‘Special Place’ Portraits Capture Essence of Aunties and Their Stories
Aunty Vernice Gillies describes the deep connection she feels when visiting ancient local fish traps as akin to an “umbilical cord.” As a Menang elder from Albany on Western Australia’s south coast, she finds profound peace in the landscape. “Because she, our Boodja [land], has been healed by all the right people,” she explained. “You can feel it when you just sit and breathe deeply.” This powerful connection to country is precisely what photographer Nic Duncan sought to capture for the Menang-led portrait exhibition, Binalup, Menang | First Light, First People.
This exhibition, part of ongoing celebrations for Albany’s bicentenary, features the portraits of 29 elders and younger Menang individuals. Each person was photographed in locations deeply significant to them. Beyond the striking imagery, the exhibition also illuminates the lives, experiences, and contributions of elders whose stories have often been overlooked in historical accounts.
“They weren’t high-profile people, but they helped build this region and this state,” stated Menang elder Carol Petterson. “Their names and their stories matter.” Each framed portrait is accompanied by captions directly from the participants’ own words, drawn from recorded interviews.
Campfire Conversations Sparked a Two-Year Collaboration
The project originated from a conversation around a campfire, evolving into a two-year collaboration between award-winning photographer Nic Duncan and Aunty Carol. “I’d just finished reading Aunty Carol’s book that week… and suddenly I was camping on country with her in the places that she’d written about,” Duncan recounted. “She was pointing out bent, gnarled fence posts that her father likely hammered into the ground, and showed me bush food and her totem plants.”
Discussions then turned to the bicentenary. “After the last referendum on the Voice, it was an overwhelming no,” Aunty Carol recalled. “So when the bicentenary was announced, a lot of local people didn’t want a part of it and they were angry.” She added, “The City [of Albany] thankfully set up a reference group, and it gave a platform for people to air their discomfort or their dissatisfaction with the city, but slowly we came around to it.”
Personal Accounts and Deeply Held Memories
With each participant selecting their own personally significant location, Duncan aimed to honor both the individual and their connection to place. This approach yielded a powerful childhood story from Aunty Treasy Woods. “She talks of her grandfather taking her to a particular place on Marine Drive [in Albany] and the story of what happened there,” Duncan shared. “When we went back to that spot, I asked if she could remember how she felt as a seven-year-old girl. She just looked away, and she was right back in that place, and I think I caught that. It was a special moment.”
Another portrait features Aunty Lynette Knapp at Mount Melville. “My portrait is taken where our tin hut was, and being back here now, it feels like home,” she said. “I lived here on the Mount Melville reserve for many years from the age of 12.” For Aunty Carol, the chosen location was Barmah, or Strawberry Hill Farm, a place where her family would have camped before settlers arrived.
A Lasting Legacy for Future Generations
Elders will share digital versions of the exhibition with local schools, directly conveying their stories to young people. “I think it’s up to us elders to go into schools and talk about our pride in being Aboriginal,” Aunty Vernice stated. “We know most of the kids’ family backgrounds, and when we start telling them who they’re connected to, they start making the connections too.”
Aunty Carol hopes the collection will become an enduring local community resource. “Whether we put it in a museum or somewhere else, we’ve got to find a home for it so that people can readily access it for research,” she emphasized. “Previously, people had to go to the state library or somewhere else because they simply couldn’t find this information. Now we’ll have it here.”
Anthony Turner, born and raised on Menang Country, selected Binalup, a place holding special memories, for his photograph. Now working as an Indigenous employment adviser in Queensland, Turner is among the younger individuals featured. He aspires to inspire other young Indigenous people to dream big. “I hope my career journey inspires others,” he said. “You can have a sense of belonging with your people as well as having a meaningful and fulfilling career.”
The exhibition Binalup, Menang | First Light, First People is on display at the Albany Town Hall from June 26 until July 26.
