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Frog Hollow
Beryline has painted one of many favourite swimming waterholes that is located in Frog Hollow – seen within the middle of the painting are the colours blue and green, these colours represent the “living water” whereas the yellow is a depiction of the sand that surrounds the pool. ” It’s only just straight down from where the camp is, this where all the kids go after school or when its hot to have a swim” Beryline says this is a favourite swimming place for everyone.
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Rockhole la Birnoowoon Country – Gordan Barney
This Rock hole is la Birnoowoon Country,
we use this rock hole for fishing we catchem moot moot there thats the pearch small but very good eating we picnic here with the whole family and even bogey (Bath) in this rock hole it was very deep.
Beautiful place my country.
Kija
Berrimbe gendewa dagoorlan birnoo gendang wiji ngerne
Yirrayinde goorndarrim burru nyirrega girrim
Yirramangginde moornmoorbe janggirrim.
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Warlawoon – Kathy Ramsay
“This painting is about the Warlawoon Country my dad Rammey Ramsay country my beautiful old artist dad who left his memory with me to carry on after him.
Trees, camping areas, water holes, hills, and traditional stories of his mum and dad and their parents and so on he told me.” Kathy Ramsay
Kathy Ramsay is the oldest daughter of the late senior Gija man of Jungoora skin, Rammay Ramsay, whose ancestral Country lies to the west of Bedford Downs near Elgee Cliffs. Following in her father’s foorsteps., her work is forever infused with the memory of Warlawoon Country. Together with a longing for Country, their work teases out the complexities of Gija world-views and the impact of pastoral occupation on their land.
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Purnululu – Bungle Bungles
This painting shows the country that Craiglyn’s grandmother comes from, Purnululu. It is also the country of her son, renowned Warmun artist Jack Britten. Purnululu ( The Bungle Bungles) is located 55 kms south west of the Warmun Community. It is a significant point of reference for many Gija people and has many sacred places located within its striped domes. Craiglyn paints this country using a strong sense of design.
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Red Butte
Red Butte is a hill which lies at the start of Jarlalu (the Ord River) on Texas Downs Station. There is a cave in Red Butte where a juwarri (witch) lives. She was a girl called Gudbarriyal who ran away from Lissadell Station. She went wangala (mad) when she was out hunting for sugarbag (wild honey) and never went back to the station. The station managers couldn’t catch her and she was seen a number of times and said to have horns growing out of her head.
Jane’s father, Rover Thomas, worked for many years on Texas Downs as a stockman.
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Dayiwul Ngarranggarni – Geraldine Bedford
Geraldine’s aunty Lena Nyadbi told her this story and now Geraldine is the custodian.
Women travelled up river placing a spinifex net across the water to catch Dayiwul (Barramundi). Halfway to Gawinji the women stopped and left the net at this place; it turned to stone. This place was destroyed when the Argyle Diamond Mine was first cut. Nyadbi says there was a soak where Gija people used to dig down into the ground for water when other waterholes had dried up. The diamonds mined today are the scales of the barramundi who jumped through the range to escape capture. She saw the net they had placed in the river and jumped over it. These sites have been destroyed by the pit of the mine.
Bedford has made this work to remember the country before the mine and to pass these stories and history on to her children and grandchildren.