77-712: Whadjuk , alternatively Witjari , are Noongar ( Aboriginal Australian ) people of the Western Australian region of the Perth bioregion of the Swan Coastal Plain . The ethnonym appears to derive from whad , the Whadjuk word for "no". The traditional tribal territory of the Whadjuk, in Norman Tindale 's estimate, takes in some 6,700 square kilometres (2,600 sq mi) of land, from
154-429: A complex of tunnels and rooms, included shell stores, magazines, pump chamber and powerhouse, plotting room and command post, and battery observation posts. However, the threat of attack receded as the battery was completed. Resources were allocated elsewhere, and the battery and its guns were placed in reserve. The battery was decommissioned in 1963 and the guns scrapped. During World War II , Careening Bay Camp became
231-602: A contraceptive effect. As early as 10,000 BP local people utilised quartz , replacing chert flint for spear and knife edges when the chert deposits were submerged by sea level rise during the Flandrian transgression . Before the arrival of Europeans , the Noongar population has been variously estimated at between 6,000 and some tens of thousands. Colonisation by the British brought both violence and new diseases, taking
308-510: A cycle of increased violence on both sides. The first attempted Aboriginal massacre was the "Battle for Perth" when there was an attempt to surround and capture Aboriginal people who had retreated into Lake Monger. The area was cordoned, but the hunted people escaped. Once Lake Monger was settled by the Monger family, Yellagonga moved to Lake Joondalup . In 1834 this Wanneroo area was explored by John Butler , and in 1838 by George Grey . With
385-404: A heavy toll on the population. The Noongar, like many other Aboriginal peoples, saw the arrival of Europeans as the returning of deceased people, often imagining them as relatives who deserved accommodation. As they approached from the west, the newcomers were called djaanga (or djanak ), meaning "white spirits". Initially, relations were generally cordial. Matthew Flinders recognised
462-467: A judgment which recognised native title in an area over the city of Perth and its surrounds, known as Bennell v State of Western Australia [2006] FCA 1243. An appeal was subsequently lodged and was heard in April 2007. The remainder of the larger "Single Noongar Claim" area, covering 193,956 km (74,887 sq mi) of the south-west of Western Australia, remains outstanding, and will hinge on
539-522: A living by hunting and trapping a variety of game, including kangaroos, possums and wallabies; for people close to the coastal zone or riverine systems, spear-fishing or culling fish in traps was customary. An extensive range of edible wild plants were also available, including yams and wattle seeds. Nuts of the zamia palm , eaten during the Djeran season (April–May) required extensive treatment to remove their toxicity , and for women, they may have had
616-729: A long-boat under the command of Captain (later Lieutenant Governor) Irwin was dispatched and met with Yellagonga and his family at Crawley , on the coast of what is now the University of Western Australia or by Mount Eliza . As Aboriginal women had been earlier seized by European seal hunters, Yellagonga subsequently moved his encampment to what is now Lake Monger . With the alienation from their lands due to settlers claiming land and fencing it off, Aboriginal people lost access to important seasonal foods, they did not understand or accept private ownership of their lands, which led to spearing of stock and digging in food gardens. Reprisals led to
693-628: A major training base for the secretive Services Reconnaissance Department (SRD), also commonly referred to as " Z Special Unit ". The base was officially known as the Special Boat Section and was used to train operatives in the advanced use of folboat folding kayaks as well as top secret British midget submarines such as the " Motorised Submersible Canoe " ("Sleeping Beauty"), " Welman " and " Welfreighter " submarines. SRD Parties staging out of Careening Bay Camp were sent on clandestine missions into Japanese-occupied territory. Following
770-473: Is a limestone outcrop covered by a thin layer of sand accumulated during an era of lowered sea levels. The Noongar peoples tell of walking to these islands in their Dreamtime . At the end of the last glacial period , the sea level rose , cutting the island off from the mainland. For the last seven thousand years, the island has existed in relative isolation. The Royal Australian Navy 's largest fleet base, Fleet Base West , also called HMAS Stirling ,
847-420: Is also severe, and has resulted in a high proportion of plants and animals being included in the categories of rare, threatened and endangered species. In modern times many Aboriginal men were employed intermittently as rabbiters, and rabbit became an important part of Noongar diet in the early 20th century. The Noongar territory also happens to conform closely with the south-west Indian Ocean Drainage Region, and
