Six Seasons

As owners of the land, we know our land intimately and have a detailed knowledge of the delicate ecological balance that exists. Prior to invasion Nyoongar people could closely observe the six seasons by walking their boodja hunting and gathering. Nyoongar Elders, being the keepers of knowledge, knew when to burn and understood the heat and smoke from the flames allowed plants to germinate and provide food for animals in the Makooroo (winter) and Djilba (spring) seasons, enabling Nyoongar people to be well fed.

Kambarang – The wildflower season, carpets of wildflowers, season of birth: October and November.

Birak – The first summer, season of the young, reptiles emerge from hibernation: December and January.

Bunuru – The second summer, season of adolescence, tool making, fishing and hunting season: February and March.

Djeran – Autumn, season of adulthood, marriage and courtship ceremonies, April and May.

Makooroo – The first rain, season of fertility, travel to inland hunting grounds: June and July.

Djilba – The second rain which fills lakes and water holes, time of conception, August and September.

Cultural Practices

Karl means fire and karla means home is where the fire is. Fire had many uses. For Nyoongar people, it provided warmth and was used to cook food, but it was also used for signalling, ceremonial purposes—for protection and to repel bad spirits—and enriching the soil through burning.

Fire was an important resource used in tool production. Nyoongar people would use fire to soften the resin used to make tools. Kodj (axe) were made by placing sharp edged ‘scrapers’ on either side of a suitable piece of boorn (wood), using resin from plants and the dung of animals to adhere the wood and scrapers together.

“...a chert artefact has been found out in the West End [of Wadjemup] as well. So, you know, it doesn't take that much imagination to visualise how Rottnest was part of the mainland when the sea level was much lower.”

— Brendan Moore Whadjuk Nyoongar Traditional Owner

For thousands of years, nestled in the limestone, lay an object like many artefacts rediscovered on Wadjemup. Crafted by Nyoongar people it tells the story of an ancient time when Nyoongar men walked the island to hunt.

Near the colonially named Bathurst Point, a discarded piece of flaked Eocene fossiliferous chert from ancient tool manufacture lay close to where the first six Aboriginal prisoners were forced to camp in a cave.

Scraper found near the cave where the first six Aboriginal prisoners camped on Wadjemup. Courtesy WA Museum.

The cave at Bathurst Point where the first six Aboriginal Prisoners camped overnight. The cave has since collapsed. Courtesy Rottnest Island Museum RIA2011.272.

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