As families moved across Country, women maintained daily life. They cared for children and Elders. They upheld social and cultural foundations. While men carried Lore and hunting responsibilities, women sustained the rhythm of community life. 

The roles were complementary. 
Interconnected. 
Strength came from walking together, not from one standing above the other. 

Caring for Country has never existed outside leadership. It has always been central to it. Colonisation disrupted this balance. Dispossession, the breaking of families, and imposed systems fractured communities and eroded cultural authority. 

Many men were deeply affected by these systems and the intergenerational trauma that followed. Many also stood strong and carried culture forward, and continued to hold leadership, knowledge and responsibility within community. 

Women did too. They stepped in where needed. They held families together. They walked alongside their men, guiding one another, healing and rebuilding strength together. 

This was never about replacing roles. 
It was about strengthening one another so culture could endure. 

Through struggle and resistance, First Nations communities now stand more strategically within today’s systems. Caring for Country and Sea Country sits at the centre of governance, planning, conservation and leadership. 

Today, women contribute at every level of this work. They are on-ground rangers. They lead conservation initiatives. They work in research and science. They coordinate programs, serve in management roles and hold senior leadership positions across organisations and government. 

Young women, some as young as 15, are beginning their journeys through junior ranger programs. Across regions, senior women in their 50s, 60s and 70s continue to lead and guide with decades of lived knowledge. 

This is what Give to Gain looks like across generations. 

Knowledge shared. 
Time invested. 
Space created. 
Responsibility carried forward. 

In her role as a Regional Coordinator, Meyalah works alongside Traditional Owner groups across the Great Barrier Reef to strengthen cultural authority, empower community-led decision-making, and ensure First Nations voices shape the future of Sea Country management. Her work supports ReefTO’s vision of a Reef where Traditional Owners lead, care for, and speak for their Sea Country with sovereignty, confidence, and cultural continuity. 

Meyalah is passionate about empowering Traditional Owners to take the lead in caring for Sea Country, grounded in self-determination, cultural knowledge, and sustainable practices. Her work supports First Nations communities to overcome barriers, reclaim their role as custodians of land and sea, and ensure future generations inherit a thriving, well-cared-for Country. 

“You don’t need formal qualifications to begin caring for Country,” Meyalah says. “You start with reconnecting to what has always lived within you – your deep connection to the Country and Sea Country you come from.” 

From there, growth happens through walking together. Through mentoring. Through practical support. Through people and organisations choosing to back women in meaningful, consistent ways. 

Because when women are supported, the gain extends far beyond the individual. 

Families are strengthened. 

Communities become more connected. 

Country and Sea Country are cared for more deeply. 

And as Meyalah reminds us: “When we collectively look after Country, we are collectively healing Country. And therefore, we are collectively healing each other. And as we say here at ReefTO, Healthy Reef means Healthy People, and I believe in that statement 100%. This is the deeper meaning of what I believe Give to Gain truly is.” 

On this International Women’s Day, we honour First Nations women not only for what they give, but for the generations they uplift and the futures they sustain through that giving, reminding us that when women give, communities gain.