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#1732783122941924-484: Is home to five frigates and all submarines of the Australian Submarine Service , which is headquartered at the base. A Clearance Diving Team is also based at Stirling . Since completion of the facility, public access to the island has been restricted to daylight hours. However, as of June 2010 public access is not granted to the public in general via the causeway unless entry is sponsored by
1001-641: Is now considered a Noongar hero, by many to have been one of the first indigenous resistance fighters. Matters escalated with conflicts between the settlement of Thomas Peel and the Pindjarup people, resulting in the Pinjarra massacre . Similarly, struggles with Ballardong people in the Avon Valley continued until violently suppressed by Lieutenant Henry William St Pierre Bunbury . Notwithstanding this violence, extraordinary acts of goodwill existed. In
1078-582: Is on the shores of Careening Bay, on the southeastern section of Garden Island, facing Cockburn Sound . At the 2016 census, 720 people lived on the Garden Island base. The entirety of Garden Island is included on the Commonwealth Heritage List for its natural values. Garden Island is home to a tammar wallaby population. The island was marked but not named on Dutch maps in 1658, even though there were three Dutch ships in
1155-623: The Swan River , together with its eastern and northern tributaries. Its hinterland extension runs to Mount Helena and a little beyond. It includes Kalamunda on the Darling Scarp and Armadale . It encompasses the Victoria Plains to the north, the area south of Toodyay and reaches eastwards as far as York and a little beyond. Its southern coastal frontier extends to the vicinity of Pinjarra . Their northern neighbours are
1232-621: The Yued , the Balardong people lay to their east, and the Pindjarup on their southern coastal flank. The Whadjuk formed part of the Noongar language group, with their own distinctive dialect. Culturally they were divided into two matrilineal moieties : Moieties were endogamous , and children took the moiety of their mother. Each moiety also contained two " sections " (or "skins"): in
1309-419: The south-west corner of Western Australia , from Geraldton on the west coast to Esperance on the south coast. There are 14 different groups in the Noongar cultural bloc: Amangu , Ballardong , Yued , Kaneang , Koreng , Mineng , Njakinjaki , Njunga , Pibelmen , Pindjarup , Wadandi , Whadjuk , Wiilman and Wudjari . The Noongar people refer to their land as Noongar boodja . The members of
1386-462: The 2011 Australian census, 10,549 people identified as indigenous in the south-west of Western Australia. By 2021, this number had increased to 14,355. The endonym of the Noongar comes from a word originally meaning "man" or "person". At the time of European settlement, it is believed that the peoples of what became the Noongar community spoke thirteen dialects, of which five still have speakers with some knowledge of their respective versions of
1463-599: The 2011 award for That Deadman Dance . Yirra Yaakin describes itself as the response to the Aboriginal community's need for positive self-enhancement through artistic expression. It is a theatre company that strives for community development and which also has the drive to create "exciting, authentic and culturally appropriate indigenous theatre". Many local governments in the southwest have developed "compacts" or "commitments" with their local Noongar communities to ensure that sites of significance are protected and that
1540-564: The 4.3 kilometres (2.7 mi) Garden Island causeway began in 1971 and was completed in 1973. The facility was completed in 1978, and HMAS Stirling was formally commissioned as a unit of the Royal Australian Navy in the same year. Stirling , also referred to as Fleet Base West , was developed further under the Two-Ocean Policy to become the main naval base on the west coast of Australia. As of 2008 , Stirling
1617-492: The Noongar are largely urbanised or concentrated in major regional towns, studies have shown that the direct economic impact of the Noongar community on the WA economy was estimated to range between five and seven hundred million dollars per year. Exit polls of tourists leaving Western Australia have consistently shown that "lack of contact with indigenous culture" has been their greatest regret. It has been estimated that this results in
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#17327831229411694-573: The Noongar but in many cases they are unable to receive appropriate government-agency care. The report that was produced after this gathering also stated that Noongar men have a life expectancy of 20 years less than non-Aboriginal men, and go to hospital three times more often. The Noongar still have large extended families and many families have difficulty accessing available structures of sheltered housing in Western Australia. The Western Australian government has dedicated several areas for
