Beeliar Wetlands

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Beeliar Wetlands
Southwest portion of the metropolitan area of Perth,  Western Australia
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Beeliar Wetlands
Beeliar Wetlands
Coordinates 32°08′S115°50′E / 32.133°S 115.833°E / -32.133; 115.833
Population7,454
 • Density1,864/km2 (4,830/sq mi)
Established1 June 1829
Area4.0 km2 (1.5 sq mi)
State electorate(s) Western Australian Government
Federal division(s) Commonwealth Government

The Beeliar Wetlands is a wetland located in the southwest portion of Western Australia. It is made up of two chains of lakes and wetlands that run parallel to the west coast of Australia. They are situated on the Swan Coastal Plain between the Darling Escarpment and the Indian Ocean. Beeliar was the name given to the area by the Aboriginal people that lived and hunted in the area. [1]

Contents

The first chain of lakes and wetlands lies about 1–3 kilometres (0.62–1.86 mi) inland from the Indian Ocean. The lakes in this chain are mostly saline and often described as "seasonal" because they often dry up during summer months. The second chain is situated a further 6–8 kilometres (3.7–5.0 mi) inland and includes several large freshwater lakes. The Beeliar Wetlands are located in the southwest portion of the metropolitan area of Perth, Western Australia. The northernmost point is located in the suburb of Mount Pleasant, just south of the Swan River. The wetlands stretch some 25 kilometres (16 mi) south to the suburb of Baldivis.

The state government has incorporated the remnants of the wetlands, including some 19 lakes and numerous other wetlands, into the Beeliar Regional Park, which is managed by its Department of Environment and Conservation. The park is composed of several separate portions and is not one contiguous expanse of land.

Location and geography

When Beeliar Nyungar controlled the areas, they lived alongside the wetlands now within the bounds of the metropolitan area. To this day there are sixteen Aboriginal campsites within the metropolitan area, predominately located on "the banks of North and Bibra Lakes". [2] Beeliar Nyungar created many well-used trails to and from watering holes, which became "the main transport routes between the Murray and Swan River Nyungar Groups and the area was an important place of trade activity for Aboriginal people". [2]

History and recognition

The area around Cockburn was colonized in 1829 when European settlers first arrived, however only in the 1890s did the City of Cockburn start growing at a rapid rate and undergoing urbanisation. “Cockburn has evolved into a fast-growing local government area.” [2] The rich history of Cockburn dates back 40,000 years. The Beeliar Nyungar people have strong cultural and historical ties to The City of Cockburn and feel a deep-rooted connection to the more natural areas of the city.

Aboriginal context

"Nyungar" is a general term used to describe any clan that lived “in the south-west of Western Australia”; [3] currently there are thirteen groups of Aboriginal clans still living in the area, one of which is referred to as the Whadjuk and:

identify as Nyungah. Until the Swan River colony was founded on their boodjar (country) in 1829, each moort (clan) lived within their own ‘run’, following bidi (foodlines) from the coast to the chain of wetlands and across the sandy, woodland plain to the escarpment thirty kilometres inland. [3]

These tribes have always contributed to trading in the area as a means of gathering needed materials. These clans “went as far as Uluru and the center of Australia [4] and vice versa from the Indigenous groups in these areas.

Aboriginal use

The Beeliar clan are the traditional owners of the land before settlers arrived; they are one of the many Whadjuk clans living in and around the area that would become the Perth metropolitan region. Ancestors of the clan believe that their spirits will always be linked to the nature of the Cockburn land. [2] Ancient stories left by the Nyungar clan state that the city's many connected wetlands are represented by a rainbow serpent, referred to as the Waakal. This was known to be the wetland's modern view as the serpent weaves through Fremantle to Mandurah, where the wetlands are. “The Waakal creates the shape of the Boodjar, over, under, and through the earth and gives foundation to the meaning of life in Cockburn.” [2]

