A traditional language facing extinction just a few years ago has reached a major milestone.
Yuwi language, from the Mackay region in Queensland, has been revived to the point where elders can now conduct Welcome to Country ceremonies in language.
"It makes you feel grounded. It gives you a sense of belonging and that connection," Yuwi descendant Veronica Ah Wang said.
Ms Ah Wang is part of the group of descendants working hard to recover the language.
"We started off with something like one to 200 words and now we've got a big range," she said.
Delivering a Welcome to Country in language is important for Yuwi elders.
"You're connecting with the audience, you're connecting with the land, the sea, wherever you are," Ms Ah Wang said.
She said it was wonderful to hear parts of the language being used in everyday conversations.
"It gives you that heartfelt feeling, that you are doing the right thing," she said.
"I get emotional when I do it, which is scary because I think, 'why are you crying?'"
She said doing the Welcome to Country in English felt like any other day, but using her traditional language made it more significant.
"All our ancestors they were just gone … you don't get a lot of written work about them and if we can bring back just that little bit, hopefully they are happy with what we come up with and we do them proud," Ms Ah Wang said.
Hard work, but worth it
Annalee Pope, from First Languages Australia, said it was a race against time to save languages.
"Here in Queensland, a lot of languages are not spoken or if they are spoken it's a very small number of elders who still speak the language," she said.
Ms Pope said there were a number of steps to take before language could be recovered enough to speak.
"The community has to research and find historical documentation, and they use that as the starting point," she said.
Elders groups consult with the State Library and work on building word lists and developing a dictionary.
"It's a really long process," Ms Pope said.
"They start by identifying what words belong to their language, then how to pronounce them and sometimes they have tapes to help, but it's a really long process and sometimes they get the help of a linguist."
Next generation of speakers
Yuwi elders are confident they will be able to resurrect the language with the next generation.
Ms Ah Wang said she would be overjoyed if non-Indigenous Australians could learn language too.
"For g'day, say binbi gurree."
"My son now says 'ngandadyi mum' instead of hello, and that makes my heart proper proud."