1771-689: The Noongar community constituted a united society which had continued to exist despite the disruption resulting from mixed marriage and people being forced off their land and dispersed to other areas as a result of white settlement and later Government policies. In April 2008 the Full Bench of the Federal Court upheld parts of the appeal by the Western Australian and Commonwealth governments against Justice Wilcox's judgment. Other native title claims on Noongar lands include: Since
1848-543: The Noongar language in the general curriculum have been made. In recent years there has been considerable interest in Noongar visual arts. In 2006, Noongar culture was showcased as part of the Perth International Arts Festival . A highlight of the Festival was the unveiling of the monumental "Ngallak Koort Boodja – Our Heart Land Canvas". The 8-metre (26 ft) canvas was commissioned for
1925-496: The Rottnest Island Deaths Group. The changes also removed rights of notification and appeal for traditional owners seeking to protect their heritage. A legal ruling on 1 April 2015 overturned the government's actions on some of the sites deregistered which were found to be truly sacred. Elders are increasingly asked on formal occasions to provide a " Welcome to Country ", and the first steps of teaching
2002-452: The Swan and Canning Rivers into four residence groups , each with its own territory: Several Europeans in particular contributed to modern understanding of Whadjuk Noongar language and culture. European settlers were initially called Djanga – a term referring to spirits of the dead – by the Whadjuk. This belief incorporated Europeans into the social structure of the Noongar peoples and
2079-758: The Western Australian Youth Orchestra. The Noongar people occupied and maintained the Mediterranean climate lands of the south-west ecoregion of Western Australia, and made sustainable use of seven biogeographic regions of their territory, namely: These seven regions have been acknowledged as a biodiversity hot-spot, having a generally greater number of endemic species than most other regions in Australia. The ecological damage done to this region through clearing, introduced species, by feral animals and non-endemic plants
2156-530: The area that year: Waekende Boey under Captain S. Volckertszoon, Elburg under Captain J. Peereboom and Emeloort under Captain A. Joncke. However, it was outlined on the charts of the Southland , which were published after Willem de Vlamingh visited the region in 1697. Jacques Felix Emmanuel, Baron Hamelin was the Captain of Naturaliste , one of three French ships that visited in 1801 to 1803. He named
2233-494: The bay. During World War II , gun batteries were located on Garden Island. These were part of an integrated coastal defence system for Fremantle Harbour facilities. The Challenger Battery was the first gun battery constructed on Garden Island in 1942. Two US-supplied mobile Canon de 155 mm guns on Panama mount were installed to protect Garden Island, Cockburn Sound and the Challenger Passage . The battery
2310-457: The bush, or digging vegetables on what had been their own land. It quickly became a "place of torment, deprivation and death", and it has been estimated that there may be as many as 369 Aboriginal graves on the island, of which five were for prisoners who had been hanged. Except for a short period between 1849 and 1855, during which the prison was closed, some 3,700 Aboriginal men and boys, many of them Noongars, but also many others from all parts of
2387-581: The case of the Manitjmat , these were Didarruk and Tondarup and for the Wardungmat , they were Nagarnook and Ballarruk . The Whadjuk also preserved many stories of the Wagyl , a water- python held to be responsible for most of the water features around Perth. This may have been a cultural memory of an extinct Madtsoiidae python-like serpent, a water dwelling ambush predator, part of
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2464-410: The city at night. Garden Island (Western Australia) Garden Island ( Nyungar : Meandup or Meeandip ) is a narrow island about 10 kilometres (6 mi) long and 1.5 kilometres (0.9 mi) wide, lying about 5 kilometres (3 mi) off the Western Australian coast, to which it is linked by an artificial causeway and bridge. Like Rottnest Island and Carnac Island , it
2541-494: The coast as interior seasonal lakes dried up. The Whadjuk, like many Noongar people, divided the year into six seasons. These seasons were roughly divided (rather than by specific date) and Whadjuk took account of environmental signals such as the spring call of the motorbike frog , in marking seasons. For example, the onset of Kambarang, or the flowering of the Western Australian Christmas tree showing