Aboriginal history

In Australia, Aboriginal history stretches “well over 40,000 years”. [5] In Western Australia the Nyungar people used to control and live on this land during that time. The name Nyungar is given to anyone who “occupied and continue to occupy the whole South West” [6] of Western Australia. The word Nyungar is accepted as meaning "people" or "person" in the indigenous language; common modern spellings include "Noongar", "Nyungah" and "Nyoongar", however, they all translate to the same meaning. The Beeliar people were “one of the clans of Whadjuk group of Nyungar”. [5] Beeliar was later found to translate to "river people" as the tribe used to occupy the land nearest to the river, the land we now know as the City of Cockburn is where the Beeliar used to live; they referred to is as Beeliar Boodjar, "boodjar" meaning country. “Words in the Nyungar language can be written in many different ways due to regional dialectic differences and the absence of a common orthography.” [4]

Nature

Banksia woodlands between Murdoch University and Bibra Lake Beeliar murdoch Gnangarra-22.jpg
Banksia woodlands between Murdoch University and Bibra Lake

The Beeliar land is known for its extensive wetland system throughout the Cockburn area. The locals have always valued these wetlands as they have always held great spiritual significance for the Nyungar people. This land was also valued for its ability to provide food, medical, and manufacturing resources.  

The Beeliar land is often referred to as "Beeliar Boodjar", "Boodjar" being the Noongar word for "land"; this land is still frequently visited by the Nyungar people. When the Indigenous tribes controlled this land it had two main campsites: the “Coolbellup (North Lake) and Walliabup (Bibra Lake). Nyunagr continued camping in the Cockburn area through the 1980s.” [5] To fulfill social and cultural obligations, the Beeliar Nyungar and other Nyungar clans used well-established trails that linked wetlands together. [5]

Human Impact

Roe 8 damage

The extension to Roe Highway known as Roe 8 had been planned to pass through the Beeliar Wetlands. There had been significant opposition to the highway, including legal challenges and public protests. [7] [8] [9] [10] Work on the project was suspended after a change of government in the March 2017 state election, with the incoming Labor government intending to cancel the project. [11] [12]

As of 18 March 2017 a group of volunteers have begun spreading mulch  from the woodchipped original trees as the first steps toward restoring the cleared area. [13]

The Beeliar area was previously owned by the Beeliar people. Therefore it has become important to the community to preserve this land. The land of The Beeliar Land holds great significance to the original owners and their ancestors and is viewed as having great education factors for new generations, therefore any damage to this land will cause emotional distress to locals. “The plan has met with years of protests by local government, environmentalists and residents who are concerned about the economic, social and environmental issues associated with the development.” [14] A large issue people had was the damage caused by a plan to build the highway, Roe 8, the damage that building this highway would cause would take decades to restore. "Work on the first stage of the $1.9 billion Perth Freight Link, an extension of Roe Highway across the wetlands, stopped just 24 hours after the Liberal-National alliance lost power in a landslide election defeat.” [15] After being made to halt work “Opponents to the federal-backed Perth Freight Link have committed to persevere and take their case to the High Court after the WA government won an appeal to reverse a decision that invalidated environmental approval for the $1.9 billion project.” [16] The plan for the highway is to cut through the spiritual lands of the Beeliar wetlands but conservationists prepared to resist in order to stop the first stage of work. The case that halted work on the highway is referred to as "Jacob v save Beeliar Wetlands":

“Martin CJ's judgment in Save Beeliar Wetlands v Jacob created a significant degree of uncertainty for many state departments and statutory bodies. The primary implication being that published policies were potentially mandatory relevant considerations in their administrative decision-making processes. It presaged the urgent review of many such policies to avoid future challenges from similarly 'disgruntled parties'." [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noongar</span> Group of Aboriginal peoples on the southwest coast of Australia

The Noongar are Aboriginal Australian people who live in the south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton on the west coast to Esperance on the south coast. There are 14 different groups in the Noongar cultural bloc: Amangu, Ballardong, Yued, Kaneang, Koreng, Mineng, Njakinjaki, Njunga, Pibelmen, Pindjarup, Wadandi, Whadjuk, Wiilman and Wudjari. The Noongar people refer to their land as Noongar boodja.

