Aboriginal experience Archives

You can get a taste of Canning Stock Route by taking a drive from Wiluna. This small town lies 966km north east of Perth. It lies on the edge of the Little Sandy Desert, on the Goldfields Highway. Wiluna is the gateway to the Canning Stock Route which runs north to Halls Creek. It is also the starting point of the Gunbarrel Highway that runs east to Alice Springs.

The Last of the Nomads

The town of Wiluna greets you with “the Last of the Nomads” statue. Having heard the songs about them sung by Greg from Morapoi Station , I was keen to learn more.

The statue of Last Nomads at the entrance of Wiluna town

Warri and Yatungka from Martu tribe are believed to have been Australia’s last desert nomads. They met in 1930s and fell in love. Unfortunately, traditional tribal law forbade them from marrying because they were the wrong match according to “skin group” law. As a result, they decided to run away.

Photo taken at Wiluna Canning-Gunbarrel Discovery Centre

They lived in isolation, hunting traditionally and eating what nature provided them with. Warri and Yatungka remained in exile for many years, finding joy in their two sons. But never stopped missing their land and people. Eventually, Martu elders forgave them and Warri and Yatungka returned to Wiluna. There they spent their last days, passing away within three weeks of each other in 1979. This marked the end of a tribal lifestyle lasting for more than 40000 years. The story of Warri and Yatungka still lives though through many aboriginal songs, poems and a bronze statue in Wiluna.

Beginning of Caning Stock Route

After filling up fuel at Wiluna, we decided it was time to settle for the night. I planned to stay at a farm station 12km off Wiluna and travel on Canning Stock Route the day after. However, what can be done today, must be done today – must have been God’s will for us that day😊. So, off we went on Canning Stock Route. It is one of the most challenging and isolating roads, that connects Wiluna to Halls Creek. Canning Stock Route was originally proposed by Kimberley pastoralists after east Kimberley cattle got infected with ticks. This incident resulted in a ban of cattle from shipping to southern markets. Canning Stock Route got its name from Alfred Canning, who was commissioned to survey and build a stock route in 1906. Canning Stock Route is around 1850km and is the longest historic stock route in the world.

To be honest, I was worried traveling there at dusk but the road was good and we only travelled 20km before stopping for the night.

Camping at North Pool

Our stop for the night was North Pool. It is between Well 1 and Well 2, 10km off Canning Stock Route. The place is quite a pretty rock hole, surrounded with river gums, offering nice shade. With only one other camper trailer tucked at the corner of the camp spot, this place was all to ourselves.

Collecting wood for the fire and preparing meal was our priority before it got too dark. It was a cold and starry night and we kept ourselves warm around the fire. We exchanged stories and tested kids’ knowledge of constellations.

Do you think this piece of wood look more like a snake or a dinosaur? It definitely looks to me like it is from another world :).

Getting up just after the sun got up, I set off for a walk around the area. The surface at times looked like what I imagined the surface of the planet Mars would look like. It was red with big rocks scattered around and occasional weird looking plants.

After breakfast kids find themselves an entertainment. Someone who has stayed there before us, has tied a rope to the tree. Our kids fixed a plastic crate to it and made it fly out into the water, like a flying fox. Nature provides everything you need to learn and play.

Kids entertaining themselves at North Pool on Canning Stock Route

Tjukurba Aboriginal Art Gallery

Getting a taste of Canning Stock Route was not the only agenda I had in Wiluna. There is a wonderful Tjukurba Aboriginal Art Gallery that I was eager to visit.

Australian Aboriginal people do not have written language. They use art and drawings to convey their cultural stories and pass them on to the next generations. Indigenous art is centered on storytelling. Their stories convey knowledge of the land, events and beliefs of Aboriginal people. I always find Aboriginal art fascinating. Maybe because Aboriginal artists use symbols, such as dots, curved and straight lines, which makes their paintings look very mysterious. It is through their oral stories and drawings that their children learn lessons of behaviour, survival and use of land.

“Dreaming“

“Tjukurba” means “Dreaming” in the Aboriginal language. Dreaming or Dreamtime is Australian Aboriginal religio-cultural view of the world. It is based on inter-relation and inter-connectedness of all people and things. Aboriginal people believe that ancestral spirits descended on the land and created life and all geographical formations and sites. The Dreaming stories explain the origin of the universe. It illustrates the deep connection Aboriginal people have with the land and relationships with animals and plants. In Indigenous culture, the health of the country and animals depends on the health of people who protect that landscape. Dreaming stories are also moral guides to behaviour and actions and form the basis for the children’s upbringing.

