The Ngoorabul people are the traditional owners of the Glen Innes Highlands area. During the thousands of years they have lived here, they perfected what every modern local must learn to do – adapt to the highland climate. 

A great variety of native bush food became available in the winter months so the Ngoorabul people would adapt by rugging up in possum-skinned cloaks nestled by the warmth of a campfire.

Today, Glen Innes Local Aboriginal Land Council manages around 10,500 hectares of land near Emmaville, including The Willows and the adjoining property, Boorabee.

Like all of Australia's Indigenous Protected Areas, Boorabee and The Willows are part of the National Reserve System - our nation's most secure way of protecting native habitat for future generations. 

Declared in March 2010, Boorabee and The Willows are managed under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Category VI, as a protected area with sustainable use of natural resources.