AMY LOOGATHA, ELSIE GABORI, DOLLY LOOGATHA, ETHEL THOMAS | 'Nyinyilki Ngurruwarra' Painting | Acrylic on Belgian linen

AMY LOOGATHA, ELSIE GABORI, DOLLY LOOGATHA, ETHEL THOMAS, 'Nyinyilki Ngurruwarra', 2020, Acrylic on Belgian Linen, 198 x 197 cm 

"This is the stone fish trap at Nyinyilki. We call the stone fish trap ngurruwarra. It’s just down from the outstation.

“Nyinyilki is a freshwater spring south-east of Bentinck Island where our Father is from. This is now the mainbase. My Father gave us his Country at Sweers Island, that’s the place where the buganun oysters are and Nyinyilki in the south east corner of Bentinck Island is where the fresh lake is. We also have land given to us by our Mother, Sally Gabori, called Mirdidingki – a traditional gathering place for mud mussels. I paint to keep their memories alive and so others would know who the Keepers of Country are.”

Ngurruwarra means stone fishtraps in our Kayardild language. We can still see the fishtraps that the old people built along the coasts of Bentinck Island. My people were building stone fish traps for a long time when they were on Bentick Island, and it always provided a good catch and oysters would grow on them as well and during the winter months we would eat them. My parents helped build one Mornington Island down at the old village, they were young then and the old people showed them. The Lardil people have also built some on their Country and people still use them today.”

Courtesy of Mornington Island Art Centre