The Kwinana Freeway is a 72-kilometre (45 mi) freeway in and beyond the southern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, linking central Perth with Mandurah to the south. It is the central section of State Route 2, which continues north as Mitchell Freeway to Clarkson, and south as Forrest Highway towards Bunbury. A 4-kilometre (2.5 mi) section between Canning and Leach highways is also part of National Route 1. Along its route are interchanges with several major roads, including Roe Highway and Mandjoogoordap Drive. The northern terminus of the Kwinana Freeway is at the Narrows Bridge, which crosses the Swan River, and the southern terminus is at Pinjarra Road, east of Mandurah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jandakot, Western Australia</span> Suburb of Perth, Western Australia

Jandakot is a southern suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Cockburn local government area. It is best known for Jandakot Airport that is situated entirely within the suburb, the airport being "the busiest general aviation airport in Australia in terms of aircraft movements", the sixth-busiest civilian airport in Australia in the fiscal year ending 30 June 2018, and in the 2011 fiscal year even the busiest civilian airport in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atwell, Western Australia</span> Suburb of Perth, Western Australia

Atwell is a suburb within the metropolitan area of Perth, Western Australia, situated 21 kilometres (13 mi) south of Perth City, and located in the City of Cockburn local government area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beeliar, Western Australia</span> Suburb of Perth, Western Australia

Beeliar is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Cockburn. The name refers to the Beeliar people, a group of Aboriginal Australians who had land rights over the southern half of Perth's metropolitan area. The suburb contains the Thomsons Lake Nature Reserve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bibra Lake, Western Australia</span> Suburb of Perth, Western Australia

Bibra Lake is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia; it takes its name from the extensive freshwater lake within its boundaries, Bibra Lake. It is located within the City of Cockburn and its postcode is 6163.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roe Highway</span> Highway in Perth, Western Australia

Roe Highway is a 35-kilometre-long (22 mi) limited-access highway and partial freeway in Perth, Western Australia, linking Kewdale with the city's north-eastern and south-western suburbs. The northern terminus is at Reid Highway and Great Northern Highway in Middle Swan, and the southern terminus is with Murdoch Drive at the Kwinana Freeway interchange in Bibra Lake. Roe Highway, in addition to Reid Highway, form State Route 3, a partial ring road around the outer suburbs of the Perth metropolitan area. Roe Highway also forms part of National Highway 94 from Great Eastern Highway Bypass to Great Eastern Highway, and National Highway 95 from Great Eastern Highway to Great Northern Highway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wagyl</span> Deity of the Noongar people

The Wagyl is the Noongar manifestation of the Rainbow Serpent in Australian Aboriginal mythology, from the culture based around the south-west of Western Australia. The Noongar describe the Wagyl as a snakelike Dreaming creature responsible for the creation of the Swan and Canning rivers and other waterways and landforms around present day Perth and the south-west of Western Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pindjarup</span> Indigenous people of Western Australia

The Bindjareb, Binjareb, Pindjarup or Pinjareb are an Indigenous Noongar people that occupy part of the South West of Western Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whadjuk</span> Noongar people of the Swan Coastal Plain in Western Australia

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The Mooro are a Nyungar Aboriginal clan, a subgroup of the Whadjuk. Their territory stretches from the Swan River in Perth north to the Moore River beyond the northern limits of metropolitan Perth and east to Ellen Brook. Evidence of Aboriginal occupation of the Swan Coastal Plain extends back more than 40,000 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beeliar Regional Park</span> Regional park in Perth, Western Australia

Beeliar Regional Park is a conservation park approximately 19 kilometres (12 mi) south of the central business district in Perth, Western Australia, located within the Citys of Cockburn, Kwinana and Melville. The regional park is named after the indigenous Beeliar people of the area.

