Ngaank Boodja
Ngaank Boodja (mother country) is a soundscape of the voices, songs and sounds of women’s country.
This place — Goologoolup — was once the heart of community life. For generations, Noongar women gathered here at the water’s edge, making decisions that shaped their families and future.
Kwobidak boodja. Beautiful country.
This soundscape moves with the landscape. It carries stories of this Country — stories that speak to the deep, maternal connection we all share with this place
Wowak.
Breathe in this place. Feel it move through your body.
The land is our mother. These are her stories — sacred stories, held in the memory of ancestors who walked here long before us. Beneath your feet once lay wetlands. The water may be gone, but the stories are not. They live on — in the land, in the people, in the hearts of those who listen.
Ngaank Boodja is a love letter to Goologulup, Yagan Square and to Boorloo (Perth). A love letter to our past and to our future. A place for all who pass through to stop, reflect and experience.
Still a place where people come together — in the heart of our city.
Explore the Ngaank Boodja soundscape
Wander through Yagan Square Amphitheatre and be surrounded by the immersive sounds of this place.
On the hour, hear special audio stories sharing ancient insights into culture, tradition and connection to place.
Monday - Sunday
7am - 6pm (audio stories played on the hour)
Yagan Square Amphitheatre
Welcome
Kaya Wanjoo. Hello and welcome.
This country is Whadjuk people’s country and its name is Boorloo. Underneath the buildings and concrete is the land that our ancestors walked on thousands of years ago.
The land is our mother. Wherever we go, we make sure to acknowledge our ancestors and the spirit of the land.
Woola
Woola is to be grateful and thankful - and there are many things that we can be grateful for each day.
We sometimes go through the toughest times and find it hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Find it hard to see life through the same happy eyes. But we have to keep going.
Wowak. Breathe.
Beeliya
Rivers run through the heart of our country. The Derbarl Yerrigan – or the Swan River – runs through the heart of our Kwobidak—beautiful country.
The Noongar word for river is Beeliya. It is also the word for navel. Beeliya - the river that runs through our land and the river that runs through our bodies, giving life.
Goologoolup
A long, long time ago. Before there were roads, cars or tall buildings, there was a special place called Goologoolup.
Goologoolup was alive with water - it was part of a chain of lakes, swamps and wetlands. Birds flew overhead, frogs croaked in the reeds. Turtles, crayfish and all kinds of animals made their homes there.
This land was cared for by the Noongar people.
Fanny Balbuk
Born on the sacred soil of Matagarup, Fanny Balbuk – known to her people as Yooreel – followed the biddis – the sacred songlines walked by her people for thousands of years.
In a world that tried to bury her people’s memory under stone and steel, she walked boldly in the open, carving space for truth, for heritage, for healing.
Gathering food with the women
The ceremony of gathering food has long been women’s business.
We walked alongside the old women looking for karda nests in our bush classrooms. Looking for plants that were plentiful. Whether it be yuak - bush potatoes, koordiny - bush carrot, bush berries - currups, mul, djak, quandong, bardi grubs and more.
Yorga kaadjijin.
