NAIDOC 2024: Learning about the Menang Noongar people, the Traditional Custodians of my hometown
I grew up in Albany, Western Australia, but never learnt about the Traditional Custodians, the Menang Noongar people, during my schooling years in the 1990s and 2000s. As kids, learning about the importance of respecting, acknowledging and learning about the Traditional Custodians of the lands throughout so-called Australia, and embedding Indigenous knowledge into everything we do, was not part of the curriculum, or at the forefront of conversation for most white community members.
Albany is a small town on the south-west coast of Western Australia, with a population of approximately 35,000 people. It's known for its cool weather, beautiful scenery, and as 'home of the ANZACS' - the last place in Australia that many ANZACS saw before being killed at war. It is also quite a conservative town, so when I graduated from high school in 2008, I couldn't think of anything better than distancing myself from it as much as possible and moving to the big city (Perth/Boorloo).
I have some of the best memories growing up in Albany, and also some of my worst. I have made the occasional trip back over the years to visit, but never alone and never for too long. I no longer have any family here and all of my close friends moved away as quickly as I did all those years ago. I'm still a country kid at heart though, so, when a friend from Perth moved to Albany recently and asked if I could look after their place and two dogs - I jumped at the opportunity for a change of scenery and to work remotely for a couple of weeks.
While here, I have had a lot of time to think while enjoying the beautiful environment around me, and with it also being NAIDOC last week, have realised how little I actually know about the Menang people and the history of the area beyond colonial understandings. It doesn't feel right to continue to tell people I grew up in Albany and am 'from the country' but not actually know much about the land I called home for almost 15 years. As non-Indigenous people, we have a responsibility to ensure that people not only know Australia has a blak history, but to also ensure that Australia has a blak future that is celebrated and thriving. We must actually do the work to learn through a completely different lens to the one we have always known and encourage others to do the same.
So, here is some information I'd like to share about Albany, Western Australia that centres the Menang/Minang Noongar people. I have linked resources throughout, and there is a list of references at the end of this article as well.
Traditional Custodians and the Southern Noongar region
Albany is situated in the Wagyl Kaip and Southern Noongar region of Noongar?boodja (country). The landscape includes the Stirling Ranges, Mt Madden, and deep bays, forests and extensive plains that hold a variety of natural resources. Rivers and waterways include the Kalgan, King, Stokes, Fitzgerald, Wellstead, Gordon, Pallinup and Cullum Inlet.
The Menang/Minang Noongar are the Traditional Custodians of the South West Region of Western Australia and have occupied this area for over 50,000 years. The area has been known as Kinjarling or ‘place of rain’.
Traditional foods consisted of birdlife, eggs, plants, small and large animals like kangaroo, emu and goanna, as well as estuarine fish. Traditionally, Minang people lived in the coastal regions during the summer months and moved inland for shelter with the onset of winter. At Oyster Harbour, close to the mouth of the Kalgan River, Minang Noongar made fish traps from stone. The fish were trapped in the harbour as the tide went out.
Mokare
Mokare, a Minang Noongar man in his twenties met British explorers at King George Sound in the mid 1820s. During this early period he was the person new settlers wrote about most. Mokare was the intermediary, guide and close friend of several of the newcomers to the region. On the basis of what Mokare told the Europeans about Noongar culture and language, a Noongar vocabulary, and an account of people, culture and customs was written. Mokare died in June 1831, most likely from influenza – introduced by the Europeans. He was buried close to what is now the Albany Town Hall.
Colonisation
The first European colonists viewed Western Australia through the prism of the doctrine of Terra Nullius, as ‘unoccupied’, despite the obvious presence of Aboriginal people. ?
Most Menang Noongar were wary of initiating contact with the British, but they were curious, judging the “foreigners on individual merit as they saw it”. In the beginning, there were tentative relationships and the exchange of gifts. However, tensions grew and violence erupted as Europeans made their way further inland, taking land, resources and the lives of Noongar people in the process.
It has since been acknowledged that lands across Australia and its waters were settled as colonies without treaty or consent.
War Service
Albany is very centred around it's war identity. As I mentioned, Albany has special significance for soldiers, as it was the last port of call for troops leaving for the war. For many, this was their last view of Australia. However, there was little acknowledgement when I was growing up of the contributions of Aboriginal people in war efforts. Noongar people were barred from enlisting on the grounds of race in World War 1. Later in the war, Aboriginal people with one European parent were accepted into the armed forces. Many Noongar people enlisted anyway by concealing their family background. Noongar people were also involved in World War Two. When Noongar soldiers returned however, they were not recognised for their war efforts, nor were they granted the same privileges as white soldiers. See War Service for more information.
领英推荐
Albany Aboriginal Accord
On the 13 November 1999, representatives of the City of Albany, the Albany Aboriginal community and the wider Albany community signed a Statement of Understanding and Commitment “to establish an accord which will promote a greater understanding throughout the community of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples’ history and culture.”? The Statement was to be a living document that promotes reconciliation, provides a process of negotiation and cooperation and results in a mutual sharing of the economic and social prosperity in Albany. In March 2003, the Aboriginal Accord was launched, marking the first agreement between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities.
Native Title
The South West Native Title Settlement is the largest native title settlement in Australian history. It affects around 30,000 Noongar people and encompasses approximately 200,000 square kilometres in the South West. The South West Native Title Settlement formally recognises that, since time immemorial, the Noongar people have maintained a living cultural, spiritual, familial and social relationship with Noongar boodja.
Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Sites
There are 40 known registered Aboriginal heritage sites and 85 more sites listed as ‘other heritage places’, throughout Albany. These sites include artefact scatters, mythological sites, engravings, grinding areas, food and ceremonial sites, that reflect the life and culture of the Menang people. You can view these on the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Inquiry System?map viewer (ACHIS) here.
Menang Exhibition (2016/2017)
In 2016, the Menang community collaborated with the British Museum and the Western Australian Museum to return rare Menang objects to Country for a temporary exhibition. The objects include stone axes, spears, spearthrowers, knives and a postcard. Several of these were collected by the Government Resident, Dr Alexander Collie, in the 1830’s. During his time in Menang Country he developed a special friendship with Menang leader Mokare, who became an interpreter and guide on a number of expeditions and shared knowledge about the customs and beliefs of his people. So close was their bond, that when Collie was dying in 1835, four years after Mokare, he asked to be buried alongside his friend. More information about this past exhibit can be found here.
Restoring Menang Noongar Place Names
In 2021 and 2022, the Restoring Menang Noongar Place Names project saw significant places being dual named or renamed with traditional Noongar names, in partnership with the local Menang Noongar community, South Coast Natural Resource Management, and the City of Albany.
References