BOODJIN - The Boyagin Rock Storybook Released.

Wednesday 16th September 2015 saw the official release of the long awaited BOODJIN Storybook. the link to the Wheatbelt Natural Resource Management web site is here. A PDF version of this publication can be found on the NRM web page.

Some of the many who came to celebrate the release of the storybook

The release of the publication marks a major milestone for the Noongar peoples and forms part of the long term strategy established by the Pingelly Tourism Group Inc. Boyagin Rock Working Committee to promote Boodjin and the surrounding area as a site of cultural significance and a place which should be protected and respected by visitors to the area.

The launch itself was something very special and the NRM article here describes the celebration in good detail.

Elders Merv Abraham, Nora Bennell and Janet Hayden show off the Storybook

Boyagin Rock Picnic Area Upgrade Discussion

Hi everyone.

As you are probably aware we did have a meeting at Boodjin on Friday last and the spirits up there blessed us with some really nice weather.

Ray Marshall opened the meeting at 12:00pm or thereabouts and Uncle Merv delivered a welcome to country message.

Vince acknowledged the start of NAIDOC Week and wished the Noongar peoples an enjoyable time. The timing of the meeting was very good in the sense that our efforts fall very much in line with the spirit of NAIDOC week and what it stands for.Vince also passed on the apologies from the families based in Perth due to their commitments to organising NAIDOC Week.

The main purpose of the meeting was to allow Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) to present to the group their proposal for the beautification and preservation of the current picnic area at Boodjin. Nathan Greenhill and Chris Steward attended on behalf of DPaW and Nathan presented conceptual plans and spoke at length and sought feedback from everyone. It was apparent that most there were quite welcoming to the ideas placed before them. There was some discussion about positioning of the proposed toilet facilities and the group were urged to go away and think about things in more detail and come back to the working group with suggestions. Nathan provided some large printed plans of the proposal for the communities to take back and display for public comment.

Justin McAllister from SWALSC graced us with his presence as did Marcus Holmes, a solicitor who will be working with the Local Government Councils to address the issues relating to the results of the vote by the Noongar peoples to accept the State Government offer of a settlement in the Noongar regions. Many thanks to those two for taking such an interest in what we are, as a collaborative group, working through in a very positive way and for traveling such long distances.

Justin spoke very clearly about the need for us to start to work more closely with the Gnaarla Karla Booja (GKB) working committee moving forward as they will, in the event of a successful outcome for the land settlement deal, be the entity who will collaborate with DPaW on land management issues. Justin suggested that we, as a working group, again present our current position to the GKB working group in August/September.

There are a lot of things which need to be worked through moving forward. We, along with DPaW, should approach the Shire of Brookton and Pingelly to see how much in-kind support we can get to assist with the redevelopment of the picnic area. Such support could be in the way of access roads, surveying and pegging of the proposed picnic area and provision of machinery to make the site ready for any structural work.

My job as Project Coordinator is to deliberate over these matters and make some recommendations back to the working committee and I am certainly giving this much thought and will have further discussions with DPaW and other members of this working committee to work out the best way forward from here.

It seems that Wheatbelt NRM have signed off on the Boodjin Storybook so it can go to print. What a celebration that should be!!!! I personally can't wait to get my hands on a copy.

 I had a yarn on the side of the road with Kenny Kidna on the way back. Maybe that's a good sign??????

Stay safe and well everyone.

Boyagin Rock Project Update 24 March 2015

Things have been quite busy of late with this project so it's time to get people back in the loop. Below is a list of aspects that the Working Group are engaged in at present:

1. Shire of Pingelly Endorses the Boyagin Rock Concept Plan - The concept plan was unanimously endorsed by Council at the February 2015 Council meeting. This is significant in that we are in a much stronger position to work with government agencies as we move forward. It is important to remember that this is only an endorsement. The project still belongs to the Pingelly Tourism Group and other stakeholders who have work so hard over a period of time.
2. Working Group Address the Shire of Brookton - Last Thursday members of the Working Group including representatives from the Noongar communities of Brookton and Pingelly gave a presentation at the Brookton Shire Council meeting. The presentation was very well received and Council were more than willing to work with the Shire of Pingelly to jointly support the project as we move forward.
3. Wheatbelt NRM Progressing Nicely with the Storybook of Boogin - The team at Wheatbelt NRM are having a great time working with traditional owners to capture many stories about their connections to and experiences gained at this sacred place they call Boogin. Everyone is getting excited and we can't wait for the publication to become available for the wider community. 
4. Concept Drawing for the Potential Redevelopment of the Boyagin Picnic Area - The Working group have reached an agreement with the Department for Parks Wildlife to provide us with some conceptual designs for the potential redevelopment of the picnic area at Boyagin. This is a major development as this type of work is complex and not cheap. The design work is being funded from a community grant from the Shire of Pingelly to the Pingelly Tourism Group Inc. The designs will take into consideration all cultural aspects and will comply with the very latest standards in parks development. The plans will be subject to the scrutiny of the traditional land owners and the Working Group.

