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Karlamilyi

Karlamilyi (Rudall River region) and its surrounds are Warnman Country, located in the very heart of the Martu homelands. The region is situated southwest of the Great Sandy Desert and northeast of the Little Sandy Desert. Spanning through the region is the epic Karlamilyi River, which runs north into Nyayartakujarra (Ngayarta Kujarra, Lake Dora), a large salt lake. The Broadhurst and Fingoon Ranges extend diagonally across the river’s path. The landscape is striking for its abundance of gorges and valleys carved by ice age glaciers, rugged cliffs, red tali (sand dunes), grasslands, sandstone and quartz rocky outcrops, and salt lakes. 

Across the whole region are hundreds of water sources; including waterholes, creeks, soaks, lakes, pools and rockholes. Lining the rivers are coolabah, walyji (river gum), yulbah (bats wing coral tree), and several species of acacia and hakea. Jalkuran (paperbark), kurrulyu/ mijarrpa (bloodwood) and jawirli (quandong) are found in the region’s valleys, and wikirrpa (desert oaks) and grasses in the sandplains. The area is abundant with bird species, jila (snakes), maruntu (goannas), red kangaroos and warlpaju (rock wallabies). The region is also home to remote aboriginal communities Punmu and Parnngurr.

According to two of the central Martu Jukurrpa (Dreaming) narratives, the Karlamilyi River and its surrounds were created by the ancestral beings Jila Kujarra (Two Snakes) and the Wati Kujarra (Two Goanna Men) as they travelled across the lands.

Categories: Shire of East Pilbara (Martumili Artists)

Name: Morika Biljabu

Language: Manyjilyjarra

Community: Punmu

Biography:

"I was born in Port Hedland in January 1988, my skin is Purungu. I’m a Martu girl. My first language is Manyjilyjarra and my second language is English. I grew up in Parnngurr and Punmu communities. When I was young, I didn’t know what was out in the desert. Even when I first took photos of Martu people, I didn’t really know what was going on. When the old people all started painting, I asked them what they were doing and they told me where their country was and taught me the country stories. I really love taking photos of the old people and they have been giving me a better idea of what they are doing when they paint. That was how I learned about the history of the Canning Stock Route and how they all lived in the desert. How they survived there. They all helped me a little bit. They helped me understand how I am connected to their paintings and related to all the families through the skin groups and how we are all connected to the country. It’s a big country. All the people seem to paint different stories, but it’s the same story underneath. We’re really all one people, with one big story and one big country." Morika has been assisting her grandmother, Jakayu Biljabu, on a series of significant works and learning more about her country. In 2009, Morika was nominated for the Prix Pictet, an international prize devoted to photography and sustainability.

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