Mooro culture and heritage collection

The Nyoongar people have occupied and managed the southwest of Western Australia for over 40,000 years. Nyoongar is the name for the indigenous people whose ancestors originally occupied and still occupy the whole southwest area. The word Nyoongar means 'person' or 'people'. As the Nyoongar language was not written prior to colonisation, there are many spellings of the word Nyoongar, and indeed most Nyoongar.

Nyoongar Boodja (people's country) is comprised of at least 13 Nyoongar groups; the Wadjak Nyoongar people traditionally occupied the country that is the Perth Metropolitan area. The Mooro people's country lies within Wadjak country and within the City of Stirling local government area.

The Mooro people traditionally lived in extended family groups, caring for country through cultural ceremonies such as song, dance and use of fire. Access to certain areas such as the sea was regulated according to season, the status of a family group member, totem and the presence of sacred sites. 

The wetlands and the coastal areas are a dominant feature of Mooro Nyoongar Boodja. These were abundant with natural resources and used during the warmer months for such activities as camping, hunting, fishing, ceremony and leisure time. Occasionally the people enjoyed feasting on a beached whale. Bidi or the foot tracks joined the wetlands, rivers and lakes with their campsites and areas of importance.

Elder Oriel Green remembers her grandfather telling her "The old people used to go through the bush to the water, to the sea, and he said they'd put their fish traps down there and when we lived in North Beach he said to me "old people used to live there a long time ago and they used to catch fish down there not far from you, and he used to talk about old people meeting up in the bush."

Elder Beverley Port-Louis speaks about country and the stories her dad used to tell her saying "the connection of all the stories, you can still identify with just being there, so I think that's one of the significances of us being Nyoongar is that we got connection to country straight away."

Traditional owner and Elder Doolan-Leisha Eatts remembers early Mirrabooka saying "And in those days, you know, there was no Mirrabooka, there was no houses and we used to drive all over where Mirrabooka Shopping Centre is, chase kangaroos, see the emus there and pick up wood right there where the main shopping part is for our barbeques and everything."    

The City of Stirling work together with the Elders in the community, Wadjak Northside and aboriginal people with a commitment to facilitate the Reconciliation Action Plan. The City of Stirling History Collection previously held a number of artefacts at the Mount Flora Regional Museum, such as a message stick found in Star Swamp, but they were donated to the Berndt Museum at the University of Western Australia for safe keeping. The Community History team are working towards expanding the content of this collection and working together with the community to create an inclusive and diverse offering.

Cultural Safety Warning - The content in this collection may feature images of those who have passed away and may cause distress. Please be in touch to share concerns about the material presented.