So what happens next???

The Working Group will continue to communicate and discuss things as Wheatbelt NRM and DPaW do their stuff. We expect DPaW to provide concept drawings for discussion and reveiew prior to the end of this financial year. Those designs will include detailed costings so that we can start to look at ways to fund any work done at Boyagin. That task is becoming less daunting now that we have a much wider support base including the traditional owners and the Shires of Pingelly and Brookton.

It's getting close to Party Time! We intend to celebrate each phase of the project as we go. It's important that we do celebrate to acknowledge the hard work done and to reflect on the journey as we progress.

Cheers Everyone
Vince Holt
Project Coordinator.

Story Telling Update

Saturday 24th January 2015 saw a gathering of families and friends at Boyagin Rock to meet with the Wheatbelt NRM team who are in the process of capturing and publishing stories of the Traditional Owners about their connections with the landscape at Boyagin Rock. Below is a summary compiled by Kerry Horan.

Geri Hayden, Merv Abraham and Christie Kington

The Boyagin Rock Working Committee will continue to provide updates as they happen. It is expected that a draft of the storybook will be available for comment in the first half of 2015.

Hi All

The day was very casual, on the day Mervyn Abraham, Elvis Bennell, Vince Holt, Janet Hayden, Dot Rodney, Aubrey Hayden,  Geri Hayden, Christie Kingston, David Grasby & Kerry Collard (Horan) attended at Boogin. One of the local farmers also came across to say hello.

Some stories were collected in the afternoon from those who stayed,  Janet, Geri, Elvis, Aubrey & Dot as mentioned by Geri below. I also received apologies from Fay Slater & Vivienne Hansen.

Thanks Geri for starting the ball rolling over the weekend, it was a good opportunity for Christie & David to see Boogin & to meet some of the participants of this project. It was a lovely day out and it was great to hear some of the stories & the respect people hold for Boogin and each other.

I understand that some participants would like to record stories as a bigger group all together. In this case, we need to remember on the day we need reasonable conditions to use audio & camera and for everyone to be mindful that we are using stories in a story book format. It is harder to record in the larger group and we will have to stop & start & move equipment to get the story and/or come back to people for the parts we miss. The design of the storybook is a little unknown until we know what the stories are and the decisions about which stories will be used & the design of the storybook will come from the ideas of working group. I would like to reiterate what Vince has mentioned about getting individuals stories from participants, those who are unable to make the bigger group days we are happy to make times (and it’s our preference to do individual/ family interviews) with people at their homes or another convenient location.

Wheatbelt NRM will not be responsible for setting dates of the larger group meetings, we want to support this project as much as possible as it’s such a great project to be part of. However our part of the project is around developing the storybook. Which involves for the most part:

•   meeting participants,
•   coming along to record significant activities as co-ordinated by working group,
•  making appointments recording individual participants (family groups) to tell stories were appropriate,
•  collecting & researching documentation, photographs etc,
•  reviewing material for publication where appropriate (at different stages) with the working party
• We are happy to make a collection of photographs available on CD for participants at the end of the project

I would also suggest that face to face meetings with the working party at different stages would be helpful to provide feedback, progress (be a general point of contact)to discuss issues etc. Vince may be this is something for you to talk to the group about as we do not have everyone’s contact, and am unsure of who are representative of each of the groups involved in the project and its too difficult to manage communication for this aspect of the project with so many people involved in the project. I assume the working party has representation of the families/ people involved in the overall project? It is especially important as Wheatbelt NRM isn’t involved in all the aspects of the project but we would also have an idea of other things that are happening. Wheatbelt NRM will Vince as the first point of contact for the project, in any case.

Regards Kerry

 

Kerry Horan

Aboriginal NRM Project Facilitator
Wheatbelt NRM

Boyagin Rock Interpretation Project - Update

It's been 6 weeks or so since our last meeting at Boyagin Rock with the Traditional Owners (TOs). An agreement was reached at that meeting for Wheatbelt NRM to undertake an interpretation project to capture the stories to be told by the TOs and to interpret the native flora and fauna which inhabits the area. These stories will be published as a storybook. Additional signage for the picnic area is also proposed to enhance the experience of visitors to the site.

