WARREN, NSW
Some areas of cultural significance around Warren, in north-west NSW, have been seen for the first time by local Indigenous people, thanks to RiverSmart Australia and Highways and Byways. Two bus trips to the area included people from the Warren Wayliwan community and secondary students from the Warren Central School.
RiverSmart is a not-for-profit organisation that has the vision of ‘Rivers for people, wildlife and sustainability’. For eight years RiverSmart volunteers, led by Kate Mildner, have been working along the Macquarie River into the Macquarie Marshes.
“This Wayliwan project was about offering local Indigenous people the chance to connect with culture and go to the marshes, which most had never been to before,” Kate said.
While a walkway through the marshes is open to the public, the RiverSmart tour, led by guides from the Department of Environment and Heritage, took people into an area, normally closed due to its cultural importance and fears that artefacts might be removed or damaged.
“The Elders and younger people gained knowledge of their heritage and provided healing by their presence on country. They were pleased to have the opportunity to see an area normally out of reach,” Kate said.
“The area contains cultural artefacts like flintstones and there are still obvious gathering spots and hearths. Some of the trees have scars and signs where the bark has been removed to be used for baby and food carriers.”
The visit to the Macquarie Marshes, including some national park reserve land, coincided with high water flows – a far cry from the droughts and floods of recent years. Guides were able to share information about the ecology of the area as well as its cultural significance.
One participant, an Indigenous teenage boy from Warren Central School, loved being in the wetlands and marshes and said the tour inspired him to want to be a guide.
A Wayliwan Elder said it was fantastic to learn about different sacred Wayliwan sites and to learn “about the waterways, water management, bird, fish, frog species, flora and fauna of the Macquarie Marshes area.”
Kate said the trips had also fostered positive relationships between many Wayliwan people, department staff and RiverSmart volunteers.
Image Main: The Macquarie Marshes courtesy RiverSmart Australia