Manjarree Trail - LG Professionals Australia

Manjarree Trail
Courtesy of the State Library of Western Australia.
Bathers Bay to Wadjemup
Prisoner shackles
It was from this site that Aboriginal prisoners were taken
to Wadjemup (Rottnest Island). For nearly a century,
Wadjemup served as a prison for around 3700 male
Aboriginals from Western Australia. Many were warriors
and leaders who had borne the brunt of settlement frontier
conflict. It is reported that 369 Aboriginal prisoners died
between 1838 and 1931. They are currently buried in an
Aboriginal cemetery within the Thomson Bay Settlement.
The Quod was the prison
accommodation for Aboriginal
men on Wadjemup. Closure of the
prison was recommended in 1902
and it officially closed in 1904
although prisoners were used to
build roads and other works on
the island until 1931.
The Quod prison cells
(Rottnest Island)
Manjarree Trail
Manjarree
The area around here is called Manjarree which
in the local Whadjuk dialect is a sort of festival
that takes place where Nyoongar (Aboriginals
from Western Australia’s south west) could meet
and trade. According to the diary and letters of
Admiral Sir C.H. Fremantle, in 1829 there was
an exchange of items at Manjarree. Nyoongars
approached with “spears and knives of a very
crude construction - a piece of flint stone
fastened on the end of a stick about a foot long
with gum which comes from the trees about and
adheres very strongly when put on hot”.
Fremantle mentions that the Nyoongars had
bones through their septum and these were
presented to him, as well as dressed fish in bark.
In return, the Nyoongars were given knives,
mutton and biscuits.
Kyli (Boomerang)
Wunda (Shield)
Boorlo
Wadjemup
(Perth)
(Rottnest Island)
Miro (Spear thrower)
Walyalup
(Fremantle)
Meeandip
(Garden Island)
North men
would offer:
Murray men
would offer:
Perth men
would offer:
Kyli (Boomerang)
Nulbarn (Hair belt)
Kadjo (Axe)
Wunda (Shield)
Burdun (light gidji)
Boka (Skin cloak)
Dowak (Hunting stick)
Dtabba (Knife)
Kun-yi (Head band)
Wirba (Heavy club)
Durdadyer (Dingo Tails)
Wundu (Shield)
Miro (Spear thrower)
Kokal-yang (Feather Bu-yi ( Zamia nuts)
Gidji (Spear)
Borryl (Quartz)
D-yuna (Fighting stick)
Meeting place for trading
ornament)
Wilgi (Red ochre)
Ngower (Hair ornament)
Niggara (Belt)
Bururo (Necklace)
Dardak (White clay)
Manjarree Trail
Bush tucker
While much of the vegetation here has been replanted
these plants are not uncommon along the Nyoongar
coastal trail. Seeds from the Galyang (Acacia cyclops)
or Red Eye Wattle are collected and ground into a
flour, to make merynj (food).
While Nyoongar men traded weapons for hunting, it
was the Nyoongar woman who were responsible for
collecting and preparing bush tucker (food). Grinding
stones sourced from outside the coastal plain were
used to grind seeds into a flour, then mixed with water
into a paste used to make cakes and biscuits.
Red eye Wattle
Acacia cyclops
Manjarree Trail
Arthur Head Reserve
“Kya Wanju Nichia
Nyoongar wardan bidi,
winjalla gnulla kaatidj
bal gwabbanijow. ”
(This is the Nyoongar
coastal trail, where our
knowledge is put right.)
Welcome to the Manjarree coastal
trail at Arthur Head Reserve,
Fremantle. This trail is part of
the Nyoongar coastal trail which
stretches across Western Australia.
The Manjarree walking trail
consists of five information points
describing Aboriginal history of
this area. The five points can be
located on the map below.
Nyoongar seasons
In Nyoongar country along the coast and
adjacent to accessible reef are ‘middens’.
Nyoongar utilised the coast for shellfish,
seal and marine life from the coast during
birak (summer) and the middens contain
left over shells and bones from earlier feasts.
Nyoongar people have a close
relationship to the earth and
divide the year into six seasons.
Birak (December and January)
hot dry weather corresponds with
time spent on the cooler coast.
The Arthur
Head Reserve
Manjarree Trail
Bathers Beach
Bathers Beach is a remnant of the original foreshore before development of the
port and town of Fremantle. The beach forms part of the Arthur Head ‘A’ Class
reserve. Arthur Head has heritage significance for the geological value of its
ancient limestone headland, its connection to Australia’s earliest inhabitants
and its role in local history since European settlement in 1829. European
migrants came ashore at this location until 1897, when more substantial port
facilities were established on the northern side of Arthur Head.