2618-429: The coastal plains, the plateau, and the plateau margins; all areas are characterized by relatively infertile soil. The north is characterized by casuarina, acacia, and melaleuca thickets, and the south by mulga scrubland, but it also supports dense forest stands. Several rivers run to the coast, and lakes and wetlands provided the Noongar people with their distinctive food and vegetation resources. Generally, Noongar made
2695-547: The collective Noongar cultural bloc descend from people who spoke several languages and dialects that were often mutually intelligible . What is now classified as the Noongar language is a member of the large Pama–Nyungan language family. Contemporary Noongar speak Australian Aboriginal English (a dialect of the English language) laced with Noongar words and occasionally inflected by its grammar. Most contemporary Noongar trace their ancestry to one or more of these groups. In
2772-470: The constitution in 1896. As of 2016, Aboriginal people number 3% of the state's population, but number 50% of the women in Bandyup Women's Prison and of youth in detention in Western Australia. Many are imprisoned for the non-payment of fines incurred for minor offences. The number of Noongar youth in incarceration exceeds the number in school or formal training. Daisy Bates claimed she interviewed
2849-588: The culture is respected. At the same time, the Western Australian Barnett government, also from November 2014, had been forcing the Aboriginal Cultural Material Committee to deregister 300 Aboriginal sacred sites in Western Australia. Although falling most heavily upon Pilbara and Kimberley sites this government policy also was having an impact on Noongar lands according to Ira Hayward-Jackson, Chairman of
2926-775: The declining birth rates , these factors led to a collapsing population in those areas nearby European settlement. In addition to white killings and massacres in Fremantle and elsewhere, the arrival of Europeans saw many deaths from diseases to which Aboriginal people had no resistance. These were interpreted as sorcery within traditional culture and led to "pay-back" vendettas , which increased mortality of those in closest contact with Europeans. Noongar The Noongar ( / ˈ n ʊ ŋ ɑːr / , also spelt Noongah , Nyungar / ˈ n j ʊ ŋ ɑːr / , Nyoongar , Nyoongah , Nyungah , Nyugah , and Yunga / ˈ j ʊ ŋ ɑː / ) are Aboriginal Australian people who live in
3003-426: The extinct megafauna of Australia that disappeared between 40,000 and 20,000 years ago. Coastal dwelling Whadjuk have an oral tradition describing the separation of Rottnest from the mainland, which occurred between 12,000 and 8,000 BCE , technically a post-glacial Flandrian transgression . Like other Noongar peoples, the Whadjuk seem to have moved more inland in the wetter weather of winter, returning to
3080-498: The festival by representatives of the united elders and families from across the Noongar nation. It was painted by leading Noongar artists Shane Pickett , Tjyllyungoo , Yvonne Kickett, Alice Warrell and Sharyn Egan . October 2021 saw the opening of the first Noongar opera Koolbardi wer Wardong . Written by Gina Williams and Guy Ghouse, the opera was performed at His Majesty's Theatre by members of West Australian Opera , West Australian Young Voices, Noongar Children's Choir and
3157-479: The granting of self-government to Western Australia, specifically excluded provision for Aboriginal Affairs, which remained vested in the British crown. The state's constitution also stated that 1% of government expenditures had to be for the benefit of Aboriginal people, a condition that has never been met. The Premier John Forrest unilaterally took control in Aboriginal Affairs, without an amendment to
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3234-665: The home of up to one-third of the population. It is estimated that 10 to 25% of Noongar children were forcibly "adopted" during these years, in part of what has become known as the Stolen Generations . Noongar people live in many country towns throughout the south-west as well as in the major population centres of Perth , Mandurah , Bunbury , Geraldton , Albany and Esperance . Many country Noongar people have developed long-standing relationships with non-Noongar farmers and continue to hunt kangaroo and gather bush tucker (food) as well as teach their children stories about
3311-525: The island Ile de Buache , after Jean-Nicolas Buache, a marine cartographer in Paris . The island was renamed Garden Island in 1827 by Captain James Stirling , who "prepared a garden and released a cow, two ewes and three goats in an area of good pasture with good water supply". It has been widely believed that Stirling chose the name Garden Island because he planted a garden there, but he used
