L-R Marie Taylor, Elder in Residence, The Wetland Centre, walks with Professor Stephen Hopper (UWA) at Walliabup Bibra Lake. Photo by Gina Pickering.

Summary

Featuring Nyungar Elder Marie Taylor, this short film explores the rich knowledge held by the Whadjuk women of the Nyungar nation about the trees of southwestern Australia. Whadjuk women understand their specific qualities, uses and value to the Nyungar people. When French scientists collected tree specimens from Nyungar land in the 18th and 19th centuries, they looked with scientific eyes and without local cultural insight. The French renamed trees already known for thousands of years by Aboriginal women and their families. However, Nyungar women’s deep knowledge of trees is continuous, expansive and they are willing to share it. The film features Walliabup Bibra Lake Reserve, Beeliar Regional Park, Western Australia. The Whadjuk women talk about many uses of native trees, Balga/grass trees, red gum powder for toothache, Paperbark tree provides water. Never burn gumnuts as they explode. The Zamia palm fruits (Cycadaceae), toxic unless properly processed. Wonnil/peppermint tree is special to the Nyungar people, the leaves have oil, to decongest the chest. Women are the nurturing parent in the family and have a lot of knowledge to impart to the younger generations. The Whadjuk Ballardong Birdiya and Traditional Custodians stress the need to have spiritual connections with the land. The film covers information about how the French expeditions concentrated on the scientific names, seeing with European eyes and Western experience and disregard the local names, knowledge of the social, spiritual, cultural and ecosystems of local flora and fauna. In 1792, Antoine Bruni d'Entrecasteaux, led an expedition searching for the lost ships of La Perouse, which explored the Australian coast, botanist aboard, Jacques-Julien Labillardiere, produced the first Western account of flora of the region. Second expedition, 1800-1803 led by Nicolas Baudin, with nine botanists and gardeners with chief botanist Theodore Leschenault de La Tour collecting masses of specimens and sending some to Robert Brown in Britain who also collected them. The women talked about how these specimens should be returned to Nyungar land. The Joseph Paul Gaimard Journal in the Freycinet Collection held in this Library details French encounters with the west coast.