Black swan cygnets at Lake Gwelup Nature Reserve

24 Mar 2023

VIRTUAL FAMILY BUSHWALK - ALBERT PARK, VIC. AND LAKE GWELUP, WA

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are advised that the certain pages of the WWF-Australia website (wwf.org.au) may contain voices and images of people who have died. 

WWF-Australia and all participants acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land where this website was created, and the Traditional Owners of the lands it depicts and/or refers to.

To help inspire Australians to take time out for nature, WWF-Australia’s Indigenous Content Specialist, Dr Vanessa Barnett, takes us on a ‘virtual family bushwalk’ to much-loved nature places in a journey of healing across Country.

Words by Dr Vanessa Barnett

As a proud Yamatji person who grew up in gum tree drenched areas of Western Australia, adjusting to life in the beachside bustle of St Kilda has been a very unique quest. Throughout my life, reconnecting to places of natural, cultural and family significance has meant travelling to rather remote places around WA’s Wheatbelt region or deep into the bush.

The recent loss of my beloved Nana, Jean Margaret Latham, has called me back to the little towns of Coorow, Waddy Forest and (yes, no coincidence) Latham. To return her physically and spiritually to Yamatji Country. In the lead up to my return, I find myself seeking solace among nature (or the closest approximation that St Kilda can offer). 

Like a magnet, I feel drawn from my nearby apartment to a tiny pocket of sacred Boonwurrung Country, hidden among the serpent-like tarmac of Queens Way and St Kilda Rd.

Entrance to the 'Ngargee' Tree Garden (seen on the left side of the image, next to St Kilda Rd)
Entrance to the 'Ngargee' Tree Garden (seen on the left side of the image, next to St Kilda Rd) © WWF-Australia / Vanessa Barnett

Within this culturally significant sanctuary of native bush, grasses, and wetlands lies the Boonwurrung Corroboree Tree, or 'Ngargee' Tree. It is a sacred 20 metre tall red gum believed to be up to 800 years old.

For hundreds of years, it has served as a ceremonial and meeting place for the Yaluk-ut Weelam clan of the Boonwurrung Peoples.

The Boonwurrung Corroboree Tree or ‘Ngargee’ tree in St Kilda
The Boonwurrung Corroboree Tree or ‘Ngargee’ tree in St Kilda © WWF-Australia / Thao Ly

In front of the Ngargee tree, there is a yarning circle created from red gum trunks where visitors can sit, take some time to pay respects to the Traditional Owners of the land on which the tree stands, and generally reflect. I sat down with my husband, paid my respects and thought about my Nana.

Thao Ly sitting under the Boonwurrung Corroboree Tree or ‘Ngargee’ tree in St Kilda
Thao Ly sitting under the Boonwurrung Corroboree Tree or ‘Ngargee’ tree in St Kilda © WWF-Australia / Vanessa Barett

My Nana loved bushwalks and living among nature. She was always on the road, but when she stayed in one place for a time, it would be nearby beautiful nature places of cultural significance – Kalbarri, Thundellara, Mollerin and places along the coast of Yamatji Country. 

My mother, Dr Robin Barrington and Nana Jean Margaret Latham on a bushwalk in Lake Gwelup Nature Reserve, WA. (Supplied)
My mother, Dr Robin Barrington and Nana Jean Margaret Latham on a bushwalk in Lake Gwelup Nature Reserve, WA.

As I walked along the pathways of this bush tucker-laden Aboriginal garden, I spotted bullibulli (Gunditjmara), also known as Kangaroo Apple, or Bush Tomato (Solanum laciniatum). 

Bullibulli (Gunditjmara), also known as Kangaroo Apple, or Bush Tomato (Solanum laciniatum) in the Ngargee Tree Garden (Albert Park, VIC).
Bullibulli (Gunditjmara), also known as Kangaroo Apple, or Bush Tomato (Solanum laciniatum) in the Ngargee Tree Garden (Albert Park, Vic.). © WWF-Australia / Thao Ly

In this little sanctuary among the metropolis of Melbourne, I remembered back to the oddly wonderful, medicinal concoctions my family would make from time to time (such as ‘bush tea’). Too bitter for some but therapeutic to anyone happy to drink it.

Vanessa Barnett walking in the Ngargee tree garden in Albert Park, VIC.
Vanessa Barnett walking in the Ngargee tree garden in Albert Park, Vic. © WWF-Australia / Thao Ly

As I travelled under the gum trees, I’d smell the branches and feel the bumpy spots on the spotted gum leaves. The scent took me to moments when eucalyptus is used for spiritual cleansing, for healing.

Spotted Gum leaves in Albert Park, VIC
Spotted Gum leaves in Albert Park, Vic. © WWF-Australia / Vanessa Barett

I returned from my walk knowing that healing was so far from over, but the journey towards it had begun. Walking in the ‘mini bush’ made me think of Mum, who has taken me on nature walks my whole life. I reached out to chat about my experience in that sacred garden quietly existing next to the Melbourne Grand Prix circuit. She revealed that she was actually on a bushwalk when she received the phone call that Nan had passed.