3388-574: The island, the Colonial Secretary announced in June 1839 that the island would become a penal establishment for Aboriginal people and was officially designated as such in 1841. From that time until 1903, when the indigenous section was closed, Rottnest Island was used as a prison to transfer Aboriginal prisoners "overseas". To "pacify" the Aboriginal population, men were rounded up and chained for offences ranging from spearing livestock, burning
3465-603: The kodj. In Perth, the Noongar believe that the Darling Scarp is said to represent the body of a Wagyl , a snakelike Dreamtime creature that is a common deity in Noongar culture, that meandered over the land creating rivers, waterways, and lakes. It is thought that the Wagyl created the Swan River . The Wagyl has been associated with Wonambi naracoutensis , part of the extinct megafauna of Australia that disappeared between 15 and 50,000 years ago. Also in Perth, Mount Eliza
3542-520: The land. In a few areas in the south-west, visitors can go on bush tucker walks, trying foods such as kangaroo , emu , quandong jam or relish, bush tomatoes , witchetty grub pâté and bush honey. The buka is a traditional cloak of the Noongar people made of kangaroo skin. The kodj ( "to be hit on the head" ) or kodja is a Noongar hafted axe . Kojonup, Western Australia and The Kodja Place visitor centre, in Kojonup, are named after
3619-415: The lands seized for settlement in 1843, Yellagonga was reduced to begging for survival, and shortly thereafter he accidentally drowned. The situation for Midgegooroo was even more precarious. Violence flared when it was said 200 "savages" were going to attack the ferry from Fremantle, and citizens armed themselves and rushed to the site to find nothing but a bemused ferryman. A Tasmanian settler shot one of
3696-428: The language. No speakers use it over the complete range of everyday speaking situations, and the full resources of the language are available only to a few individuals. The Noongar peoples have six seasons whose time frame is defined by specific observable changes to the environment, with a dry period varying from as few as three to as many as eleven months. Tribes are spread over three different geological systems:
3773-474: The last fully initiated Whadjuk Noongar people in 1907, reporting on informants Fanny Balbel and Joobaitj, who had preserved in oral tradition the Aboriginal viewpoints of the coming of the Europeans. Fanny had been born on the Aboriginal sacred site that underlies St George's Cathedral , while Joobaitj's sacred lands were near the current youth hostel at Mundaring Weir . The Whadjuk people were divided by
3850-408: The local Aboriginal men and Yagan, Midgegooroo's son and Yellagonga's nephew, speared a white in revenge. Yagan was arrested and sent to Carnac Island in the care of Robert Lyon who claimed he was a freedom fighter . Yagan escaped from the island in a boat, and waged a guerrilla campaign on both sides of the river. He was eventually killed by one of two European boys he had befriended and his head
3927-411: The location of the former Swan Brewery which has been a source of contention between local Noongar groups (who would like to see the land, which was reclaimed from the river in the late 19th century, "restored" to them) and the title-holders who wished to develop the site. A Noongar protest camp existed here for several years in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Noongar culture is particularly strong with
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#17327831229414004-540: The loss of many millions of dollars worth of foregone tourist revenue. As a consequence of the Stolen Generations and problems integrating with modern westernised society, many difficult issues face the present day Noongar. For example, the Noongar Men of the SouthWest gathering in 1996 identified major community problems associated with cultural dispossession such as: Many of these issues are not unique to
4081-466: The making of spears. The Whadjuk people bore the brunt of the European colonisation, as the cities of Perth and Fremantle were built in their territory. No doubt Whadjuk people had been familiar with Dutch explorers like Vlamingh , and the occasional visit of whalers to the coast, before the arrival of settlers under the command of Governor James Stirling . After a near disaster at Garden Island ,
4158-511: The name well before anything was planted there, possibly because the shelter that it provides to Cockburn Sound was reminiscent of the way that the Isle of Wight , then known locally as the Garden Isle , shelters the waters off Portsmouth . Stirling returned to the area in 1829, claiming Garden Island as part of his grant of 40,469 hectares (100,000 acres), plus any livestock remaining from
4235-488: The onset of Bunuru. Whadjuk used high quality red ochre in ceremonies, which they obtained from the site now occupied by Perth Railway Station and which they traded with people to the east. By repute it was traded as far as Uluru . Prior to the colonisation it was used to colour hair, which was worn long (in a style similar to dreadlocks ). Quartz from the Darling Scarp was also traded with Balardong groups for
