Gomeroi Warrambools in the Gwydir Wetlands

Cultural Outcomes
Gwydir
Traditional Gamilaaraay Language of the Gomeroi nation used in this article (H. White & B. Duncan – Speaking Our Way, M. Mckemey). Featured Photo: Royal spoonbill (left) and Australian white ibis (right) foraging in a temporary warrambool that adjoins the Gwydir Warrambools. Photo credit: Tamara Kermode.

The Gomeroi Peoples Nation uses the traditional Gamilaaray Language, and this is the language the Gwydir Flow-MER team use for our Gwydir Flow-MER stories.

The Gwydir Warrambools (Wetlands) make up a part of the Gomeroi Peoples Country. Its water is the life source of the Gomeroi People and has been for thousands of years.

To begin understanding the complexities of the warrambools, Gomeroi Traditional Owner Liz Taylor shared with the Flow-MER team some of the intricacies of her culture. With Liz’s cultural knowledge and the scientific knowledge collected over the last 10 years in the Gwydir as part of the Flow-MER program, the Gwydir Flow-MER team pieced together the main cultural and environmental components that make up the Gwydir Warrambools.

The Gwydir Warrambools are significant for many reasons. For the Gomeroi People the warrambools have always provided plants, animals, resources, meeting places, and so much more.

For the plants and animals the warrambools are also significant. For instance, after high rainfall events colonial-nesting waterbirds such as royal spoonbills (Platalea regia) and Australian white ibis (Threskiornis moluccus) come to breed in their thousands. The warrambools are also home to a number of threatened ecological plant communities. These are but a few of the many important features of the Gwydir Warrambools.

The Gwydir Flow-MER team have developed an interactive story map to capture these key elements. To explore and learn more about the cultural and environmental significance of the Gwydir Warrambools follow this link: Gomeroi Warrambools in the Gwydir Wetlands.

In additional to this learning page, the Gwydir Flow-MER team have also created a poster with some of the key species found in the Gwydir Warrambools. Some of these species include the black-necked stork (Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus), guduu (cod) and gindjurra (frogs).

Image: Gwydir Warrambools information poster illustrating key species found in the warrambools. The poster is a collaborative work with Gomoroi Traditional Owner Liz Taylor and members of the Gwydir Flow-MER Selected Area.

Originally published by 2rog as Issue 39 Gomeroi Warrambools in the Gwydir Wetlands.

Written by:
Tamara Kermode
Published on:
August 10, 2023

Our work in the Gwydir River System

The Gwydir is a special place with significant environmental, cultural and economic values. Our work here focuses on monitoring and evaluating the outcomes water for the environment enables in some of the largest waterbird breeding colonies in Australia. We also work in the rivers and floodplains to assess water quality, fish breeding and food webs.

Learn more
Artwork credit: Wiradjuri Artist Rebecca Salcole
Acknowledgement of Country

The Flow-MER Program team acknowledges the First Nations communities of the Murray–Darling Basin and pays respect to Elders past and present.

We acknowledge First Nations people as the Traditional Owners of the land, water and sky Country across the Basin and value the expertise, wisdom and enduring connections that have informed their care for Country over millennia.

We recognise the intrinsic connection of First Nations people to Country, and we value the enduring cultural, social, environmental, spiritual, and economic connection to the rivers, wetlands, and floodplains of the Basin. We are committed to working with First Nations people across the Murray–Darling Basin to build relationships in a meaningful and genuine way to support and empower them in reaching their aspirations.

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