WEST KIMBERLEY PLACE REPORT - Department of Sustainability ...

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'[I]t was the feeling of exuberance that amazed me' Sidney Nolan 1948. Commenting
about the Kimberley while on a visit to the region (Crocker et al. 2009).
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'the striking, unfamiliar country of enchantments' Artist commenting about the
Kimberley while on a visit to the region quoted inCrocker et al. 2009.
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'[T]o those accustomed to temperate Australia, it has a strange character. Fires seem
too pervasive and frequent, many of the native trees are at least semi deciduous, there
is too much grass….the Eucalypts do not have that familiar evocative, reassuring
smell, even the colours seem somewhat harder. Parts of the landscape seem decidedly
African in flavour with the boab trees'. Scientist commenting about northern
Australia. (Woinarski et al. 2007).
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'Personally, I felt insignificant and shy in the Kimberley. What I saw was almost
beyond understanding, it has spoilt my emotions for the man-made environment, and
left me with a fear of not experiencing the same level of emotion again. After my
Kimberley experiences, Italy – a painter's paradise – felt small, decadent and
overworked'. Mayo, Robyn, Kimberley Odyssey quoted in Kimberley News, Aurora
Expeditions, July 2000 (Crocker et al. 2009).
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'During Lalai, the natural and human worlds were formed by powerful supernatural
beings that continue as active forces in Aboriginal people's lives today. Wunggurr, the
powerful snake and Wallanganda the 'big boss' Wanjina together created the earth and
all living things. The Wunggurr Snake is manifest in a number of ways; seen as a
giant Sky Snake or Rainbow Serpent and also comprising Earth's foundation. The
snake's presence is especially potent at places associated with life-giving water'.
Description of country held by Aboriginal people in the Wanjina-Wunggurr
community (Blundell 1982; Mowarjarli and Malnic 1993; Blundell et al. 2009).
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'Barrkana (September): Warimba flowers dry up, and kardookardoo (whitewood)
begins to flowers. Crocodiles and snakes are laying eggs and soon their young will
hatch. Kardookardoo flower is the main food for cockatoos while they're nesting. The
pods on the warimba tree go red, and when they start to dry that's the start of Lalin'.
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