4312-602: The outcome of this appeal process. In the interim, the Noongar people together will continue to be involved in native title negotiations with the Government of Western Australia , and are represented by the South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council . Justice Wilcox's judgment is noteworthy for several reasons. It highlights Perth's wealth of post-European settlement writings which provide an insight into Aboriginal life, including laws and customs, around
4389-406: The previous visit. The first settlement of 450 people was named Sulphur Town . Sulphur Bay and Careening Bay were important anchorage and cargo disembarkation points for ships until 1897 when Fremantle 's inner harbour was completed. In 1907 Peet & Co (now Peet Limited) subdivided eight-three blocks at Careening Bay. After World War I it became a holiday resort with wooden cottages erected at
4466-639: The purpose of building communities specifically for the Noongar people, such as the (now closed) Swan Valley Noongar Community . The Noongar themselves are tackling their own issues; for example, the Noongar Patrol, which is an Aboriginal Advancement Council initiative. It was set up to deter Aboriginal young people from offending behaviour and reduce the likelihood of their contact with the criminal justice system. The patrol uses mediation and negotiation with indigenous youth in an attempt to curb anti-social and offending behaviour of young people who come into
4543-669: The remaining Whadjuk people was established near Lake Gnangara , one of a whole series of wetlands which may have, within the memory of Aboriginal people here, been a series of caves along an underground river whose roof fell in. This reserve was re-established in 1975. In addition to the "feeding station" at Mount Eliza, under the control of Francis Armstrong, first "Protector of Aborigines". Hutt also tried to establish an Aboriginal yeomanry by giving Aboriginal "settlers" grants of government land. The lands chosen for this venture were marginal and Aboriginal people were expected to make improvements without giving them access to needed bank finance, so
4620-522: The same year, 1834, the Swan River Noongar couple, Migo and Molly Dobbin, alerted to the fact a European child had gone missing, covered 35 kilometres (22 mi) in 10 hours tracking his spoors , and saved him, at the point of death. From August 1838, ten Aboriginal prisoners were sent to Rottnest Island ( Nyungar : Wadjemup , possibly meaning "place across the water" ). After a short period when both settlers and prisoners occupied
4697-482: The scheme quickly collapsed. Aboriginal campsites were temporarily established at many metropolitan locations including Ellenbrook , Jolimont , Welshpool and Allawah Grove. These sites however were frequently moved at the discretion of European authorities once an alternative use was found for the land (as happened at Karrakatta Cemetery , the Swanbourne Rifle Range and Perth Airport ). In 1893
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#17327831229414774-629: The state, were imprisoned. A notable incident for the Noongar people in the Western Australian Colony was the arrival of Rosendo Salvado in 1846. Salvado was an advocate for the humane treatment of the Australian Aboriginals at the mission he created at New Norcia , in the territory of the Yued . He provided refuge for the Njunga and he defended many on charges of theft, arguing from church doctrine that theft
4851-475: The success of his three-week sojourn as due in good part to Noongar diplomacy, and Noongar rituals celebrated their reception of the newcomers in a ceremonial form. When settlement became more firmly established, however, misunderstandings over the obligations of reciprocity—some of the most productive land was being taken, especially on the Upper Swan—led to sporadic clashes. An example of such misunderstandings
4928-434: The time of settlement in 1829 and also into the beginning of the last century. These documents enabled Justice Wilcox to find that laws and customs governing land throughout the whole Single Noongar Claim (taking in Perth, and many other towns in the greater South West) were those of a single community. The claimants shared a language and had extensive interaction with others in the claim area. Importantly, Justice Wilcox found
5005-456: The tiny settlement at Mandurah for almost half a decade. In June 1832, a Whadjuk leader, Yagan , formerly of good standing among the settler authorities and known in the colony for his handsome bearing, "tall, slender, well-fashioned..of pleasing countenance", was, together with his father Midgegooroo and brother Monday, declared an outlaw after undertaking a series of food raids and a retaliatory murder. Caught and imprisoned, he escaped and