The pictures at the Tjukurba Gallery mostly depict beautiful landscapes along the Canning Stock Route and the Gunbarrel Highway. Some pictures portray bush food and flowers, including bush bananas (Gunkula), bush tomatoes (Gungili), kangaroo and quandongs. Nearly half of the pictures at the Gallery are named Bush Tucker.

To conclude, I must admit that we really satisfied our thirst for knowledge and senses at Wiluna Canning-Gunbarrel Discovery Centre. To add to this, you can get free coffee at that friendly place. Now it was time to move on.

This is what we saw when we arrived at Morapoi Station

Morapoi Station is a former sheep station that offers accomodation and Aboriginal cultural experiences. It is located near Kookynie in the Goldfields, Western Australia.

My plan to stay at Morapoi Station was based on our desire to experience Aboriginal culture and learn from Indigenous people. Aboriginal culture is estimated to be nearly 60,000 years old. It is considered one of the oldest cultures in the world. It is remarkable how much knowledge has been preserved and passed on through generations without written language. This made it even more fascinating for us to learn about Aboriginal culture from native Aboriginal people.

Morapoi Station campground

Morapoi Station has been home for Wangkatha people for thousands of years. Around 46 family members currently live and work there, including Greg Stubbs, the custodian of the land and the station. There are horses and cattle on the station, which we saw daily. The kids played with ponies and even christened each one of them with a Russian name. (Our kids being of Russian heritage). Our big group of 10 people (6 adults and 4 children) camped there for 3 nights. The facilities are quite run down, but we were enjoyed electricity and hot showers after spending a night at the wildness. Generators supplied electricity and staff heated the water with a wood fire. That meant that both were available only from about 6:00 pm to midnight.

We arrived at Morapoi station from Lake Douglas, which is less than a 2 hour drive north of Kalgoorlie. I was surprised to find quite a number of flies there, despite it being winter (July). I guess, in the bush you find flies throughout the whole year, but with a dramatic increase in numbers in summer.

There is fire pit, which was lit up for us every night by the time we came from our day trip exploring the surrounding area. The camping area was quite big considering that it was only our caravan and a tent there. For kids the highlight of the stay was the playground with a small flying fox, monkey bars, small jumping pillow and a running barrel.

Cost of camping

The cost of our camping and use of the facilities was included in the tour which was the main reason why we stayed at the station. It is $120 per adult and $55 per child, which I thought was quite reasonable considering that the tour was from 9am till 6pm and included lunch. It was in July 2020.

Aboriginal stories told by owner of Morapoi Station

So, in the morning Greg, whose Aboriginal name is Woobilee, came to pick us up at his off road mini bus.

Greg Stubbs, the owner of Morapoi Station and our guide

Meaning of ‘Morapoi’

Greg took us to his headquarters where he introduced us to some of his family members and told us their tribal stories. There I learnt that Morapoi in the Aboriginal name means “Hand of God”. I also learnt a few interesting things about Aboriginal families. I already knew that Aboriginal families are very big. Girls marry young, usually around 17-18 years old and they have children early, normally one after another. Greg was largely surprised that in both my friends’ families there was a big gap between the older and the younger child. The whole community takes part in children’s upbringing, so not only the biological mother, but her sisters become a mother for each of the children.

Aboriginal names

Aboriginals only have one Aboriginal name. There is no surname or middle name but they all have their English name as well. Children are normally named after one of the family members and it is not necessary the father or grandfather. It could be an aunt or uncle. The name is given based on some character similarities. In Aboriginal family one of the greatgrandchildren becomes a mother or a father (depending on their sex) for their great-grandparent. What that means, is that they have the same name and it becomes their responsibility to look and care after their greatgrandparent when they are old enough.

On the left: Greg with his greatgrandson Woobilee whom Greg calls Daddy.

Greg also told us about Aboriginal skin groups and the rules about marrying. If someone wanted to marry from the wrong skin group they were punished into the leg with a spear. A beautiful story of Warri and Yatungka, who decided to run away in order to escape this punishment (due to them being from wrong skin groups) is one such example. We visited the statue of Warri and Yatungka in Wiluna the following day and we also heard the song about them which Greg sang for us later that night.

Aboriginal tour at Morapoi Station

Nalkarri! Let’s go for an adventure! We climbed back into the bus and drove for half an hour into the bush off the beaten track. In fact, the bus was making its own track once it turned off the sealed road. It was quite steady even though it was high and it did feel at times as though we’ll get stuck. I trusted Greg knew what he was doing.

