Odorr (Dugong) Diamond by Russel Davey

My design is of an odorr (dugong) swimming through the water, viewed from above. In the old days, men would go hunting and would see the dust, and know it was a dugong feeding on the reef. It’s different from a stingray's dust.

Dugongs come in and out of our waters depending on the season. They hang around for about three months; then when the whales come in, the dugongs move on out. At the same time the turtles start mating.

Traditionally they would go out hunting dugong on rafts - today we go out on dinghy, and spear them with a big jarraja (harpoon spear). We make the spears from wongai (wattle) or woolleybutt. 

Traditional way is the best for cooking dugong - in the ground. It’s a bit like pork; so you can roast it, boil it, stirfry it, or make stews out of it!