Aboriginal History and Culture

Western Australia boasts an Aboriginal history that dates back more than 40,000 years. The first inhabitants of Australia’s South West were the Aboriginal Noongar people. Literally translated, Noongar means ‘man’. It represents one of the largest populations of Indigenous Australians and Noongar country is made up of many tribal lands and cultures, including the Mineng, Willemen, Pibbulmun and Wardandi. Boodjar, meaning ‘land’ was, and still is, of great importance to the Noongar people, and this connection with the earth is reflected strongly in Noongar Aboriginal art.

The unique Aboriginal history of the region has been preserved in many of the distinctive place names throughout Australia’s South West. Two cultural centres have been established to focus on local aboriginal history and culture. The Wardan Aboriginal Centre in Yallingup is a cultural centre run by a local Aboriginal family, and the Kodja Place is an interpretive centre in Kojonup providing visitors with the opportunity to experience Aboriginal life and learn about their history before and after European settlement.