Many aspects of the life and history of the Aboriginal Nyoongar people come to light in the Fremantle Aboriginal Heritage Walking Tour.
As Aboriginal guides trace the path of indigenous culture and history in Fremantle, you realise that the Swan River is very much part of the Aboriginal Dreamtime and that Aborigines see it as the most significant Dreaming trail in the area of Wagyl or the winged Rainbow Serpent.
- In the body of Aboriginal beliefs, the fabulous creature that is the Wagyl or Rainbow Serpent inhabited the reaches of the Swan River and is attributed with the formation of the river bed when it slid through the sand with its huge body. In the Nyoongar belief system, the Swan River was thus created and is evidence of Wagyl's existence.
Indigenous history
The story of Wagyl, and aspects of Aboriginal history in the Fremantle area, are learned in the course of the Aboriginal Heritage Walking Tour.
For instance, Fremantle's Round House, built in 1831 on Arthur Head, is not only Fremantle's oldest building and was originally a local prison. In later years it was used to hold Aboriginal prisoners before they were taken to prison on Rottnest Island.
- Aboriginal resistance hero Yangan, one of the first prisoners in the Round House, rebelled against the treatment he received from the white settlers and was hunted down and killed in 1833. His head was separated from his body and was brought to England where, after being displayed in a Liverpool museum, was buried in a mass grave in 1964. The head was exhumed in 1977 and an Aboriginal delegation brought it back to Perth.
The tour
The Fremantle Aboriginal Heritage Walking Tour starts at the Fremantle Maritime Museum near the waterfront and wends its way through the city to the Round House before returning to the museum.
For bookings or more information on the Fremantle Aboriginal Heritage Walking Tour, telephone Greg Nannup on 0405 630 606.
