Incredible story of ancient and modern
The Yawuru man from the Kimberley tells a fascinating story of Country, community and culture on his daily Broome tours
Be prepared for the
unexpected. It’s hard to believe places like Broome exist when you see it for the first time: where white sand meets pindan soil between the turquoise water of the Indian Ocean and the mangroves of Roebuck Bay. Broome is known for its amazing 22km Cable Beach, its sunsets, camels and pearls. But there’s much more to the city than what you see on the surface. The beauty of Country here, its richness and diversity, reveals itself in layers. When you see it – really see it – through an Indigenous lens you understand its depth of culture. Such as, the Aboriginal communities have more than 20 names for Cable Beach because it plays such an important role for their saltwater people.
Broome is actually
one of the most multicultural places in Australia. The pearling history brought a lot of people to this part of the country to seek their fortunes, from all over Australia and also Asia – Broome’s Chinatown is epic. There are more than 55 languages spoken around town, which is pretty amazing. There’s also a diverse number of Indigenous nations represented here, too. The people who live here are still in touch with their Aboriginal heritage, and it still holds incredible integrity.
Broome is the product
of ancient and modern. Indigenous heritage here stretches back millennia, then modern-day Broome was built around the pearling rush in the late 1800s. I’m the product of ancient and modern, just like Broome itself, and I have Aboriginal, Asian and European heritage. My family, like many others here, also has links back to the pearling boom.
There’s an abundance of
bush tucker. Most people drive straight past Broome’s mangroves. But this is still an abundant food bowl. When I take people foraging here I show them in just two hours how my people have been living and eating for 20,000 years. We collect shellfish like pipis, cockles, mangrove snails, razor clams, crabs and molluscs and chuck them on the fire and eat them.
Indigenous Australians were the world’s earliest
conservationists. I take people to a lookout that’s home to a major shell midden, Broome’s largest. You need to visit with an Indigenous guide to understand the significance of this place. The clearing is littered with shells that have bleached white over the thousands of years they’ve lain in the sun. This is where my people, the Yawuru, would come together to eat and watch over the bay. They’d leave behind the shells to let those passing by later know what had been eaten, and hence what to avoid to ensure conservation of species.
Be prepared to step back
in time. I tell people to think big when they visit Broome. Really big. The area here is home to 135-million-year-old dinosaur footprints, representing 21 species including sauropods, ornithopods and stegosaurus. Dinosaurs roamed the coastal marshes and swamp forests, leaving tracks in the sandy tidal flats and abandoned river channels. At low tide you can check them out at places like Reddell Beach, Cable Beach and Gantheaume Point.
To get a taste of place
go to the Staircase Markets. The markets are held every full moon at Town Beach Reserve to celebrate the Staircase to the Moon, an amazing natural phenomenon caused by the full moon’s reflections across the mudflats of Roebuck Bay, creating the illusion of a stairway reaching skywards. Everyone comes out to attend the markets and eat and listen to live music. It’s a great way to try different foods and meet the locals.