The butcher bird (Cracticus torquatus) at Lake Gwelup Nature Reserve
The butcher bird (Cracticus torquatus) at Lake Gwelup Nature Reserve © Robin Barrington / WWF-Australia

“Nana loved the birds”, Mum said. “She loved all the birds, but she particularly liked the butcher birds.” It wasn’t much of a surprise that Mum was on a bushwalk when she received this news. Mum definitely inherited Nan’s love of nature. And given that this much-loved nature reserve is not far from her home, she’ll often spend mornings or sunsets spotting birds in the trees and along the water’s edge.

Corella at Lake Gwelup Nature Reserve
Corella at Lake Gwelup Nature Reserve © Robin Barrington / WWF-Australia

As a fellow writer, lecturer and researcher, my mother Dr Robin Barrington and I have professional lives that often urge us to seek out natural spaces to recentre our minds when too many thoughts are swirling around.

Black swan cygnets at Lake Gwelup Nature Reserve
Black swan cygnets at Lake Gwelup Nature Reserve © Robin Barrington / WWF-Australia

“I love the walk into Lake Gwelup because the trees overhang and it's shady”, Mum reveals.

Sunset at Lake Gwelup Nature Reserve
Sunset at Lake Gwelup Nature Reserve © Robin Barrington / WWF-Australia

“It provides a really lovely habitat for different kinds of birds, including, you know, mopokes (Southern Boobook Owl) and all sorts of parrots. You even see kangaroos nearby.”

Rainbow bee-eater at Lake Gwelup Nature Reserve
Rainbow bee-eater at Lake Gwelup Nature Reserve © Robin Barrington / WWF-Australia

The Noongar Nyakinyaki and Noongar Balardong Peoples refer to the rainbow bee-eater as "birranga". This bird’s looks and personality make it extremely unique, and as a totem animal in the eastern Wheatbelt of WA, it is extremely significant. The birranga’s Creation Story tells of how a rainbow shattered and its colourful shards fell to Earth. The vivid colours of the rainbow bee-eater gives away the fate of the shards. Another favourite culturally significant bird is ngolyenok or ngolak (short-billed black cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus latirostris/baudinii)). They can be found noshing on banksias among the trees at Lake Gwelup.

Golyenok or ngolak (short-billed black cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus latirostris/baudinii)) eating banksia at Lake Gwelup Nature Reserve
Golyenok or ngolak (short-billed black cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus latirostris/baudinii)) eating banksia at Lake Gwelup Nature Reserve © Robin Barrington / WWF-Australia

“Nana always used to say when they came in, ‘It’s a sign of rain’. So, when I see them, I see them as a hope for some rain”, Mum said. Not too far away from the ngolak or short-billed black cockatoo’s favourite spots, you can find bird species like djayarra (corellas) and koonyenok (sacred kingfishers) chatting to each other on nearby branches.

Corellas and sacred kingfishers chatting to each other at Lake Gwelup Nature Reserve
Corellas and sacred kingfishers chatting to each other at Lake Gwelup Nature Reserve © Robin Barrington / WWF-Australia

But Mum’s favourite spot for birdwatching on Lake Gwelup is by the lake itself.

Twilight at the lakeside boardwalk at Lake Gwelup Nature Reserve
Twilight at the lakeside boardwalk at Lake Gwelup Nature Reserve © Robin Barrington / WWF-Australia

The great egret is the ‘sheriff’ of Lake Gwelup, and it’s entertaining to watch him try to keep order over a wetlands area with so many bird species.

Great egret (Ardea alba modesta) at Lake Gwelup Nature Reserve
Great egret (Ardea alba modesta) at Lake Gwelup Nature Reserve © Robin Barrington / WWF-Australia

“You can see by the way he walks, you know, he's pretty upstanding”, Mum happily muses. “He covers a big area. He just goes round and round, patrolling the lake all day long. You see him in all parts of the lake. So yeah, his territory's pretty wide, actually”. Mum admits his self-assigned authority over independent, somewhat agnostic species like the nankeen night heron is somewhat questionable.

The nankeen night heron (Nycticorax caledonicus) doing its own thing at Lake Gwelup Nature Reserve
Nankeen night heron (Nycticorax caledonicus) doing its own thing at Lake Gwelup Nature Reserve © Robin Barrington / WWF-Australia

Connecting with nature as a solitary exercise can be extremely therapeutic and rewarding. But for my family and others, nature is something that brings us together. That reminds us where we come from.

Coot (Fulica atra) feeding its young at Lake Gwelup Nature Reserve
Coot (Fulica atra) feeding its young at Lake Gwelup Nature Reserve © Robin Barrington / WWF-Australia

Weeks later, under the big salmon gum tree at Waddy Forest where Nana is now laid to rest, Mum and I spread everlasting seeds, held each other and spoke to her. I walked away knowing she is now and forever at home on Country, under her favourite tree. And that her love of nature continues within us.

For centuries, trees have been central to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, health and well-being.

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