The east coast of Australia is a bountiful source of marine resources. Abalone sourced from Narooma on the South Coast of NSW is served in Australia’s top restaurants, but the abalone shell is also a container of practical knowledge among the local Yuin community members who have deeply held understanding of when, where, and how best to harvest abalone sustainably. Yuin community leader Sharon Mason shares knowledges of her artistic representations of a traditional fishing technology that requires many hours of skilful craftsmanship.

Sharon Mason is a Walbunja woman from the Yuin Nation and a cultural educator from the South Coast of New South Wales. She is regarded as her family’s knowledge holder and senior song women and performer.  She grew up on the far south coast of NSW and La Perouse just south of Sydney. Sharon is an artist, creative producer, educator and dancer. Sharon founded the Djaadjawan Dancers in 2015, a female traditional Aboriginal dance group featuring members from the ages of 5 to 75. Djaadjawan Dancers - Djaadjawan being a dhurga language  word meaning 'sand'. Sharon founded the dance group after attending an Aboriginal women’s camp in Narooma NSW where local Aboriginal women and children taught and shared their traditional knowledge and describes her work with Djaadjawan as being: 

like a spiritual ceremony, so many clans from all across the nation are able to perform traditional song, dance and language,

Sharon Mason Yuin artist – Narooma, New South Wales