Gascoyne Aboriginal Heritage & Cultural Centre
Gwoonwardu Mia is a multipurpose Cultural Centre hosted on Yinggarda Country in Carnarvon that celebrates and recognises the five Aboriginal language groups of the Gascoyne Region, Yinggarda, Baiyungu, Malgana, Thadgari and Thalanyji with a vision to create: “a common meeting place for the people of the Gascoyne Region where lives are enriched, Aboriginal culture is recognised and practiced, quality employment and business enterprises operate and where youth are actively engaged in creating their own future”
Gwoonwardu Mia showcases regional artists in the Gallery Shop, a Training Café, Conference Rooms for hire, an Ethno – botanical garden and the nationally award winning permanent exhibition – Burlganjya Wanggaya – Old People Talking – Listen, Learn, Respect.
Exhibition Highlights
Sky Dome
Made up of a series of time lapse night footage taken from different areas of the Gascoyne region showing how Aboriginal people were our first astronomers.
Artefacts & Objects
This includes shields and grind stones and a replica shell necklace on display that is dated at 33,000 years old and was found in the region (the original is held in the Western Australian Museum in Perth).
Untouchable Stories of the Gasgoyne Touch Table & listening Seat
Untouchable Stories of the Gascoyne is a unique audio-visual exhibition which allows visitors to listen to incredible stories from Aboriginal elders from each of the five language groups in the Gascoyne. The touch table tells the Aboriginal story of two sacred saltwater and freshwater snakes, Bubawari and Jingabirdi and how their relationship affected the land and waterways around the Gascoyne.
Burrowing Bees
The big hairy bee that is unique to the Gascoyne region is called Mungurrgurra or sometimes Jurrabarri. They are also known as Dawson’s Burrowing Bee (Amegilla dawsoni) and are one of the world’s largest bee species.
Getting Here
Opening Hours
Mon
9:00AM - 5:00PM
Tue
9:00AM - 5:00PM
Wed
9:00AM - 5:00PM
Thu
9:00AM - 5:00PM
Fri
9:00AM - 5:00PM
Sat
CLOSED
Sun
CLOSED
Location
146 Robinson St,
Carnarvon, WA 6701
Contact
08 9941 1989
0448 369 681
Culture, community & opportunity
Designed around storytelling, the exhibition brings together oral histories, images, film and artefacts with immersive interactive experiences.