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Bardie Patch |
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| Situated on the outskirts of town on the edge of
Lake Cowan on the Kalgoorlie Road, the famous Bardie Patch is
well known to the Ngadju people. It is visited quite regularly
because this is where the Ngadju people dig the roots of the
wattle tree at certain times of the year to get bardie grubs,
which are a delicacy. These grubs can be eaten raw or cooked in
the ashes. |
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Beacon Hill Lookout |
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| This large hill is situated in the Norseman town
centre and from it you can see the whole town. In the early
days the Ngadju people would have used these high spots for
direction when they were travelling in the area. All of the
significant places would link up with traditional dances and art
stories. |
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Bromus Dam |
Bromus |
| Bromas is situated 20km south on the road to
Esperance and was built in 1925/26 to access water for the
trains that travelled from Coolgardie to Esperance and for the
old town of Dundas. You can see the excellent workmanship from
the early days. It is a well-used swimming place for the locals.
The Ngadju people like going to the dam so that the children can
have a swim and the adults go out and look for bush food. Many
of the families stay all day, but none of the locals will stay
there after dark. They say it is a very scary place after dark
and there are lots of scary stories to tell. |
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Cave Hill |
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| Cave Hill is situated 112 km north-west of Norseman. It is a large granite outcrop with a large fresh water pool.
This is a very popular camping spot. Many of the families go
out there to camp because it is very beautiful and you need time
to look around all of the rock formations. For the Ngadju people
the food is plentiful and the men are able to go out and shoot
the kangaroos for meat. |
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Cherry Island |
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| This is a well-known picnic spot for the local
people. This island is behind the local hospital on the other
side of the salt lake. When the quandongs are in season many of
the Ngadju family groups take their families on picnics. |
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Dundas Rocks |
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| This ancient rock formation is situated 22 km south
of Norseman. This is an excellent site to take students to if
you are learning about the history of Norseman. It is
significant for the Ngadju people for hunting and looking for
bush foods. It is a very good family picnic area. |
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Norseman Mission |
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| This was a government-established mission for
Aboriginal children from all over Western Australia. The policy
at the time was to take the children away and place them in
these missions until they became of age. They were allowed to
leave when they turned 16. Many went to boarding facilities in
Esperance - to Fairhaven, for Aboriginal girls, and to Peddlars
Hostel for boys. Some of the young men also went to the
Wongutha Training Farm on the outskirts of Esperance, near
Gibson. This was an Agricultural Farm for Aboriginal youth.
Today it is an Aboriginal secondary school called Wongutha CAPS. Students are accepted from Aboriginal communities throughout WA. |
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Norseman Reserve |
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| This is a very significant place for the Ngadju
people. In the earlier days Aboriginal people were not allowed
to live in town. They could go to town on paydays and do their
shopping, but before it became dark they had to go back to the
Reserve. This continued until Aboriginal people started to
apply for Citizenship. Initially, only two Aboriginal families
were allowed to live in town. Their fathers had to work and live
like non-Aboriginal people and their children were allowed to
attend the state school. |
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Trigg Hill |
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| Mt Jimbalana (Ngadju name meaning "granite
outcrop"), also known by non-Aboriginal people as Trigg Hill, is
situated 5 kilometres east of Norseman. It is a very old
geological site and the Ngadju people say that from certain
angles you can see the face of an old Ngadju Man lying down.
This is a good place to take students on an excursion. The
surrounding hills and landscape change significantly and there
are very beautiful views from the top of the hill. There are
plenty of bush foods including bardie grubs and yams. |
