These are the banks of the Ewenmar Creek where our Elders and ancestors lived for over one hundred years
Ewenmar’ is a Wayilwan word meaning ‘respected place’
Beemunnel is a Wayilwan word meaning ‘chest hand on’ (hand on chest)
In the 1800’s the Wayilwan ancestors of Warren were suffering from severe discrimination of various forms. As such, they took the initiative and moved from the banks of the Wambuul (Macquarie) River, on the edge of the township of Warren, to the banks of the Ewenmar Creek, a tributary of the Wambuul. The initiative of our ancestors demonstrated:
foresight into what was coming (the forced removal of Aboriginal families to reserves and missions outside of ‘white’ settlements at the request of local ‘white’ communities) and
a deep understanding of Country - “ We were not flooded where we lived on the Ewenmar Creek in the flood of ‘55. We had to help the people in town.” (Aunty Min Riley). The township of Warren was devastated by a flood in 1955.
The Beemunnel Reserve (now known as Beemunnel Reserve Aboriginal Place) was never controlled by the government or the ‘church’ (as was the case with the majority of reserves and missions across Australia) because our ancestors had great insight as to how to ‘not cause trouble’ and were self-sufficient by growing vegetables and bush foods and catching fish, mussels and rabbits. Most of our ancestors who lived at the Beemunnel worked on the surrounding properties as stockmen and domestic servants.
You can learn more about the Beemunnel Reserve Aboriginal Place by visiting this special site, which is on the Oxley Hwy (just a short drive/walk/ride approximately 1.8kms from Warren toward Gilgandra on your right). Alternatively, you can obtain information from the Warren Local Aboriginal Land Council, 164 Dubbo Street, Warren, NSW, Australia.
A billabang (billabong) at the Tiger Bay Wetlands, adjacent to Wambuul (Macquarie) River at Warran (Warren), NSW, Australia
Community Coming Together - Town and Beemunnel
the title of the art piece above by Peter Mackay
Communities are dynamic and always changing. Nuances of past and present, of the Beemunnel and town, our natural and built environments are at play as our community comes together.
Our families, as shown by the horse-shoe shapes creating circles, now reside in Warran/Warraan/Warren along the Wambuul (Macquaire - winding river) Warraan (River).
The canoes on the warraan (river) display our ancestors Wayilwan markings, reflecting what was in the past but what is now being rediscovered by us local mob today.
The green and blue squiggly lines reflect the wetlands of Wayilwan Country, transient yet necessary to sustain culture and community. The cross-hatch lines are the bora grounds which still speak. They speak of the importance of ceremony and initiation, in the past, and today, although in a different form.
The square markings are the scarred and carve trees which dominated the landscape prior to the English invasion. As our Wayilwan culture is rediscovered and revived, community also comes together: Beemunnel and town.