We'd Lose The Ashes

Success Hill

1 July 2009

If the planning for Success Hill is not done properly, we’d lose the Human Ashes of Bill and Dorothy Irwin, who stood for Human Rights, all their lives up to the end.

We’d lose the Footprints and the Meeting Place where Tommy Nannup and Tommy Bropho used to sit and talk in company with Johnny Nannup and Dave Nannup and Teresa Jackamurra, and Jean Colbung - Uncle Maity’s wife (Maitland Colbung) - under the Old Jarrah Tree.

And the Resting Place of Old Olly Warrell and all the Blackfellas passing through from the Guildford Camps, Eden Hill and Lockridge Area, and Hamersleys - which became Pyrton, but it used to be the Blackfellas’ first - it is all Country, our Home, our Boodja.

You can’t just put pads and boat things and smother all this over, which means History, Blackfella History, the Records of Aboriginal Existence.

Serious talks have got to take place. Serious consideration has got to be taken about the importance and serious concerns where our Camping, Living and Resting Places and where we passed through and where we existed and camped and lived through our Generations of People.

The History in the Land itself has to be kept for future generations of Nyungah People so they know who they are.


It is the Ground that grows Sheoak, Stinkwood, Wattle, Jarrah, Redgums, Banksias. Look at the Old Jarrah Tree still standing up in the corner there. It refused to die. And all the shrubs that flourish and grow there, and the running of the Spring water from underneath the Hill there, it never stopped running, under where Bill and Dorothy’s remains are left, and where Ted and Leah and Les Jacobs camped there.

And we gathered at the Spring that was unccovered, we gathered for the Spring Ceremony in the 1990’’s.

It is the pad Lizzie and Bertie Anderson, and Steve and Eileen Abdullah and their daughters May-May and Maureen walked every time they went to get their tucker, and Dennis the son and Fred. and Joe and Brian Parfitt, Eveline Parfitt and Jimmy Gillespie.

The whole of Success Hill was the Pads of a lot of Our People in the area of Success Hill, Grogans Paddock, Grogans Swamp, Hamersleys, they used Success Hill, and walked on the Pads. It is full of Nyungah History.

The soles of the Black Feet of those People of the Nyungah Nation is not got to be trampled over by white soles and white ideas, over the History of Nyungah Planning, which has got to be kept for future Nyungah Families so that their children can be told the Truthful Black History of our existence before the Coming of the white people who slaughtered and destroyed a lot of Nyungah Families and People, and forefully took away our Land, our Living Lifestyle, our Living places, our Hunting Grounds, our water, our fishing spots, our yam grounds.

Haydens, Gentles, Bill Coleman, Willy White, Henry White, Warmdean Family, Clarkson Family, Barney and Tina Parfitt, Warrell Families, Nettles and Garletts. Quartermaines, Corunnas, Wilkes,Mippy’s,Dysons, Corbett’s, Dick Nicholls, Bodneys - everyone has passed through there.

Granny Lottie Gray, Cissie Gray, Egan Family, Uncle Reg Egan and Veronica, Tony Egan, Uncle Jimmy Egan, Lionel Egan, Leah Corbett, Wilfred Morrison, Annie Stack (Morrison), son Ben Morrison, Abraham Stack, Ted Stack, Sid Stack, Gordon Boundary and Vera, Twizer and Mirial Dickie, their sons Reggie and Fossil, John Parfitt, Gerry Gillespie, Bonnie and Sissie Layland, George Spud Issaacs, Clara and Reggie Mead, Tunny and Mary Morton, Jean Kearing and Johnson Morton and Maitland Morton, Erica Anderson, Kitty Morton, Valmay Morton, Doug Kickett amd Mollie Willaway, Lena Spratt and Albert Dinah, all them Fellas passed through there and a lot of other Blackfellas, Nyungahs from the South, these people have all gathered there and passed through there.

They camped there, they swam down in the River, they made sure not to disturb our Waugal in the River.

It was a dinner camp as well, carrying rations back from Guildford in sugar bags, Government rations, walking back to Success Hill.

We stood around the banks of Bennett Brook and the Swan River and caught fish with spears. We’ve made fires and ate fish on the side of the River, we’ve tracked up Bennett Brook further, looking for turtles, mussels, little fish, and back into the Fish Traps of Grogans Swamp.

All this History of our Blackfella existence around Success has to be left alone so it can be taught to the future Nyungah Nation, and concerned whitefellas.

We don’t want our children to be taught whitefella history. Whitefella history is for them. Let them continue to pretend their own history and teach it to their own white kids. But, some white kids and their families want to learn our History, and we want that.

The Aboriginal Nation are the First People in this Country. Our Law covers the whole country. We are the Owners of the Land.



Swan Valley Nyungah Community
for the Old Fellas, the Original Land Owners of Success Hill, the Traditional Owners.