Whaling was one of the colony’s first primary industries. A jetty, workers’
accommodation and tryworks - (where whale oil was extracted from whale
blubber), were built along the beach, providing whale oil for fuel, fertiliser,
soap and lubrication. As Fremantle’s port activities expanded, the bay became
busy with boat-building and associated trades. Slipways and a breakwater were
constructed along the water’s edge and Thomas Mews built a large boatshed.
Later, land along Bathers Beach was used for goods’ stores, sheds and a
railway line. Arthur Head, at the bay’s north end, was considered an important
defence site for Fremantle Port. A gun battery was built in 1904 and further
armaments were added during World War II. The remains of the original
whaling and boat-building structures are now buried under sand.
In the 1980s, the early shoreline, beach and dunes were reconstructed by the
City of Fremantle with the assistance of State and Federal Government funding.
The City of Fremantle has an ongoing commitment to maintain Bathers Beach
for recreational use and to safeguard its rich history of shipbuilding and
seafaring activities.
View north across Bathers Bay (c1889). Fremantle Library local history collection print no. 2034a
Manjarree Trail
Perth islands
Arthur Head (Manjarree) along with
Fremantle (Walyalup), Swan River
(Derbal Yeregan) and Cantonment Hill
(Dwerda Weelardinup) are connected
in Nyoongar oral tradition with Garden
Island (Meeandip), Carnac Island
(Ngooloormayup), Rottnest Island
(Wadjemup) and Cockburn
Sound (Derbal Nara).
Oral history from descendants of local
Whadjuk Nyoongar people tell how
the mainland had once extended past
Rottnest, but after a loud noise and fire
the sea rushed in. Events of at least 6000
years ago confirm that an ice melt led to
sea level rise which inundated the area.
N
W
S
Weeip’s
Territory
Wadjemup
(Rottnest Island)
Cockburn Sound
Boorlo
(Perth)
Derbal Yeregan
(The Swan River)
Beeloo
Munday’s
Territory
Walyalup
(Fremantle)
Ngooloormayup
(Carnac Island)
Meeandip
(Garden Island)
Carnac Island
(Ngooloormayup)
Garden Island
(Meeandip)
Mooro
Yellowgonga’s
Territory
E
Beeliar
Midgegooroo’s
Territory
Charters
Stragglers rocks
Manjarree Trail
Clontarf Hill
Clontarf Hill is one of just a few limestone
and sand hillocks in the Fremantle area that
has not been quarried. It is an important
Whadjuk Nyoongar site for several reasons
and many Whadjuk fought and died here
after settlement. The view from Clontarf
Hill takes in offshore islands and the
Indian Ocean (Wardan) which has spiritual
significance and is known as a place where
spirits go to another land.
Mythological stories relate to Clontarf Hill
being part of a limestone ridge which had
been created by Waugul, the sacred rainbow
serpent. Another has the hill holding a story
of a mother and her two sons. They are the
protectors of the Derbal Nara (Cockburn
Sound) and protect it from the Booyl-a-gatak
(sorcery) coming from the North/West.
Clontarf Hill was a camp site along
a foot track (bidi) that linked
Whadjuk of the Perth coastal plain,
to Nyoongar groups throughout
the South West. Hammond (1933)
identified the tracks beginning
in Perth and winding along the
northern bank of the Swan River
to where North Fremantle is today.
There was very shallow water for
more than half way across the river
and only a short distance to swim.
The bidi then continued from
Fremantle to Clontarf Hill and
towards Bibra Lake, then through
Rockingham to Mandurah.
Boorlo
(Perth)
Derbal Yaragan
(The Swan River)
Walyalup (Fremantle)
Clontarf Hill
Bibra Lake
Mooriburdup
(Rockingham)
N
W
E
S
Mandurah
The Arthur Head Reserve
Roundhouse
Bathers Beach
Bathers Bay and Bathers Beach have long been a hub of
activity in Fremantle. Before European settlement in 1829,
an Aboriginal tribal group, the Whadjuck people, used this
general area as a major trade route as well as an important
meeting place. They called the area Walyalup and the bay
Manjaree. In 1837, the Fremantle Whaling Company built a
jetty and established operations on the beach.
A tunnel built by the whalers through the cliff linked the
jetty to High Street and exists today as a reminder of one
of the port’s first commercial ventures. The headland
continued to serve the colony well with shore facilities
for shipping, warehouses and administrative buildings.
Most of these buildings have been removed, although
the remains are still buried under the sand. Detailed
information on this part of the Arthur Head Reserve is
available at the City of Fremantle Visitor Centre and via
the guides located at the Roundhouse. The Roundhouse is
open from 10:30 am to 3:30 pm daily.
View of western portion of Arthur Head promontory (c1910). Fremantle
Library local history collection print no. 2034a
View north across Bathers Bay (c1889). Fremantle Library local history
collection print no. 2034a