“Don’t wait until it has gone”: GunaiKurnai-led research at small, damaged, and vulnerable coastal archaeological sites threatened by climate change and rising seas, GunaiKurnai Country, southeastern Australia

Globally, coastal archaeological sites, story places and landforms are increasingly under threat from the impacts of climate change (including sea level rise, storm surges, and erosion), growing human populations and activities, and urban, industrial and agricultural expansions. The GunaiKurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation, representing the Aboriginal Traditional Owners of large parts of Gippsland in southeastern Australia, are keenly aware of the vulnerability of cultural heritage places to these threats. The management of coastal places is now an acute concern. This concern has led the Corporation to initiate partnership site and landscape-scale research and monitoring of the GunaiKurnai coastline between university specialists and community Rangers. Here, we detail the proactive approach of the GunaiKurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation at damaged and at-risk coastal archaeological sites such as Ngarawut 1. The Corporation’s management programme is multi-pronged and aims to mitigate loss and safeguard what is valued on Country, thereby preserving knowledge and education potential for GunaiKurnai community members and the general public.