Story: Go Cultural Tours
Episode: 13
Presenter: Carmen Braidwood
Air Date:  7th February 2021

Carmen shares a unique experience on Rottnest Island where you can learn all about the culture and history of Australia’s first peoples.

• Walter McGuire is a Whadjuk Noongar elder who shares the stories of Wadjemup with visitors. These stories have been passed down for generations.
• After meeting at the visitor’s centre, the tour begins with a Welcome to Country at Thomson Bay.
• Welcome to Country is important because it brings people together and acknowledges the traditional owners of the land.
• Walter performs a traditional Aboriginal Sand and Water Ceremony, which makes the great spirit aware of your presence and guarantees your safety on the land.
• The tour also exposes the more controversial history of Rottnest, where Aboriginal men were imprisoned and used as a labour force to build the island’s settlement.
• The first stories of Wadjemup take you back to the Dreamtime when the Whadjuk and other Noongar people would walk to the island from the mainland.

For more information, head to
www.rottnestisland.com