Feature by Carolyn Beasley
In the southwest region of Harvey, a one and a half hour drive south of Perth (Boorloo), the arrival of Djilba season is written in the flowers. And for Bindjareb Noongar man Brad Vitale, Djilba is sending him a personal love letter.
“Significant for me personally, is the flowering of the wonil, the weeping peppermint tree,” Brad says. “It’s a personal totem of mine.”
Brad (right) from Boola Bidi Dreaming, Harvey Region
Brad likens the totemic system to state governments departments.
“In the totemic system, I’d be the department of peppermint trees,” he says. “So, when I see the wonil covered in white flowers and thriving during Djilba, that’s when I remember my connection to country. It’s quite special for me.”
Brad is a program manager and facilitator at Boola Bidi Dreaming, the tourism brand for Harvey Aboriginal Corporation. The company offers cultural tours and tailored activities.
According to Brad, Djilba usually coincides with August and September, and marks the end of the wettest and coldest period called Makuru.
“Djilba is traditionally a transitional time of the year so we tend to experience all sorts of weather,” Brad says. “We have some warmer, rainy and windy days. And if we're really lucky, we'll get the occasional sunny day.”
Djilba sees nature leaning into spring and Brad notes there are many young birds about being trained by their parents for hunting, foraging and protecting themselves from predators.
“We always have a bit of a joke when we go on our walk trails, the bird sounds are all nice and innocent,” Brad laughs. “But we’ve always got to look out for the koorlbardie, the magpie or the djiti djiti, the willy wagtail, they tend to get quite protective about their nests.”
Boola Bidi Dreaming offers two bookable walking tours, and Djilba is an ideal time to experience both.
Gibbs Pool and Harvey Dam by Sean Scott
“With the Noongar Kaatdjin Bidi (Noongar knowledge path tour) it goes along the river and that’s where you see all the wonil, the peppermint trees,” Brad says. “We talk about their medicinal uses as we go along the trails. They’re anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, and also relaxing.”
“Our ridge walking tour is amazing towards the end of Djilba because its heading into wildflower season,” Brad says. “You get all those really striking yellow flowers, vibrant blues, and the whites. So, the whole ridge, which overlooks a valley and some water is just bursting with colourful wildflowers.”
On both tours, guides explain how the Bindjareb people would use the country during each season, moving further inland during the coldest and wettest weather for the shelter of the Darling Range, or Scarp. During the warmer months, they’d move towards the cooling breezes of the coastline.
Brad Vitale on Tour, Boola Bidi Dreaming, Harvey Region
The Harvey Region was an area rich in resources, and during Djilba, food would include land grazing animals like yonga (kangaroo) weitj (emu), or koomal (possum), and later in the season there would be a transition to a leaner diet.
The rich and diverse resources here made the area an important centre for trade, with groups visiting the Bindjareb from as far away as Albany (Kinjarling), Wagin and Gascoyne Junction.
Balga, or grass trees, are plentiful here and were prized for fire-making tools.
“The flower stem of the balga forms your base stick, and then you get a smaller part of a stem, and that's your rubbing stick,” Brad explains. “Also, balga resin when mixed with a few other things, makes a really strong native super glue.” The glue paired well with the strong local timbers of jarrah, marri and wandoo, meaning the Bindjareb’s spears, axes, shields and carrying dishes, were solid and sought after.
According to Brad, the Bindjareb people benefitted from these resources, but also had the best of nature’s landscape.
“You've got the Darling Scarp, which provides shelter for winter and the river, with fresh water and lots of healing elements,” Brad says. “Then you've got the ocean which provided you with so many coastal plants, animals, and a cool place to be during the summer months. So you've got this plethora of natural resources; food, water, shelter, fire tools and medicine in any season, which made it quite attractive for people to live in, so there were quite often disputes between different tribal groups.”
Artefact Workshop by Boola Bidi Dreaming, Harvey Region
Although this region is glorious all year, according to Brad, there’s no better time to be here than in Djilba.
“Djilba is probably the only season where you can experience that whole sea-to-scarp along the river comfortably, accessing all the different animals and plants,” Brad says. “Everything's on display in Djilba.”
Published July 2024.