This talk was given at a commemoration event in Busselton on 22 February 2026
‘I begin today by acknowledging the Wardandi people, Traditional Custodians of the land on which we gather today, and pay my respects to their Elders past, present and emerging. I recognise their continued connection to the land and waters of this beautiful place, and acknowledge that they never ceded sovereignty. I extend that respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples here today.’
This history I am going to read is about Lieutenant Henry St Pierre Bunbury who was in the 21st Regiment and was posted to the Swan River Colony in 1836. In 1836 and 1837 Governor Stirling tasked Bunbury to conduct massacres on Ballardong land (Boodjar). In between these two violent incidents, Bunbury was posted to Pinjarra, and Stirling asked him to walk down from Pinjarra to the Vasse area where the Bussell family had claimed land in 1834.
In December 1836, Stirling tasked Lieutenant Bunbury to undertake an exploratory expedition overland from Pinjarrah to the Vasse. Bunbury, his servant Hertman, and a soldier of the 21st regiment called Allison accompanied him. Their guide for this journey was a son of Pinjareb leader Calyute, called Monang. Monang was wounded during the Pinjarra massacre of 1834, but had now recovered.[1] Now, his father Calyute was allowing Monang, a seasoned warrior, to accompany Bunbury on an expedition, and it appears that he did this to give Monang stature in the Binjareb community. Calyute may also have been interested in finding out what Bunbury and the British settlers were planning.
On 14 December 1836, the group walked seventeen miles through a flat country with sections of banksia or small jarrah trees, bare clay areas and ‘spearwood swamps’, passing Myalup on the way to the Coreigeca Bilya (Harvey River).[2] Bunbury reported that this area was very swampy in winter.[3] They crossed over a grassy plain abundant with kangaroos and stopped for the night at a deep pool on the banks of the Coreigeca Bilya, further up from a crossing where there was an ‘extensive’ fish trap system.[4]
On 15 December 1836 they crossed the Coreigeca Bilya and came to an area with larger jarrah trees and white gums, and a large wetland on the east called Cannanup, according to Monang.[5] It was a hot day, but there was abundant green feed, as the ground was still swampy, and they were able to dig a hole to obtain water. Monang told Bunbury that this area was not part of Binjareb land, and Bunbury intended that they reach the northern part of Gomborup (Leschenault Estuary) that day, so by now they would have crossed into Wardandi boodjar.[6] There were a lot of tuart trees and it was open clear country in this area, so it was managed by firestick methods. Bunbury found it to be ‘fine open forest country through which the travelling was quick and easy.’[7]
The group now came upon a Wardandi village on the edge of a circular lake surrounded by large rushes. The Wardandi group was seated around their fires, but started up immediately on seeing the soldiers, with the women and children gathering their cotto (bags) and bwoka (cloaks) to flee, while the men raised their spears and yelled a warning to the strangers.[8] Monang went out in front, while the soldiers stayed behind, approaching the Wardandi warriors with his own spear raised. He was soon recognised by one Wardandi warrior, and the others dropped their spears, and each one hugged him as they were introduced. Monang stood with his head down as he received these affectionate welcomes. The entire Wardandi group, men, women and children, then approached the strangers, asking Monang many questions about the armed men and their horses. When the Wardandi group found out that Bunbury wanted to go to Gomborup, they offered to accompany the group.[9]
As the now considerably enlarged party travelled west, they came to another large wetland, called Miellup by the Wardandi. It was covered with bullrushes and Monang told Bunbury that it was a major breeding place for kuljak (black swans), and therefore an abundant source of food at the end of winter in the breeding season.[10] The trees in the area were now wanil, the coastal peppermints, and it was the first time Bunbury had seen them, calling them ‘the most picturesque tree in the colony.’[11] Guided by the Wardandi group, Bunbury and the soldiers followed an almost invisible Wardandi path to the head of Gomborup. There, the path became so well-trodden that even the strangers could follow it. The tide was out, and there was a large expanse of mud between the shore and the water of the Derbal (Estuary), which was covered in bird life, including ducks, teal and pelicans. The sun was beginning to set, and the tranquil waters of the huge Derbal was slowly covered with the shadows of the tall sandhills to the west.[12]
The Wardandi party lit a large fire to announce their arrival, and several other large fires sprang up immediately. There was no wind, so the smoke from the fires rose up in a ‘thick white column contrasting in a most picturesque manner with the dark foliage behind.’[13] The Wardandi group led Bunbury and his party for three more miles, to a small well that had been dug, but Bunbury found it to be too brackish.
