Margaret River Primary School

Wardandi

Our classes go up to Yallingup, to the Wardan Aboriginal Cultural Centre.   The instructors are elders and cultural custodians of the Wardandi cultural group, the traditional custodians of the lands from Busselton to Augusta.The centre is located on a 40 acre bush property 6 km South of Yallingup.  Sometimes the Wardandi people visit us at school as well, to assist us with our Aboriginal studies and in Making Schools Country.   One of our school's Making Schools Country achievements has been the building of Wooditch Mia, our Aboriginal Meeting Place.

We learn about the use of natural resources available for food, medicine & shelter, hunting & tracking animals, fishing & rock traps, and the use of fire to cook & catch animals & encourage regrowth of vegetation.  We also learn about making tools like stone axes and spears, and how to throw spears and boomerangs. Wardandi custodians share some of their dreaming through song, dance, music and body painting; they show us how to use ochre & natural resources for painting and blow painting and give us Digeridoo and dance demonstrations that we can participate in.    Go to the Wardan Centre.  It is excellent.  Check out their website, and our photos, and go there!

Also, check the Indigenous Cultural Awareness Training website to register for training.  Our school is very proud to be the first to be given access to this excellent cultural awareness training and we are grateful to Mitchella Hutchins Webb, of Waljin Consultancy, for the opportunity.