FIRST NATIONS PEOPLE

WHO ARE THE NANDA?

The Nanda people have lived in the Northampton-Kalbarri region for thousands of years. 

Nanda are the salt water people. Keepers of the land and sea, they have a spiritual connection to the land and Mother Earth. Aboriginal people known as the Nanda, inhabited land including Kalbarri, west to Willa Gulli and to the mouth of the Bowes River, East to Northampton and North to Tamala. The Nanda people believe mythological Dreamtime beings sculptured the land to what we see today.

Long ago during the spiritual Dreamtime, a serpent called Beemarra travelled down the Murchison River, drawn by the unfamiliar sound of the pounding waves. The Beemarra followed a creek and then disappeared underground to tunnel her way to the coast. Emerging at Kalbarri Coastal Cliffs, Beemarra was terrified by the thundering waves and fled back to the safety of the Murchison River. As she fled her passage was marked by a tunnel through an outcrop of red sandstone. She rested in many places leaving fresh water where she had lain. These fresh water springs are still in existence today and are registered sites with the Department of Indigenous Affairs.

209 Aboriginal heritage sites are registered in this area.

The local Nanda community are working hard to keep their heritage and culture alive.

DOES ANYONE SPEAK NANDA?

The last fluent speaker of the Nanda language, Lucy Ryder, passed away in 2003. While some elders still use Nanda words, the language is not spoken day to day. However, it was recorded and is being kept alive by the Nanda people. Lucy's daughter, Violet Drury and others are keeping the Nanda language known through further study, school lessons and text books. You can support them by learning Nanda words as you visit the Skywalk, which has translations craved into rockwork around the area.