Koya Aboriginal Corporation is the parent company of Aboriginal Nature Trekz (ANTZ). Koya offer a wide range of programs that deal directly with community development for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders that live within the Perth metropolitan catchment area.
ANTZ, commencing operations in 2018, is a business designed to achieve the following outcomes:
Koya Aboriginal Corporation has been operating since 2006 and its members are linked to the Whajuk and Balladong tribal groups of the Noongar Nation. Koya Chairman and Elder Allan Kickett has the knowledge of the Noongar Boodja (land) as it was passed down to him through the generations.
Prof. Cheryl Kickett–Tucker (Koya Director of Research and Community Development), is the traditional owner to the Whajuk Native Title Claim which encompasses the Perth Hills and Coastal Plains of Perth. Cheryl has released books relating to children’s learning and these have been well received within the school system. Cheryl has also written a wider range of children’s books and how they relate to the Noongar seasons and Aboriginal astronomy.
Quinton Tucker (Koya Director and ANTZ Tour Guide) has lived most of his life in the Perth Hills, has worked as a member of the Aboriginal Materials Committee, and has extensive experience in recording and identifying sites of significance within the Western Australian Department of Aboriginal Affairs. Quinton identifies with the greater Western Desert Cultural Block and is able to bring those stories alive as they relate to the Dreamtime and modern-day Astronomy.
Alan’s, grandson Jaylon Tucker (ANTZ Tour Guide), has taken the stories as told by Alan and utilised them to create stories of the Dreamtime as they relate to the 6 seasons of the Noongar Calendar, furthermore how they relate to the night sky and Aboriginal astronomy.
ANTZ’s first cultural day and night tours location has been developed in collaboration with the Perth Observatory in Bickley (Perth Hills) and new tour locations are currently in development. A partnership with the Perth Observatory Volunteers Group (POVG) was established in 2018 to create the first Aboriginal Astronomy Center in Western Australia.
A key point of difference for ANTZ as a tour company is the provision of tourism training and employment pathways for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who are looking to become a professional tour guide or tour operator. Proceeds from the tours delivered by ANTZ go back into the development and delivery of training and mentoring programs by the organisation.
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