The current situation is that it's all happening! Wheatbelt NRM are currently finalising contract negotiations with an appropriate resource to start things moving. The current schedule is for that resource to focus primarily on this project for the first half of 2015. It's taken a little time but it's important that Wheatbelt NRM secure the best person for the job.

In addition to the interpretation project the Working Group is now looking at resources to provide us with some concept artwork and drawings for the picnic area as it is clear to everyone that some work needs to be done there to make it an attractive picnic area with better toilets and more shade shelters etc. These will only be concept drawings and will be subject to feedback from everyone concerned, including the TOs. Once we get an idea of the types of work we could do there then we can apply some costs to it and look for opportunities for funding.

We will keep everyone informed as we go.

We should take this opportunity to wish everyone a very happy festive season and good health into the New Year.

Boyagin (Boogin) Rock Meeting 17 October 2014 - The Beginning of Something Special

Yesterday saw another meeting of members of the Working Committee and Traditional Land Owners (TOs) at Boogin picnic site situated at the base of this wonderful structure.

Boyagin Rock Western Australia (Boogin)

The purpose of this meeting was to allow Wheatbelt Natural Resource Management (Wheatbelt NRM) staff in Dr Elizabeth Kington to present a proposal for an interpretation project where the TOs and other people who have a connection to the area can tell the stories about the significance of the area to the Noongar Peoples. These stories and information about the natural flora and fauna which inhabit the nature reserve will be published in a storybook available to everyone via electronic links or in hard copy from NRM. NRM have much experience in this area as can be seen from previous projects in the Avon Catchment Area in the Western Australian Wheatbelt. Some examples of previous projects are available here.

Dr Elizabeth Kington - Wheatbelt NRM

The meeting was opened by Working Committee chair Ray Marshall and we were treated to a very moving welcome to country from Aunty Janet Hayden on behalf of all TOs for this area. Elizabeth presented her proposal and much discussion followed. Some of the discussions included TOs stories about the significance of the area and it was clearly evident to everyone that there are many such stories which need to be shared for the benefit of future generations. Other discussions revolved around the need to include young Noongars in the project and to provide sustainable employment opportunities for local Noongar Peoples. It seemed everyone was generally in agreement that the picnic site was in need of some TLC, another aspect of the long term vision of the Working Committee for Boyagin Rock.

Aunty Janet Hayden performing a Welcome to Country

Attendance at the meeting was significant in that there was a fair representation from the Pingelly and Brookton mobs as well as TO families identified throughout the project as the key TOs for this area. TO families represented included the Hayden's Bennell's and Reidy's (Dot Rodney). Faye and Arthur Slater were there representing Brookton as was Michelle Winmar. Uncle Merv Abraham and Jeff Turvey represented Pingelly.

Arthur Slater from Brookton

Gary Bennell and Merv Abraham

Jeff Turvey - Pingelly

Aunty Faye Slater - Brookton

So what happens next?

TOs and representatives from Brookton and Pingelly will report back to various people in their respective communities and identify people who would be most suitable candidates in the story telling process. The groups will also identify young Nonngar people who will be involved in the story telling process. Wheatbelt NRM and the Working Committee will work together through the Project Officer, Vince Holt, to establish a project plan which will include timelines and a list of deliverables for this project.

Funding for the Wheatbelt NRM interpretation project is provided by the Federal Government and other sources supporting Wheatbelt NRM under their Sustainable Communities Program.

For the Boyagin Rock Working Committee, who have been the key drivers for recognition of Boogin and the cultural and spiritual significance of this land, this project signals a major milestone and is testament to the fact that respectful dialogue and determination to work toward common goals can in fact make a difference in our communities.

Please watch this space as we continue our journey.

Justin McAllister - SWALSC

Graham Ellis-Smith - Talking land management issues

Quality photos of this meeting are available HERE.

Presentation to GKB 14 April 2014 - Slides

On 14th April 2014 our Boyagin Rock Executive Committee met with the Gnaala Karla Booja (GKB) Working Committee. A short slide show was used at the meeting to explain what this project is about and why we are keen to progress forward.

The slide show is available by clicking here. I think the slide show is a good summary and is much lighter reading than the Master Plan itself.

Don't forget to study the Master Plan and prepare any comments you have.

In the next couple of weeks we will be meeting again with GKB and I will be attending a forum at UWA entitled "Building Trust: Developing Solidarity on Noongar Booja". This will provide some great personal development and a great opportunity to network.