Traditional Ecological Knowledge of Nyangumarta Warrarn Indigenous Protected Area GENO DI US IGENO IN D US IN P R S P O A R S T E O A EC AR TE RE TED CTED A INDEX INTRODUCTION 2 BOTH (INLAND) AND COASTAL / WALYARTA NYANGUMARTA HIGHWAY (KIDSON TRACK) - INLAND TREE SPECIES SPECIES PARNTARL 78 TREE SPECIES JIKILY 80 JUKURTANY 6 MAKARTU / LAKURRU1 82 YALAKURRA 8 WURTARR 84 JULUKU 10 LOW TREE or SHRUB SPECIES JUNYJU 12 KUMPAJA 86 LOW TREE or SHRUB SPECIES LIRRINGKIN 88 MIRNTIRRJINA 14 SHRUB SPECIES NGALYANTA 16 JIMA 90 Warning: This document may contain pictures or names of people who PAJINAWANTI 18 PIRRNYURU 92 have since passed away. WIRLINY 20 MANGARR 94 JUMPURR 22 KARLUNKARLUN 96 This project was supported by Yamatji Marlpa Aboriginal Corporation, through KUMPALY 24 KARTAWURRU 98 funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Programme and JIMPIRRINY 26 JALKUPURTA 100 1 Indigenous Protected Areas Programme. YURTURL 28 WALYARTA (MANDORA MARSH) AND COASTAL SPECIES SHRUB SPECIES TREE SPECIES The traditional ecological knowledge contained in this publication was recorded by KARLAYIN 30 NGALINYMARRA 102 KAWARR 32 KURNTURUNGU 104 Vicki Long, ethno-botanist (Vicki Long & Associates), with the assistance of Brian PALMANGU 34 RANYJAMAYI 106 Geytenbeek, linguist. WAYALANY 36 TAMARISK 108 WARRI WARRI 38 LOW TREE or SHRUB SPECIES Photography: Vicki Long, José Kalpers, Volker Mischker and Mamoru Matsuki, PURNTAKARNU 40 KULINYJIRR 110 unless otherwise stated. PURARRPURARR 42 YURTURL 112 JULYUNGKU 44 YURTUL 114 Coordination: José Kalpers, Yamatji Marlpa Aboriginal Corporation. KALAYAKALAYA 46 JUMPURRU 116 PURTATU 48 MUNTURU 118 © All traditional and cultural knowledge in this publication is the MANGARR 50 SHRUB SPECIES intellectual property of the Nyangumarta people. It cannot be used PERENNIAL HERB SPECIES PIRRPUKU 120 without their written consent through the Nyangumarta Warrarn WAMULU 52 WUMULMUL 122 JINYJIWIRRILY 54 PERENNIAL HERB SPECIES Aboriginal Corporation. JINYJIWIRRILY1 56 Name not known 124 MARRPARI 58 November 2016 MARRPARI 126 MIRLPA MIRLPA 60 JINYIWIRRILY 128 MULLU MULLU 62 VINES AND CREEPERS NGAMANGAMA 64 WALJURU 130 VINES AND CREEPERS SPECIES YUKURLI 132 WIRLKARU 66 JINYJARLKURINY 134 YUKURLI 68 GRASS SPECIES GRASS SPECIES RUKU RUKU 136 NGUJARNA 70 SEDGE SPECIES KARRARL 72 PARTALYU 138 PARU 74 JULAMARTA 140 FUNGI SPECIES PARNGURR1 76 PARNGURR 77 1 INTRODUCTION Background Walyarta and Eighty Mile Beach The Nyangumarta Warrarn Indigenous Protected Area A Ramsar wetland site, known as the Eighty Mile Beach (IPA), dedicated by the Nyangumarta Traditional Owners Ramsar site and includes Eighty Mile Beach extending and officially recognised by the Commonwealth of from Cape Keraudren to Cape Missiessy and the Mandora Australia on the 23rd of April 2015, is a large area of 28,420 Salt Marsh (DEC 2009). Eighty Mile Beach lies within the km2 located in North Western Australia. The biodiversity Dampierland bioregion within the Northern Province, and cultural resources of the many habitats within the while Walyarta in Mandora Marsh is within the Great IPA are managed by the Nyangumarta Rangers. In an Sandy Desert bioregion, Eremaean Province (Beard 1990). effort to enable the Traditional Owners to meet their Eighty Mile Beach is classified as one of only five arid cultural obligations and aspirations toward their Country, coasts in the world (V&C Semeniuk Research Group the Yamatji Marlpa Aboriginal Corporation (YMAC) has 2008). The beach is characterized by an almost given support to the Nyangumarta land management uninterrupted extensive stretch of intertidal sand and program, including training of Rangers. mud flats paralleled on the landward side by a quartz sand beach and coastal dunes. A few tidal creeks lined with White Traditional culture is passed down through generations Mangrove (Avicennia marina) occur to the south (DEC 2009). Mandora Marsh, which occurs just east and at the northern end of Eighty Mile Beach, is comprised of a series of orally, by demonstration and through life experience. floodplain depressions with a linear dune system. It contains two large seasonal wetlands, one of which is known as More formal Ranger training programs involving Lake Walyarta, the other East Lake, and a series of permanent mound springs (DEC 2009). The seasonal wetlands rely on the Elders strengthens knowledge and builds on direct precipitation and local run off following heavy rainfall (DEC 2009). When inundated with water, the lake is fresh their capacity to manage their lands effectively. The but alkaline. As water evaporates it becomes increasingly saline, eventually forming a dry salt pan (Graham 1999). Nyangumarta community considered it would be valuable to record the Elders’ traditional knowledge of the use of plants for medicine, food, ceremony, artefact and other purposes within the IPA. To achieve this, YMAC organised two ethno-botanical field surveys involving both the Elders and Rangers. These were conducted along the Nyangumarta Highway (Kidson Track) (2014) and within Walyarta (Mandora Marsh) and along the coast line (2015). IPA