Traditional Aboriginal campsites

Our first stop was Aboriginal camp sites. These are very different to the campsites we used to stay. In fact, you wouldn’t even think that this place has any significance until you hear Aboriginals explain that. Their campsites were Wiltga – a simple little hut made of tree branches. Aboriginals didn’t stay in one place for a long time and when the supply of food and water was running out, they moved on, leaving their hut and all the belongings for the next camper.

Greg explained that the cuts and holes in the trees meant that Aboriginal people camped there before. To our question whether Aboriginals still lead this kind of life style, Greg answered that his mother lived like that, in the bush, moving from place to place but that traditional nomadic lifestyle ended about 50 years ago.

How Aboriginals survived in the bush

Surviving in the bush depends to a great degree on one’s ability to find water. Obviously, nomadic Aboriginals did not carry water with them as they moved from place to place. Instead, they travelled along the chain of natural water sources, like rock holes. Greg showed us one such significant Aboriginal site, called Seven Sisters, telling us, as a typical Aboriginal would do, a Dream story of 7 angelic sisters who came down on the Earth from the sky in that place.

One of the rock holes of Seven Sisters Aboriginal site

Another natural source of water was roots of certain trees, like Kurrajong tree. Our adventurous friend Captain Andrei was quick enough to use his hunter’s knife, which he carried with him all the time, to dig out the roots and try out for himself how much water he can obtaine. Not much, but when you face a survival challenge, chewing the roots of Kurrajong tree could make all the difference. By the way, I did taste it too. It tasted pretty much like any tree roots would taste. It was slightly sweet, and all you could do is chew it to obtain maximum water and spit it out.

Of course, these were the practices of the old days when Aboriginals still lived in the bush and led nomadic life style. In the modern days windpumps can be seen often in the rural areas and are used to pump underground water for cattle.

As the day was unfolding, the weather started to change and reveal different colours. The strong wind blew away the flies and brought with it brightness and intensity of colours which made Australian bush look quite magic.

Bush tucker

This magic bush has been providing Aboriginals with food during all seasons for centuries. One of such bush food (typically referred to as bush tucker) is Karklula, which is a fruit grown on trees. Karlkula is also known as bush banana and can be eaten raw or cooked in hot earth. I tried the seeds which tasted quite sweet and unfortunately, missed on cooked Karlkula while attending to my younger son but found out that cooked bush banana tasted just as nice as raw one.

Lunch was included in the cost of the tour and was catered for Europeans, so it included do-it-yourself sandwiches and drinks.

Bush bread

During lunch I learnt an unusual way of making and preparing bread! Yes, this is what modern Aboriginals do – they make doll out of the shop bought bread mix and then put into the ashes, allowing the hot earth to bake it. Back in Russia, this is how we bake potato but now I learnt that you can bake bread as well. Greg checked the bread for readiness and used small branches to take out the bread and then with the help of the knife scrapped off the burnt top. Freshly baked bush bread! Yum!

Greg is baking bread in Aboriginal bush way

After extinguishing the camp fire, covering the ashes and packing up, it was time to move on to the next Aboriginal site.

The weather kept changing and revealed some dramatic clouds. According to Greg, storm was coming.

Greg stopped the bus briefly to show us sandalwood tree. It is a native tree, quite common in those areas (at the edge of Southwest). The oil is extracted from the wood and has a wide application in medicine and aromatherapy. We all had a turn at breaking a small branch, smelling it and taking the branch back home as a souvenir.

Going back to the bus, I noticed how dry the earth was. Even with those huge dark clouds there was not a drop of moisture in the air. The earth looked like puzzle cut into pieces, forming attractive design.

Big Dog Rock

Big Dog rock was the next significant Aboriginal site we visited. Greg told us another dreaming story about the dog that ran away from Albany all the way to the Goldfields. Greg asked the male part of our group to climb the rock and played some challenge game with them. The female part of the group was instructed to leave and not to peep, so I can’t report on what was the challenge all about 😊.

We spent nearly 2 hours in that place – it offered many opportunities for taking interesting pictures.

While the adults were busy making photo shots, kids found their own entertainment. My younger son Ilya learnt how to make fire by rubbing the stones together. This kept him busy for hours as he kept practising.

Meanwhile the older son Ariel was busy climbing the rocks.

It was dark when we returned back to our camp ground. Next day beautiful sunrise greeted us as we were packing up to leave for our next destination – Wiluna, the gateway to the Canning Stock Route.

Tag: Aboriginal experience

A taste of Canning Stock Route

The Last of the Nomads

Beginning of Caning Stock Route

Camping at North Pool

Tjukurba Aboriginal Art Gallery

“Dreaming“

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Aboriginal experience at Morapoi Station