A large group of new Wardandi people surrounded them, very curious and friendly. Most of them went to fires nearby to sleep, leaving the strangers alone. Bunbury was surprised to see so many Wardandi people. He had thought the Binjareb people were a large population, but the Wardandi were a far more numerous group again. There were many ‘well beaten paths near the banks’ of the Derbal, and many little villages of huts, ‘made with some care’ out of paperbark, evidence of how many people were living there.[14] Bunbury described these huts as ‘deserted’ but many Wardandi people came to see the strangers, and then left later on to sleep, so they may have been used then.
Bunbury’s group set up camp, starting a fire with a large pile of balga (grass tree) trunks, to ‘counteract’ the fog rising from the swamp to their left.[15] As darkness grew, Bunbury noticed ‘numerous’ lights flashing on the edges of the Derbal as Wardandi warriors fished for cobbler, mullet, dhufish, taylor and black snapper.[16] The abundance of fish life was the reason this area was so densely populated. As the night wore on, the lights disappeared and Bunbury fell asleep.[17]
On 16 December 1836, Bunbury’s group set off again, progressing along past a second wetland, following along the Derbal on a Wardandi path and white sand until the wetland ended. The countryside then became lightly forested with white gums and banksias. As they continued, group after group of Wardandi people joined them, asking questions and joyful to see the strangers. Bunbury found their questions worrisome, especially those about what was in their bags, as he feared that he would lose their blankets and provisions.
Monang talked to every Wardandi group that approached them, and the expedition slowed down as a result, as so many Wardandi people were curious to meet them. In the end Bunbury put Monang on his horse to hurry things along. Monang needed to deal with this group in an appropriate cultural manner, so after he had showed off his horsemanship, he made a speech to the Wardandi people, giving away his bwoka (kangaroo cloak) and spears. He explained to Bunbury that the people they had met were his fathers, brothers and uncles according to Noongar tradition, and this was obligatory.[18]
Bunbury’s attempts to hurry the group along had helped a bit, and they managed to go about nine miles. He did estimate, however, that from daylight until one in the afternoon that day, the travellers were surrounded by one hundred to two hundred Wardandi at any time.[19] He also noticed that most of the Wardandi men were ‘elderly or lads’, with some warriors amongst them who were ‘athletic stout fellows’ wearing red wilgi (ochre). Overall, there were not as many warriors as Bunbury would have expected, so he surmised that the senior men were elsewhere.[20]
After about five miles travel that day, Bunbury’s group arrived at the Bilya Maardalup (Collie River), which they crossed at the sandy bar where it emptied via two streams into the Derbal.[21] They waded through the water at hip level, and about a dozen of the Wardandi group followed them. One of the Wardandi warriors was a six-foot man. As Bunbury’s group gained the other side of the river, there was a new Wardandi group of at least one hundred and fifty people waiting to receive them. This was a new group of Wardandi people, separate to the Wardandi people that lived on the Derbal so the Bilya Maardalup was probably a defined border between the two Wardandi groups.[22]
The Wardandi group accompanying Bunbury’s group guided them along the Bilya Maardalup, which had abundant pastures, and an area of ochre that could be easily mined. There were drinking hollows in the ochre mud, which the Wardandi people drank from with relish.[23] They were now heading for the Bilya Barajilup (Preston River). The crossing over the Bilya Barajilup was a huge fallen tree, so Bunbury’s group had to wade the horses across further up. Wardandi warriors helped Bunbury and the soldiers carry their goods across the river. Bunbury fell backwards into the river at this point, so after he got out of the water the strangers stopped for a while for the horses to feed on the abundant grass.[24]
As the party rested a large group of Wardandi people gathered around them, laughing, talking and sitting around fires that they had started while they waited for the strangers’ next move. Bunbury only had a little damper, but he boiled up some pork and gave the Wardandi the greasy water to mix up a large amount of wilgi, and they covered their hands, faces, legs and bodies with it. Bunbury noted that this Wardandi group: ‘Do not differ in either manners or appearance from the tribes further north.[25] Bunbury also noticed that the spears used by the Wardandi group were not as heavy as those used in the Murray district and were crafted for catching fish.[26]
That is the end of this excerpt on Lieutenant Bunbury’s description of Wardandi boodjar on this expedition. It clearly shows how many Wardandi people were living in the area in 1836. It is also a good overview of Wardandi culture and society at the time.
