Warndoolier- Our East Perth Neighbourhood’s History.
Warndoolier- our East Perth Neighbourhood’s history.
East Perth is not just the home of Wungening, but a place of spirituality, deep history and culture for the Whadjuk Noongar people.
The Whadjuk believe that the Waugal, a spirit ancestor in the form of a giant rainbow serpent, created during the dreaming, shaped the Derbal Yerrigan and all other waterways and landforms with its enormous body. The chains of water, lakes and rivers are believed to be places that the Waugal thrusts it head out of the ground, such as Warndoolier.
The brook that remains was once a substantial watercourse fed by a interconnected wetland system that offered a place where freshwater, food and natural resources were in abundance. For thousands of years, the Whadjuk people would rest, hunt and trade with other groups, at this exact spot. Due to its positioning along the Derbal Yerrigan, it was a spot where people could relax after travelling along the river.
Warndoolier was also the place that they Waugal was believed to have laids its eggs amongst the reedy vegetation. When it became time for the eggs to hatch, the Waugal would return to the brook to guide the hatchlings out into the river.
In 1927 the Perth Prohibited area for Aboriginals was created. This area prohibited Aboriginal people from entering the CBD after 6pm and required all Aboriginals to carry a permit at all times, and if neither were followed could lead to their arrest and imprisonment. However despite Warndoolier’s proximity to the city, it was not included in this prohibited area.
This exclusion created a space for camping for migrant Noongar and other Aboriginal families, under the former Bunbury railway bridge. It soon became a hub, that was a crucial, relatively accessible area for housing, employment, and community connection that was marked by resilience and survival.
After the abolishment of the prohibition area in 1954, the area was redeveloped, leading to a loss of many significant sites, the clearing of camping areas and displacement of many Aboriginal residents.
Despite the destruction of much of its physical history, the area remains deeply significant to many Noongar people, with stories of the “Moorditj Mob” (solid mob) preserving the memory of this vibrant community, in the area we work on today.