Layer

NameWA Journey Ways - Koorda Maart Bidi
DescriptionThis route follows part of the Great Southern Highway and tells of a rare love story between a soldier garrisoned at Albany who became a farmer and a local woman. The Nyoongar marriage system is complicated and has changed over time. This is explained in the book; 'Moort A celebration of a traditional and contemporary Aboriginal Family' by Robertson, Nannup, Coall, McAulley and Nannup (Batchelor Press). The WA Journey Ways project relates Aboriginal travel routes with main roads and geology.
TypeJourney
Content Warning
ContributorDr Bill Pascoe
Entries3
Allow ANPS? No
Added to System2022-05-18 09:54:44
Updated in System2022-05-18 13:35:44
Subject indigenous, aboriginal, history, journey way, nyoongar
CreatorDr Francesca Robertson, Dr Noel Nannup, Alison Nannup
PublisherWA Journey Ways is a collaboration of Kurongkurl Katitjin, Edith Cowan University and WA Main Roads
Contact
Citation
DOI
Source URLhttp://batchelorpress.com/node/404
Linkback
Date From
Date To
Image
Latitude From
Longitude From
Latitude To
Longitude To
Language
LicenseCopyright. Do not re-use without permission.
Usage RightsTold and permission provided by Aden Eades. Do not re-use without permission.
Date Created (externally)

Nornalup

Placename
Nornalup
Type
Other

Details

Latitude
-34.991178
Longitude
116.814883
Start Date
1819
End Date
1849

Description

Extended Data

text
"Starlight was my great, great, great grandmother. She was born just east of Kapagup on the banks of Deep Creek in Nornalup. She had a relationship and children with a settler called Samuel Piggott." (Samuel Piggott, according to the archives, was born in Bedfordshire in the United Kingdom in 1819 and came Western Australia as a soldier in the 51st regiment. He was stationed at York then at Albany. When in Albany in 1847 he married Lily Waters and they had twelve children. In 1849 his regiment was replaced, and it is possible that it was then that he settled on land along the Hay River). "Samuel Piggott was a naughty boy, he led my great, great, great grandmother astray. In those days land was being given to white settlers for farming, they were killing off the kangaroo and smaller animals that had been the major source of food for Nyoongars. Nyoongars had to work for settlers for food. Also there was a shortage of white women. It was not unusual for Nyoongar women to be raped or 'employed' by white men. It was very rare for white men to marry Nyoongar women, when they did they were usually punished by white society. It was rare for white men to take care of the children they made with Nyoongar woman. "There are two reasons why, in our family, we think that Samuel Piggott and Starlight loved each other. Starlight, is a very unusual name for a Nyoongar woman, we think that Samuel called her Starlight as a term of endearment. Samuel acknowledged the children, he helped to raise them, even though his wife didn't know about them. My great, great grandmother was one of those children. She grew up on the Hay River on land he farmed. Her name was Maggie Starlight." - Aden Eades

Sources

TLCMap ID
ta52a
Linkback
http://batchelorpress.com/node/404
Created At
2022-05-18 13:35:44
Updated At
2023-12-11 17:48:38

Tingle Forests

Placename
Tingle Forests
Type
Other

Details

Latitude
-34.980911
Longitude
116.773664
Start Date
End Date

Description

Extended Data

text
Between Kapagup (Walpole) to Koorrabup (Denmark) is the Dingle Dingle (tingle) forest. These great towering trees were fortunate in being of little use to the loggers who took so much of the jarrah, karri and marri. Nyoongar people did not live in the forests, they are too thick and too dark (filtering 70% of sunlight) for yonga (kangaroo) and wedj (emu) to live, these formed the staple meat of Nyoongar diet. Nyoongars went into the forests for food and medicine. If they traversed the forest, they typically did so using the rivers. In many areas the floor of the forest is covered with kerebin (sword grass). If the blade is stroked towards the tip it will not hurt but if stroked towards the base it will cut skin. Walking through sword grass in bare feet and uncovered legs is painful and bloody! It is also out of respect that people should not go into the forest without good reason, their shallow roots of the dingle dingle would soon be disturbed if many feet were trampling around Dingle dingle trees are ancient; their antecedents have been here since Australia was still part of the super continent Gondwana. They are extremely tall but shallow rooted growing massive buttresses that form hollows at the base of the tree. They remain stable despite huge winds coming from the south because they grow in dense clusters, which dissipates high winds. The spirit of ancestors inhabit these hollows, if a Nyoongar person in the right frame of mind sits within the base of the tree they can communicate with the ancestor. To go into the tree for any other reason is a bad thing to do.

Sources

TLCMap ID
ta52b
Linkback
http://batchelorpress.com/node/404
Created At
2022-05-18 13:35:44
Updated At
2023-12-11 17:48:38

Hay River

Placename
Hay River
Type
Other

Details

Latitude
-34.969722
Longitude
117.463333
Start Date
End Date

Description

Extended Data

text
Where Piggott farmed with his settler family: "There is an issue about the names. Piggott's surname went to his legitimate children. When Starlight was born she probably only had one name, when she had children with Piggott they were given two names, her first name as a surname and a first name. The first names are white names, so maybe he named them. They are decent white names not cruel names like Snowball or Sambo as some people got called. So Maggie and her brothers and sisters were the first children of what has become the Starlight clan. Some people believe that Piggott became mangled to Pickett and that's how the Pickett clan got its name." - Aden Eades

Sources

TLCMap ID
ta52c
Linkback
http://batchelorpress.com/node/404
Created At
2022-05-18 13:35:44
Updated At
2023-12-11 17:48:38
All Layers