Visit

Gascoyne Aboriginal Heritage & Cultural Centre

Gwoonwardu Mia is a multipurpose Cultural Centre hosted on Yinggarda Country in Carnarvon that celebrates and recognises the five Aboriginal language groups of the Gascoyne Region, Yinggarda, Baiyungu, Malgana, Thadgari and Thalanyji with a vision to create: “a common meeting place for the people of the Gascoyne Region where lives are enriched, Aboriginal culture is recognised and practiced, quality employment and business enterprises operate and where youth are actively engaged in creating their own future”

Gwoonwardu Mia showcases regional artists in the Gallery Shop, a Training Café, Conference Rooms for hire, an Ethno – botanical garden and the nationally award winning permanent exhibition – Burlganjya Wanggaya – Old People Talking – Listen, Learn, Respect.

Opening hours

Monday – Friday: 9:30am – 3:30pm
Weekends: Closed

Closed
Public holidays including:
Australia Day, Good Friday, ANZAC Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Day

Address

Gwoonwardu Mia, 146 Robinson St, Carnarvon WA 6701

Interactive Permanent Exhibition

Burlganyja Wanggaya: Old People Talking is an interactive permanent exhibition that tells the stories of the five Aboriginal language groups of the Gascoyne region in their own words, designed around “story telling” the exhibition includes a replica of a 32,000 year old shell necklace, images and films, oral histories, artefacts, the amazing giant Burrowing Bee film, an interactive light table and a sky dome experience to tell the story of Janguna, the emu, who inhabits the night sky and provides guidance to today’s people on when they can take the different foods off the land.

Skydome

Made up of a series of time lapse night footage taken from different areas of the Gascoyne region showing how Aboriginal people were our first astronomers.

Artefacts & Objects

This includes shields and grind stones and a replica shell necklace on display that is dated at 33,000 years old and was found in the region (the original is held in the Western Australian Museum in Perth).

Burrowing Bees

The big hairy bee that is unique to the Gascoyne region is called Mungurrgurra or sometimes Jurrabarri. They are also known as Dawson’s Burrowing Bee (Amegilla dawsoni) and are one of the world’s largest bee species.

Untouchable Stories of the Gasgoyne – Touch Table & listening Seat

Untouchable Stories of the Gascoyne is a unique audio-visual exhibition which allows visitors to listen to incredible stories from Aboriginal elders from each of the five language groups in the Gascoyne. The touch table tells the Aboriginal story of two sacred saltwater and freshwater snakes, Bubawari and Jingabirdi and how their relationship affected the land and waterways around the Gascoyne.

Themes

Stories For Land & Living

Dreaming stories tell us how the land is made. These stories are passed down through the generations like a gift and keep the land and culture alive.

Ancient & Continuing Culture

Archaeological sites from Shark Bay to Ningaloo show occupation by Aboriginal people between 35,000 – 30,000 years ago.

Station Lives, Station Stories

The pastoral stations are central to the story of Aboriginal people, who remember the station days as hard but good times. They lived close to their land with their families.

Not Just Lying Around

When white people began travelling through the country, traditional material began to disappear. Sometimes things were found in the bush and removed because white people thought they had been abandoned.

Mission Lives, Mission Stories

The exhibition tells the story of how Aboriginal people were moved from the stations and their lives changed.

Carnarvon Town

Aboriginal ancestors lived in the area known as Carnarvon long before it became a town.

Entry fees

General entry to Gwoonwardu Mia is FREE entry fee to Permanent Exhibitions:

Adult$10
Seniors & Concession$8
Children$5
Family (2 Adults + 2 Children)$25
Live in postcode 6701
DSF4100
DSF4100
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