Frankland River & Nornalup Inlet

Child Places

• 23935 Monastery Landing

Statement of Significance

“Kwakoorillup river/beela was one of the main travel routes of the Noongar people. As with all river’s and waterways, Kwakoorillup was made by Warkel the water snake. At certain times of the year, some of the more inland tribal people from the surrounding Goreng, Koerang and Wilmen groups would follow the river to the Pibulmun- Wadandi Lands by the sea. The journey along Kwakoorillup’s banks was extremely important as it provided the people with all their food & water. It also enabled the people to collect special foods and medicine’s along the way that could be used for themselves as well as goods for trade to other people whose lands did not yield the different plants that had been collected. It gave the people a chance to continue their roles as caretaker’s of Noongar Boodjera-(Aboriginal Land’s), and to undertake any ceremonies or Lore, along their route, such as burning, hunting and the collection of different items for trade at the coastal gatherings. When Warkel created the route for the river’s spirit he made sure it passed through the open lands of the wheatbelt where the special wood for spears and other implements could be collected, the beautiful Jarrah & Karri provided different plants & animals, the granite peaks for lookouts & the quatrz outcrops for toolmaking & the spiritual importance of the Tingle Tree’s which still have special ceremonial uses & beliefs of the Pibulmun people. Where the rivers opens into the vast still waters of the inlets we believe that these places are where warkel lays his eggs which are protected by his whisker’s, the native reeds & rushes on the banks of the inlet keep these eggs-(river stones) safe until they are ready to produce new life lines in the form of new creeks & tributary’s when they are needed. The water’s spirit then moves on out into the ocean where Wardan the sea-spirit welcomes the new life & spreads it out to where it’s needed and then when it has run its course it carries the spirits of the river’s inhabitants from birds & animals & humans across the ocean to meet Walgin, the rainbow spirit who welcomes everyone & everything to Koorannup the final resting place for all. Kwakoorillup runs through many different tribal boundaries and still holds special significance of Lore & Custom attached to it. The oral history of the river is still passed onto the next generations of Noongar people and because of this has managed to keep its traditional name after all these years. This shows the continued significance of the river to our people even though it cannot be used entirely the same way as it was due to salinity, property boundaries and impact of European settlement over many years.” (Statement provided by Traditional Owners in Guilfoyle, Report 2009).

Physical Description

The Frankland River flows from its upper tributaries in the Kojonup/ Wagin area down into the Shire of Denmark with its mouth at the Nornalup Inlet.

History

“When I was a young boy we went down the Franklin River all the way to Nornalup. We travelled from up this way (Wagin and Kojonup district) from its upper reaches (a tributary) trapping kangaroos and possums to sell their skins and travelled all the way down, camping on the river. Trapping kangaroos and possums was easy enough and we were never short of food. The (karri) country down towards Nornalup was thick and difficult to walk through but we still caught food easily enough. We went all the way to Nornalup, hunted around there for a while before heading up stream again. There were not many people in the area in those days but Noongars have always gone that way. We were only on the Albany side of the river and Nornalup. The other side was not our country” (Angus Wallam Noongar Elder- Undated). (Fiona Bishop 2007). “Running rivers were described as being like the blood of our ancestors, when people came out of Nityang [the spirit world], they would travel along the rivers to meet for ceremonies on the big inlets. At these ceremonies people would observe rites to totem species that had a kinship relation to our ancestors, as such not all people could eat certain natural species associated with their blood line, others could eat them, this way natural species where preserved from over exploitation at gatherings” — Wayne Webb (Traditional Owner and local resident) 2007

Creation Date

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