Stories from Past to Present journey A cultural

Embark on an insightful tour with Kimberley Cultural Adventures to recognise the rich and enduring Aboriginal culture in and around Broome.

By TORI WILSON

As the temperature cools upon the onset of dry season and the distinctive scent of fresh earth floods the air, memories of days climbing trees, foraging for fruit, and connecting with kin and Country flow back for Nyul Nyul man, Robert Dann.

Born and bred in Broome in the 1970s, Robert hails from the ancestral tribe of the Beagle Bay region within Winawul Country. His childhood brims with happy memories of traditional Aboriginal life, living with his mob of aunties and uncles, brothers and sisters who imparted valuable knowledge and cultural wisdom upon him, daily.

“Back in the early days, I loved it because we didn’t have tv, we didn’t have air conditioner, we had to live day-by-day. Some days we had no food and all that but that's when we would go out and next we would help our parents getting the fish,” says Robert.

“The kids would each week go to one of the aunty and uncles’ places and they’d put up the tarpaulin and listen to the aunties and uncles telling stories until they fell asleep.

“Sometimes the memories and the stories all come (back to me) at once.

“When I talk about going to my classroom, my mum’s sister would take me behind the meatworks. I didn’t turn up to school much so that was my classroom, where she would tell me all about the bush food.”

His mother, a survivor of the Stolen Generation, learned traditional ways from

Robert’s father who passed when he was 10. From both, he absorbed knowledge of bush foods, medicines, fragments of language and the challenging history of Aboriginal life in an Australia where white fella law and black fella law were distinctly different things.

“One memory that stands out is about the Kimberley bauhinia tree (jigal tree),” says Robert.

“I got burned by hot water and had a lot of sores on my leg, so my mum went to the tree and got the bark and said, ‘this is medicine tree.’

“She boiled up the bark and the bark turned red and she said, ‘it is just like a Dettol, it can kill any germs,’ so she bathed me in that for three or four days and I now don’t have any scars on my legs at all.”

Bush medicine is just one of the themes covered in Robert’s immersive cultural tours, which he proudly shares with visitors to Broome or Beagle Bay.

A passionate teacher, Robert founded Kimberley Cultural Adventures in 2013 with the aspiration to share his knowledge of Broome, its First Nations people and a small slice of their 40,000-plus years of local culture.

As a Nyul Nyul man and traditional owner of the Beagle Bay area, the saltwater people, he shares insights specific to his Country, while also highlighting elements of culture that transcend all Aboriginal groups. As a Broome local, his knowledge of the area is vast, encompassing its Aboriginal history, pearling past, the locations of local bush foods, its Stolen Generation history — all touched on in his insightful tours.

“I know the old Broome people. I was born in 1970 so I know the ones who know this country completely. All those people are gone and that knowledge they passed on to me,” says Robert, who notes the traditional practice of continuing culture through storytelling.

His expertise in bush foods and medicines truly shines throughout each tour as he shares extensive knowledge of local flora and their traditional uses. Kakadu plum (gubinge) is just one of the many bush foods that flourish in Broome, available to sample as part of Robert’s tours.

“In Australia we don’t have an official Indigenous meal,” says Robert. “The kakadu plum, we would get our vitamin c from that. With all the fruits, they’re seasonal and they come at the time people need the property from the fruit,” he says.

“We (also have) the melaleuca, the paper bark tree. The old people would use it back in the days as a flavour for water. They would use the melaleuca leaf to put inside the goanna or kangaroo. The one I got is like lemonade, quite citrusy.”

Trained in traditional Aboriginal dance and an accomplished didgeridoo player, Robert’s natural musical talent, charismatic disposition, drive and determination have all been catalysts for his pursuit as a tour guide. It’s a role that he takes seriously as an opportunity to continue his culture through the sharing of knowledge, but it’s also one that fills him with joy.

As he takes guests to Broome landmarks, along the stretch of coast, and within surrounding bushland; history and culture are put into context, bringing scenes of the past to life.

Though, at times, emotions are stirred as stories of astonishing struggles are recounted; Robert is renowned for his ability to leave guests feeling uplifted, being more connected to the country around them than ever. To book a Kimberley Cultural Adventures tour with Robert, go to visitbroome.com.au/ members/kimberley-cultural-adventures