References
[1] Bunbury, Lieutenant Bunbury’s Australian Sojourn. 156.
[2] The Binjareb name for the Harvey River is obtained from Arthur Charles Staples, They Made Their Destiny (Shire of Harvey, Western Australia, 1979), 3.
[3] Bunbury, Journal of Henry Bunbury, 1837: 3.
[4] Bunbury, Journal of Henry Bunbury, 1837: 4.
[5] Bunbury, Journal of Henry Bunbury, 1837: 6.
[6] Bunbury, Journal of Henry Bunbury, 1837: 7.
[7] Bunbury, Journal of Henry Bunbury, 1837: 7-8.
[8] Bunbury, Journal of Henry Bunbury, 1837: 8.
[9] Bunbury, Journal of Henry Bunbury, 1837: 8.
[10] Bunbury, Journal of Henry Bunbury, 1837: 9.
[11] Bunbury, Journal of Henry Bunbury, 1837: 9.
[12] Bunbury, Journal of Henry Bunbury, 1837: 10.
[13] Bunbury, Journal of Henry Bunbury, 1837: 11.
[14] Bunbury, Journal of Henry Bunbury, 1837: 12.
[15] Bunbury, Journal of Henry Bunbury, 1837: 13.
[16] Bunbury, Journal of Henry Bunbury, 1837: 12-13.
[17] Bunbury, Journal of Henry Bunbury, 1837: 13.
[18] Bunbury, Journal of Henry Bunbury, 1837: 16.
[19] Bunbury, Journal of Henry Bunbury, 1837: 17.
[20] Bunbury, Journal of Henry Bunbury, 1837.
[21] Bunbury, Journal of Henry Bunbury, 1837: 17. The name Bilya Maardalup applies to the Collie River south of the Raymond Road exchange today. Maardalup means the ‘place to cross the river where the water comes up to your legs.’ See “Bunbury Outer Ring Road (BORR) to be named Wilman Wadandi Highway,” Main Roads Western Australia, https://www.mainroads.wa.gov.au/projects-initiatives/projects-initiatives-news/borr-071024-bunbury-outer-ring-road-borr-to-be-named-wilman-wadandi-highway/.
[22] Bunbury, Journal of Henry Bunbury, 1837: 17.
[23] Bunbury, Journal of Henry Bunbury, 1837: 19.
[24] Bunbury, Journal of Henry Bunbury, 1837: 20.
[25] Bunbury, Journal of Henry Bunbury, 1837: 21.
[26] Bunbury, Lieutenant Bunbury’s Australian Sojourn. 168.
Bibliography
Bunbury, Henry William. Lieutenant Bunbury’s Australian Sojourn: The Letters and Journals of Lt. H.W. Bunbury, 21st Royal North Fusiliers, 1834-1837. Edited by JMR Cameron and Phyllis Barnes. Hesperian Press, 2014.
Bunbury, Henry William St. Pierre. Journal of Henry Bunbury, 1837. https://nla.gov.au:443/nla.obj-594048802.
“Bunbury Outer Ring Road (Borr) to Be Named Wilman Wadandi Highway.” Main Roads Western Australia, https://www.mainroads.wa.gov.au/projects-initiatives/projects-initiatives-news/borr-071024-bunbury-outer-ring-road-borr-to-be-named-wilman-wadandi-highway/.
Staples, Arthur Charles. They Made Their Destiny. Shire of Harvey, Western Australia, 1979.
Western Australian History 