Cradled in beautiful scenery at Mount Magnet are the Granites, a significant Aboriginal rock art site rich in Badimaya history; and some of that history is now about to be preserved.

The Badimia Lands Aboriginal Corporation (BLAC) received funding last year through the Federal Government’s Indigenous Language and Arts Project, run by the Ministry of Arts, to conduct a series of workshops at Mount Magnet to capture information about the Granites.

Bundiyarra-Irra Wangga Language Centre was contracted to conduct the language workshops and on a beautiful rainy day last month, Elders and a big crowd of Badimaya people came together to do some work on the project.

Former Language Centre Linguist, James Bednall and Language Centre Linguist, Rosie Sitorus, have recorded some of the history in language and will also translate it into English for interpretive signage at the Granites.

Language teacher, Nadine Taylor, who helped facilitate the workshop, said Elders and the whole Walsh family gathered for a big day of Badimaya work.

“The Granites is a place of strong cultural significance to the Badimaya people,” she said, “and it was wonderful to see the family come together.

“It was a big crowd and there was plenty of activity with painting, story-telling, and cooking – kangaroo stew, damper, and bush turkey cooked in the ground,” she said.
“We went on a bush tour to look for bimba with Uncle Ollie George and Virginia Walsh, it was a fabulous day.”

The project was conceptualised by Mt Magnet artist, Frank Walsh Junior, and other Badimaya community members and is coordinated by Terra Rosa Consulting.

It will culminate in a community-wide art exhibition at Mt Magnet’s Wirnda Barna Art Centre and the development of a children’s book.