Pilungah Reserve: celebrating connection to country – in pictures
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Helene Aubault, left, manager of neighbouring Bush Heritage reserve Ethabuka, speaks with Aunty Isabel Tarrago during the Wangkamadla culture camp to celebrate the renaming.
Photograph: Peter Wallis
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An old Bedford truck, once used for drilling bores back when Pilungah was a cattle station, sits near the homestead. The reserve has been owned and managed by Bush Heritage since 2005. Wangkamadla people and Bush Heritage have been working closely since 2009, entering into a cultural heritage management agreement in 2014.
Photograph: Peter Wallis
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From left: Jakobe Passmore, Abbey Mutavdzic, Avelina Tarrago, Izyric Passmore, Aunty Isabel Tarrago, Deshaun Finn, Graeme Finn and Maleek Finn. Wangkamadla woman and Bush Heritage board member Avelina Tarrago encourages everyone to incorporate traditional names into their vocabulary as a way of recognising connection to culture. ‘Pilungah has been known by that name long before anyone else came onto our country and it’s important that it is recognised as such.’
Photograph: Peter Wallis
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The homestead at Pilungah from above. Bush Heritage CEO Heather Campbell says: ‘Wangkamadla people have a deep and enduring connection to Pilungah and Bush Heritage is proud to be able to promote and celebrate this ongoing connection through this name change.’
Photograph: Peter Wallis
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A gnarled tree in a starlit night at Pilungah Reserve.
Photograph: Peter Wallis
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Jakobe Passmore, in striped shirt, and Izyric Passmore play footy near the Pilungah homestead. Wangkamadla traditional owners including kids and elders attended the culture camp in September 2021.
Photograph: Peter Wallis
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Satellite images have shown improved plant cover and productivity in the swales (the area between sand dunes) under Bush Heritage management.
Photograph: Peter Wallis
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Australia’s largest bird of prey, the wedge-tailed eagle (Aquila audax), is a common sight at Pilungah.
Photograph: Peter Wallis
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Tangled mulla mulla (Ptilotus latifolius) adorns the sand dunes with white wildflowers.
Photograph: Peter Wallis
