Birthplace of Noongar woman named Fanny Balbuk who protested the occupation of her traditional home ground by settlers. She would break through and climb over fences, continuing to walk her traditional bidi (track) to gather bush foods at Goologoolup.
Site of traditional tidal fishtraps and fishdrives. Many fishtraps were destroyed by early settlers.
An important food source and growing up to 2metres, the elusive Swan River Mulloway once swam the river in huge numbers
Once a tidal mudflat Goomup would have been a location for gathering shellfish and hunting Djilgi (freshwater crayfish).
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The Whadjuk Noongar people shaped and changed the landscape in rhythm of the Seasons over many thousands of years. The managed landscapes surrounding the River were created by the Whadjuk Noongar through regular burning over millennia.
Early settlers describe lush pastures cleared by firestick burning, a traditional method of land management.
Known to the newcomers as Lake Kingsford, The lake at Goologoolup provided djilgies (freshwater crayfish) and vegetable food for the local Noongar people. The swamp was later drained to make way for the Perth Railway Station.
This fresh water spring had long been an important gathering site for Whadjuk people. In 1861 it became Perth’s first public water supply that saw Whadjuk people prohibited from using it.
Sharing the first
story of this land
and traditional
Noongar life
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Walter and Meg McGuire created Go Cultural Aboriginal Tours & Experiences in April 2016 with a vision to 'tell the first story' of Noongar people through tours and experiences in culturally significant Perth locations. As directors and operators of a 100% Indigenous, family-owned company, Walter and Meg are guided by a deep connection to their ancestors, culture and heritage. Their tours and experiences are designed to reflect ancient protocols and practicies in the most authentic way possible, given the constraints of modernity.
From childhood, Walter was schooled in Noongar culture, language and customs by his parents and recognised elders. Darwin born Meg's Kungarakan (Finniss River, NT) ancestry make this husband and wife duo the perfect team to faciliate a deeper connection to Australia's Indigenous heritage in an uniquely interactive way.
Perth's Forgotten Lakes
Ancient tracks have become Perth’s roads and highways
Less than 200 years ago, the shores of the Derbarl Yerrigan (Swan River) were lined with paperbark trees and connected to a network of freshwater lakes. Tracks trodden for millennia by Noongar people have become Perth’s roads and highways and the skyscrapers of the city’s CBD have been built over the site of Perth’s long forgotten lakes that were once bountiful hunting grounds for the first people.
Early settler’s journals tell of lush pastures around the lakes cleared by firestick burning, a traditional method of controlled burning to facilitate hunting by driving out game, reducing the risk of destructive wildfires and encouraging new growth, thereby changing the composition of plant and animal species in an area.
Learn about the many sacred sites, campgrounds and traditional hunting grounds that remain, secreted in and amongst the foundations of Perth’s central business district and suburbs. Learn about the traditional way of life of the Whadjuk people, their spiritual connection the country, the river and the animals that inhabit Noongar Boodja.
Our Values
- We operate out of respect and homage to our Ancestors, our Elders and the beauty of our traditional values and culture.
- We work to address ignorance, negative stereotypes, mis-information and entrenched prejudice about and towards Indigenous people and their communities.
- We support truth-telling, cultural renewal and collaborative resolution regarding Indigenous people and their communities.
- We aim to empower Indigenous youth, their families and the community through involvement in cultural activities and presentations.
- We welcome respectful discourse and opportunities to collaborate towards improvements in Indigenous social equity and justice.