5082-462: The use of these water resources played a very important seasonal part in their culture. The Noongar thus have a close connection with the earth and, as a consequence, they divided the year into six distinct seasons that corresponded with moving to different habitats and feeding patterns based on seasonal foods. They are: On 19 September 2006 the Federal Court of Australia brought down
5159-635: The war, Garden Island became home of the RAN Reserve Fleet and a holiday resort again with a brief ferry service from Palm Beach - one of these converted ferries, Trixen , is now preserved in the Western Australian Maritime Museum . In 1966, a feasibility study began into establishment of a naval support facility on the island, which was endorsed by the Federal Government in 1969. Construction of
5236-619: The written word. The plays of Jack Davis are on the school syllabus in several Australian states. Davis' first full-length play Kullark , a documentary on the history of Aboriginals in WA, was first produced in 1979. Other plays include: No Sugar, The Dreamers, Barungin: Smell the Wind, In Our Town and for younger audiences, Honey Spot and Moorli and the Leprechaun . Kim Scott won the 2000 Miles Franklin Award for his novel Benang and
5313-399: Was an important site for the Noongar. It was a hunting site where kangaroos were herded and driven over the edge to provide meat for gathering clans. In this context, the "clan" is a local descent group – larger than a family but based on family links through common ancestry. At the base of Mount Eliza is a sacred site where the Wagyl is said to have rested during its journeys. This site is also
5390-663: Was installed in early 1943 and operational by April. In the meantime, more permanent batteries were constructed on the island, which were completed in October 1943. The battery was withdrawn again in December 1944. The biggest battery on Garden Island was the Scriven Battery, fitted with two breech-loading 9.2-inch MkX guns , similar to the Oliver Hill Battery on Rottnest Island . In 1943 building began on
5467-421: Was let alone, as though informally reprieved as a native version of William Wallace . His father was caught and killed without trial by a military firing squad. Yagan himself, with a bounty on his head, was ambushed soon afterwards by an 18-year-old settler youth, after he had stopped two settlers and asked for flour. His corpse was decapitated, and the head was sent to England for display in fairgrounds. Yagan
5544-420: Was never very successful and was greatly underfunded. Relations between the settlers and the Noongar people had deteriorated badly in the final years of Stirling's reign, with settlers shooting at Aboriginal people indiscriminately for the spearing of stock, leading to payback killings of settlers. Stirling's response was to attempt to subdue the Aboriginal people through harsh punishment. When Stirling retired he
5621-607: Was not criminal if dictated by dire necessity. While intent on converting, he encouraged the Noongars to maintain their traditional culture. From 1890 to 1958, the lives and lifestyles of Noongar people were subject to the Native Welfare Act. By 1915, 15% of Perth's Noongar had been thrust north and interned at the Moore River Native Settlement . Carrolup (later known as Marribank ) became
5698-422: Was reinforced by several factors. To the Whadjuk, the settlers resembled dead people because they: Work by Neville Green in his book Broken Spears has shown how Aboriginal culture could not explain the high death rates associated with European infections, and believed that Aboriginal sorcery was involved, leading to rising numbers of reprisal spearing and killings within the Aboriginal community. Coupled with
5775-414: Was replaced as Governor by John Hutt, 1 January 1839, who rather than adopting Stirling's vindictive vengeful policies against "Aborigines", tried protecting their rights and educating them. This ran foul of frontier settlers intent on seizing Aboriginal lands without compensation , who felt they needed strong-arm tactics to protect themselves from Aboriginal "reprisals". In 1887 an Aboriginal reserve for
5852-400: Was smoked and sent to England, finally being recovered and returned home by Ken Colbung in 1997. Following the Pinjarra massacre , Whadjuk Aboriginal people became totally dispirited, and were reduced to dependent status, settling at their site at Mount Eliza for handouts under the authority of Francis Armstrong . An Anglican school was established for a number of years at Ellenbrook, but
5929-504: Was the Noongar land-management practice of setting fires in early summer, mistakenly seen as an act of hostility by the settlers. Conversely, the Noongar saw the settlers' livestock as fair game to replace the dwindling stocks of native animals shot indiscriminately by settlers. The only area that successfully resisted the usurpation of native land for any time was the area around the Murray River , which effectively blocked expansion of
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