Calls for Lake Monger rename grow (11 May 2024)
Traditional Whadjuk Noongar owners Ash Garlett Penfold and Ben Stack play the yidaki (didgeridoo) at a ceremony to mark the anniversary of an 1830 massacre at Lake Monger, with growing calls for the water body to revert back to its Whadjuk Noongar name Galup.
Calls for Lake Monger rename grow RESTORING Lake Monger's Indigenous name and a memorial to mark an 1830 massacre could be a step closer. Last Friday about 80 people attended a smoking ceremony to acknowledge the May 3 massacre and call for more signage around the lake to reflect its cultural significance to Whadjuk Noongars.
Cambridge mayor Gary Mack was amongst the crowd, which also included his CEO Gary Tuffin and two councillors, while the event also attracted MPs Kate Chaney, Christine Tonkin and Pierre Yang. Manaagement Mr Mack said his council was working on management plan with the traditional owners. "We anticipate public consultation on the plan's recommendations soon, ensuring Galup/Lake Monger is acknowledged as a place of cultural significance and reconciliation," Mr Mack said.
Artist Poppy van Oorde-Grainger has been driving the push for the massacre's recognition with Noongar man Ian Wilkes and told the Voice she was pleased Cambridge seemed to be moving ahead with the Indigenous community's recommendations. During the ceremony Mr Wilkes and fellow traditional owner Ash Garlett Penfold guided people through a smoking ceremony aimed at bringing people together for connection and healing. The event featured a song Mr Wilkes wrote to honour the Noongars who'd lost their life at the lake.
Elder Aunty Glenda Kickett welcomed the crowd. "Galup is an important site for Whadjuk Noongar people and an area where our people camped," Ms Kickett said. "Not many people know about the massacre that took place there. "We are at a point as a nation to really start to acknowledge First Nations peoples and the histories of colonisation and dispossession. "That acknowledgement is an important part of healing." Home fires Speakers called for community support to restore the lake's traditional Noongar name Galup, meaning 'place of home fires' and building a memorial to remember the massacre.