Boodjar Nyungar Placenames is an online resource of Western Australian Nyungar Aboriginal place names.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonard Collard</span> Professor, University of Western Australia

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corina Abraham</span> Aboriginal activist

Corina Patricia Abraham is a Whadjuk Noongar woman. In 2016, she challenged the Western Australian Government for failure in procedural fairness during its change to the Aboriginal Heritage status of the land to be impacted by the extension to Roe Highway known as Roe 8.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bibra Lake (Western Australia)</span>

Bibra Lake is a freshwater lake in the suburb of Bibra Lake, located south of the central business district of Perth, the capital of Western Australia. The suburb and lake are located within the City of Cockburn local government area. It is bounded by the Roe Highway reservation to the north, Stock Road to the west, the Kwinana Freeway to the east and the freight rail line to the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yangebup Lake</span> Lake in Perth, Western Australia

Yangebup Lake is a freshwater lake in the suburb of Yangebup, 18 kilometres (11 mi) south-west of the central business district of Perth, the capital of Western Australia. It is part of Beeliar Regional Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Spectacles Wetlands</span> Wetlands in Perth, Western Australia

The Spectacles Wetlands is a wetland located in the eponymous suburb, 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of the central business district of Perth, the capital of Western Australia. It is part of Beeliar Regional Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beeliar Drive</span> Road in Perth, Western Australia

Beeliar Drive is a major arterial road in the southwestern part of the Perth Metropolitan Area. It provides an important and unbroken east-west link between Kwinana Freeway and Stock Road providing access to residential developments in Beeliar, Yangebup and Lake Coogee in the west to commercial and industrial development in Cockburn Central, Jandakot and Success in the east. It is one of Perth's more recent arterial road constructions with development of the road occurring between the early 1990s and early 2020s.

References

  1. Nevill, Simon (2001). Travellers guide to the Parks and Reserves of Western Australia. Simon Nevill Publications. ISBN   0-9585367-1-6.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Nyungar History". City Of Cockburn. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  3. 1 2 Delmege, Sharon (2014). "From Camp Life to Suburbia: Aboriginal Housing in Perth". Australian Historical Studies. 45 (3): 368–387. doi:10.1080/1031461X.2014.947298. S2CID   159563326 via Taylor & Francis Online.
  4. 1 2 Collard, Len; Bracknell, Clint (2012). "Beeliar Boodjar: an introduction to Aboriginal history in the City of Cockburn, Western Australia". Australian Aboriginal Studies. 2012 (1). Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Beeliar Boodjar: An introduction to the Aboriginal History of the City of Cockburn based on existing literature". City of Cockburn: Wetlands to Waves. 1: 14. 2017.
  6. Collard, Len; Harben, Sandra (2010). "Which Knowledge Path Will We Travel?". Studies in Western Australian History. 26: 75–95.
  7. Andrew O'Connor (17 December 2016). "Roe 8 extension: Labor election win may not save wetlands". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  8. Andrew O'Connor (16 December 2016). "Roe 8: Save Beeliar Wetlands group lose fresh legal challenge against highway extension". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  9. "Save the Beeliar Wetlands" . Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  10. Commons Librarian (22 December 2023). "Campaigns that Changed Western Australia". The Commons Socail Change Library. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  11. "Perth Freight Link: Main Roads WA agrees to suspend Roe 8 project". PerthNow. Seven West Media. AAP. 13 March 2017. Archived from the original on 13 March 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2017.Additional archives: 14 March 2017 .
  12. Davey, Melissa (13 March 2017). "Mark McGowan stops Perth Freight Link in first move as WA premier". The Guardian. Australian Associated Press. Archived from the original on 13 March 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2017.Additional archives: 14 March 2017 .
  13. Andrew O'Connor (18 March 2017). "Roe 8 project leaves ugly legacy across Beeliar wetlands after project dumped by Labor". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  14. Chambers, Jane; Jennings, Philip (2017). "Roe 8: Perth's environmental flashpoint in the WA election". foreground. Archived from the original on 25 March 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  15. Ceranic, Irena (2017). "Roe 8 environmental damage could take decades to restore, according to experts". ABC News. Archived from the original on 30 March 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  16. Le May, Rebecca (2016). "WA: WA government Roe 8 appeal successful". ProQuest.
  17. Paul, Phillip (2016). "Case Note on Jacob v Save Beeliar Wetlands (Inc): Mandatory Relevant Considerations, Administrative Procedures and Legal Unreasonableness". University of Notre Dame Australia Law Review. 18: 160. doi: 10.32613/undalr/2016.18.1.6 .