the town to of Wyandra at the north-west, stretching south to the Culgoa River, and east-west from Wideegoara Creek to Belingra.”

Kooma people’s native title consent determination  www.firstnationstelegraph.com  Jun 25, 2014  & Message Tree Dec. 2014 pg.6 [Queensland South Native Title Services]  

…”On the traditional lands of the Kooma people, Jamba Dhandan Duringala means the place of happy frogs and the Indigenous Protected Area includes claypan lakes within a nationally listed wetland. After rains, the calls of frogs and toads resonate. Migratory birds and rare animals such as the yakka skink, freckled duck and Major Mitchell cockatoo are also found here. Cultural heritage includes scar trees, fish traps and, from more recent times, people’s ties to the Bendee Downs and Murra Murra pastoral properties. The Kooma Traditional Owners Association manages the properties and has removed stock from within the Indigenous Protected Area. They plan to foster cultural renewal by recording traditional knowledge, restoring fish traps and conducting regular cultural camps.”

 https://www.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/publications/respecting-culture-IPA.pdf