Environment The IPA is situated in the southern part of the Canning Basin and encompasses a range of diverse habitats. It extends some 310 km inland to the east through the Great Sandy Desert from the coastline of the Indian Ocean at Eighty Mile Beach. The Nyangumarta Highway (formerly known as both Kidson Track and Wapet Road) is the only east- west access dissecting the IPA area. Walyarta (Mandora Marsh) sits on the northern boundary. Rainfall in the IPA is unreliable, both within a year and between years. Humidity is low and temperatures range from warm to hot year round inducing high evaporation rates (Burbidge and McKenzie 1983). These are significant factors influencing the state of the wetland and the ecology of the area. Nyangumarta Highway (Kidson Track) The Nyangumarta Highway (Kidson Track) lies within the IPA in the south-west portion of the Great Sandy Desert. The section of the Nyangumarta Highway (Kidson track) travelled for the ethno-botanical survey consists of an almost level sandplain, gradually rising up from the coast, with very occasional low linear dunes and gravelly rises. Pindan sand plain occurs within 100 km from the North West Coastal Highway. Some minor drainage depressions occur but there are no organized drainage features. 2 3 Vegetation Participants This Booklet Botanically, the survey area lies within the Canning the coastline, support beach spinifex (Spinifex longifolius) This booklet presents each of the plants discussed during Participant 20141 20152 20163 Botanical District, although within 100 km from the and scattered shrubs of Acacia ampliceps, A. bivenosa. the two surveys and the August 2nd 2016 meeting. Elders coastline there is a gradual transition into the Northern The area immediately landward of the beach dune is flat, Information includes the language name as agreed by all Province (Beard 1990). degraded and dominated by the introduced buffel grass Winnie Coppin (WC) x x present in the meeting August 2nd 2016 (also included is Vegetation along the Nyangumarta Highway (Kidson (Cenchrus ciliaris) (VLA 2015). Nyaparu (Margaret) Rose (MR) x x name given in the Dictionary (2008)), the scientific and Track) is broadly described as Acacia ssp (A. ancistrocarpa, Walyarta in Mandora Marsh supports scattered to open Martina Badal (MB) x x common names, traditional use of the plant – medicine, A. monticola, A, tumida, A. colei) and Grevillea ssp low samphire shrubland with scattered small Melaleuca Rosie Munro (RM) x x food, ceremony, artefact, other – and any relevant stories, photos, a description of the plant, where the plant was (Grevillea refracta, G. wickhamii) tall open shrubland to alsophila trees. Between Walyarta and the other large Susie Gilbert (SG) x x patchy open tall scrub over Acacia hilliana, A. stellaticeps wetland lake, East Lake, is a permanent creek of saline found and a scan of the plant for future identification Teddy Hunter (TD) x x x with occasional Jacksonia aculeata scattered to open water, lined with White Mangrove (Avicennia marina), purposes. low shrubland over Triodia ssp hummock grassland known as Salt Creek. Included in the survey area and Darcy Hunter (DH) x x For the purpose of this booklet, two very broad (including Triodia epactia, T. pungens and T. schinzii) with to the south of Walyarta are a number of fresh water Rangers habitats have been used: “inland” to correspond to the occasional tussock grass Eragrostis eriopoda. There springs supporting tall Paperbark (Melaleuca ssp) forests. Nyangumarta Highway (Kidson Track) surveyed in 2014 Lynette Wilridge (LW) x x x are scattered Corymbia trees with Erythrophloeum These springs are raised peat bogs consisting of a and “coastal” which corresponds to the Walyarta and chlorostachys, Owenia reticulata, Codonocarpus cotinifolia central mound of saturated peat 2-3 m in elevation and Ian Hunter (IH) x coastal survey conducted in 2015. Some plants were (VLA 2014). surrounded by a moat, generally with water in it (DEC Augustine Badal (AB) x x discussed during both surveys and these have been The Eighty Mile beach dunes immediately paralleling 2009). Lindsay Hunter (LH) x x x placed under a third heading “Species discussed both Aquinas Nardi (AN) x x 2014 (inland) and 2015 (Walyarta / coastal)” Nathan Hunter (NH) x x References Language Roberta Hunter (RH) x Beard, J.S. (1990) Plant Life of Western Australia Kangaroo Press A comparison of the language names given during the 2014 and 2015 ethno-botanical surveys against those listed in Kerri Hunter (KH) x 1990. the Nyangumarta – English Dictionary, English – Nyangumarta Wordlist and Topical Wordlists (2008) (the Dictionary Vallerina Aspro (VA) x Burbidge AA, McKenzie NL, (eds) 1983 Wildlife of the Great 2008) shows there are many discrepancies. Brian Geytenbeek, a linguist who has worked with the Nyangumarta Sandy Desert. Western Australia 12, 127p people translating their language since 1972 and the chief contributor to the Dictionary (2008) explains the potential Charmaine Wright (CW) x x Ishmael Hunter (IH) x Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) 2009 reason for this.