Chapter 18: Kununurra - 2

Patrick flew back to Perth on Tuesday. Sam and Tessa slept in Boobook’s house. They walked about the town. They explored the Art Centre, meeting several painters. They spent many hours listening to Boobook’s stories. They visited the Kununurra Museum. On Thursday, Tessa went to Walkabout Souvenirs while Sam was talking to Boobook, where she bought a (used) copy of Bill Withers’ Frontier Dreaming 1997.

Walkabout Souvenirs has a diverse souvenir and giftware range with many beautiful and unique pieces created in ceramic, glass, fine china, metal and wood that are designed to capture your imagination with your Kimberley experience.

Walkabout Souvenirs also has a vast range of general souvenir items including magnets, caps, key rings, stubby coolers, books, maps, prints, coasters, placemats, boab tree products, barramundi items, jewellery, aboriginal art, soft toys and much more. The huge selection of T-shirts offers many styles and sizes with something for everybody – from babies to retired travellers.

Online blurb

“We need to talk,” she said to Sam the next morning.

“Right now?”

“If you’re not involved in something.”

“I’m not involved in anything but you.”

“Don’t be smarmy!”

“Sorry. Really.”

“No damage. Anyway, I’ve thought about our role – our putative role...”

“Heavy word...”

“Anyway, that narrative at Waringarri Arts started me off. Then the visit to the Museum. And now reading this.

“The Museum has thousands of photos. The only aboriginals I noticed were stockmen. Only one, ‘Grasshopper,’ was named. In 1963! Why doesn’t the history of the Ord River or the history of Kununurra include those who were killed or moved or resettled? It’s because we don’t exist! Not that we’re slighted. That would be OK. We’re effaced.”

“Can I say something?”

“No. Let me vent. Please ... The souvenir place has stuffed animals and keychains and I even saw a snow-dome! Anyway, I’ve been reading Frontier Dreaming. Withers has a lot of anecdotes from the 1960s to the ‘80s. But it’s as though this really was terra nullius! He writes about first this and first that, but I read to chapter seven before I encountered ‘the first Aboriginal member of the Ord River Club’ – and he’s marked as a ‘colourful character’! Then, in chapter nine, I found out that ‘Some Aboriginal students also started to attend school.’ Where were they earlier? Did they just sprout? Later on, the business name ‘Djaru Gems’ was registered. They mined ‘zebra rock.’ And Withers says ‘Djaaru was the name of a Kimberly Aboriginal tribe.’ I’ll stop soon. But in chapter twenty-five he cites a report that says [she referred to the book] ‘The total white, half-caste and Asiatic population, North of the Tropic of Capricorn in 1939 was 4636.’ And in chapter twenty-seven, Withers says that the newspapers covered only ‘shootings, spearings, and gold strikes.’ That’s the problem!”

“That’s really interesting. Remarkable. Owl said you would point out things to me. Let me try to think this through. The European explorers of the coast in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries met no one. They saw no signs they could recognize. So there was no one here. The land was uninhabited. A hundred and more years later, settlers came from the east. They encountered Aborigines, but ignored them, occasionally employing one or using one for sex or killing one. Sometimes one of the settlers was killed. I doubt whether the ‘spearings’ were of Aborigines by Aborigines.”

“No. Interesting that that report of 1939 talks of ‘half-castes’ but not of Aboriginal females.”

“That shows you’re right. The Aborigines didn’t exist so they didn’t count. And they still don’t. That’s why the barriers get knocked down. They’re like brush windfalls in the south. Dad’s right. We’ve got to work out something that makes the invisible, meaningful. Maybe the state government can help.”

“No, they’re just as bad! Let me find the pamphlet I picked up yesterday.” Tessa shuffled some of the papers on the table. “Here! This is from something called Naturebank. It’s nearly 20 years old, but they keep reprinting it. Let me read a few paragraphs.

The Department of Environment and Conservation has the lead responsibility for protecting and conserving the State’s environment on behalf of the people of Western Australia. This includes managing the State’s national parks, marine parks, conservation parks, State forests and timber reserves, nature reserves, marine nature reserves and marine management areas.

The remarkable Proposed Ngamoowalem Conservation Park features stunning landscapes, important flora and fauna habitats and considerable Aboriginal cultural heritage. The Ngamoowalem sandstone range contains gorges, creek systems, permanent freshwater pools and seasonal waterfalls.

The Miriuwung and Gajerrong people are the traditional custodians of this land and have been present on the country for thousands of years hunting and gathering their food. Their ancestors created Miriuwung and Gajerrong country which they call ‘Ngarranggarni’, the Dreaming.

The Miriuwung and Gajerrong people continue to contribute to the store of knowledge of the natural and cultural resources of the area, and advise on how this information might best be managed. They want to keep their traditional links to country strong and be involved with delivering a range of visitor experiences on their lands while protecting the key values and minimising risks to visitors.

[Naturebank, 2011]

“See! ‘Considerable Aboriginal cultural heritage’! But the Ministry for Aboriginal Affairs isn’t part of this. The M and G ‘people are the traditional custodians’ – but not now! And I’d bet that last paragraph is just gas! Ask Owl or Des if they know who’s been consulted!”

Sam and Tessa borrowed a 4wd and drove out on Victoria Parkway to Molly Springs [Wijilawarrim], a small Aboriginal community in the Ngamoowalem Conservation Park. There was no one visible, so they drove on to Soda Creek, which was pretty, but deserted, and then on to The Grotto, one of many small canyons located close to Kununurra. As a small natural water hole it is ideal for swimming or relaxing, but Sam and Tessa were clearly out of season. They ate the sandwiches and drank the water they had brought.