The Kombumerri people were the first original inhabitants of the Gold Coast. Their tribal barriers extended North to the Coomera River, south to the Tweed River and west to the Hinterlands. There are significant sites all over the Gold Coast particularly at Burleigh Heads, Queensland. This mountain is a 'sacred women's area' for the Kombumerri people and their ancestors today. There is a men's area not far from sacred mountain at Burleigh Bora Ring on the Gold Coast Highway.
Arcaeologists Laila Haglund was lead researcher when over 200 bones uncovered illegally by some developers in Kombumerri Park, Broadbeach Waters. The bones were laid to rest in the park with a plaque dedicated to their memory.
The Kombumerri people pay respect and honour their ancestors by helping out their Elders, connecting to country through traditional practises and maintaining a spiritual connection to the land.
The Kombumerri people spoke a Yugambir language which was a composition of Yugambeh and Bundjalung that formed a unique language for these tribal people with common words shared with neighbouring tribes. However, due to no written history of the Kombumerri people, they struggle to utilise what is left of their language and have many people creating words for this area that do not belong. The Kombumerri people are a proud people and do not want substitutions on their land. They are losing their identity to groups making profit from their culture on the Gold Coast. They have been renamed the 'Yugambeh people', which is an insult to the ancestors still alive and the spirits of their people.