Nyungar Tours
Segment: Nyungar Tours
Presenter: Carmen Braidwood
TX Date: 23rd December 2018
With hundreds of visitors each day, the South Perth foreshore is one of the most popular Perth destinations, but there is more to the area than meets the eye.
- Just a short drive or ferry ride from the Perth CBD, the foreshore is full of manicured gardens bordered by lush green lawns, the glistening waters of the Swan and the bright blue sky.
- Kerry Ann Winmar is a Whadjuk Yoka with a strong family connection to the South Perth area. As an Aboriginal Cultural tour guide, she has been giving visitors the opportunity to connect with one of the oldest surviving cultures in the world.
- The South Perth foreshore used to hold a camping ground, with the river being seen as a source of life, providing for the Aboriginal people just as much as the land.
- Visitors are often surprised to learn about how the Aboriginal culture was before colonisation – the tour teaches you about bush medicine, bush foods and the six seasons of the Aboriginal calendar
- The scented gardens were originally the source of bush foods and medicine used by the Nyungar people. The West Australian Peppermint Gum would be rubbed on people’s chests or wounds, and the Melaleuca was known for its healing properties.
- Ochre would be mixed with water, used by the Aboriginal men and women to paint themselves for traditional dances. The paint would tell the stories about who they were and indicate the type of dance that they were going to do.