takara limuna  (Sheoak Walk) 

This is a walking only trail. This is an easy walk for families, with panoramic views of the Derwent River throughout the length of the walk.

Getting there and parking 

Park at the end of DeBomford Lane in Geilston Bay Regional Park, cross the bridge over Geilston Creek and follow the track along the edge of Geilston Creek Road to where the main track begins at Sarean Court. The track is mostly flat but slightly undulating.

Mumirimina came here to rest, gather mussels and oysters; hunt birds and animals; to hold ceremony and repair or make stone tools for sharpening spears or to strike fire; scraping and skinning; and to collect grasses to make baskets. 

takara limuna is palawa kani for Sheoak Walk; it is named for the limuna (sheoak trees) which have been part of this landscape for as long as her people.  

pulingina takara limuna-tu

Mumirimina taypani lumi krakani; ningina miri, taralangkana,

mulaka muta  + tina; kanaplila; ningina luyni pumili mira, narapa; + ningina nimina nukara. 

Country holds the stories of our past, and the hopes of our future. Pakana (Tasmanian Aborigines) are connected to Country – in the knowledge of all that has come before; in the knowledge of how Muyini made Palawa, the first black man; how the mountains, rivers and islands were cut; in the knowledge of the way in which the Ancestors cared for and lived within Country. When we talk about ‘Country’ it is not just land. Country is also sea Country, and the waterways – from beneath the earth to the sky. 

The physical expressions of Aboriginal heritage in this area -the middens, stone tools, stone quarry sites, cave shelters and the flora and fauna that was cultivated – all form part of this cultural landscape.

The density of material left, according to our lore/stories since the beginning of time,  and by archaeology approximately 6000 years of use, indicates this area was an important seasonal gathering place, where families shared meals and passed on stories. Ceremony, song and dance was integral to the transmission of important laws and lore; of kinship; of wars; of relationships with other language groups; the seasons and songlines.  

The spirit of the Mumirimina remains strong here in their Country. As long as lutha, the gum tree and countrymen of the Mumirimina are healthy and present in the landscape, so too will the memory and spirit of the People remain strong. 

Our Country and our heritage is central to our identity as Aboriginal people – we ask that you respect all species within this cultural landscape, including our heritage. 

milaythina Pakana waranta; waranta Pakana milaythina.  

waranta tunapri Muyini + Rrumitina pumili Palawa – waypa pama;

rukiri truwala, minanya, rruni.

Pakana Ngini ningina milaythina nayri nayri; manina-ti wurangkili-tu

paliti Mumirimina makara rrala lumi; lutha, takariliya Mumirimina makara lumi.

The varied and unique environments across Lutruwita (Tasmania) have been shaped, in accordance with our lore, since the beginning of time; and with archaeology at least 40,000 years of Aboriginal land management practices. Aboriginal people cared for their Country; conducting cultural ceremonies, passing the ancient systems of fire stick farming, cultivation, sustainable hunting practices and seasonal knowledge down from Elders to children.  

The rich resources of this river headland were expertly managed by the Mumirimina ensuring an abundant and varied supply of plant, animal and marine resources.  

Middens, deposits of shells, bones, botanical remains and ash from campfires, can reveal important information about food sources and processing, seasonal movements, population and land use patterns. From an Aboriginal perspective this headland is one large living place (midden). The shell deposits that are visible indicate that the harvesting of mussels and oysters was a major attraction of this place. 

Plant materials were also harvested, including lomandra roots, shoak apples and native cherries. Regular burning maintained open grassland hunting grounds for wallaby. The headland also provided source material to create the tools necessary for survival. Native grasses were woven into baskets for diving and collecting shellfish and much sought-after stone was quarried and processed into sophisticated stone tools here.  

Mumirimina tunapri milaythina-nara 

nara ningina milaythina nayri + rrala paywuta manta

takila Pakana-mana-mapali putiya nayri Mumirimina taymi

lumi.

waranta kanaplila Mumirimina + tunapri Ningi Manina kani

Timtumili Minanya (the River Derwent) was central to the Mumirimina people whose Country extended from Pittwater to piyura kitina (Risdon Cove).  

Mussels and oysters were abundant, and a major source of food. The remains of many feasts are evident in the middens (living places) all along the shores of the river. In fact, mussels are still plentiful along the rocks around the headland.  

The Derwent River conditions were so favourable, that whales in large numbers were also a regular sight on the river during their migration south. Canoes were used to cross Timtumili Minanya and for hunting purposes, trade and travel. 

A rock shelter just above the shore on the headland provided a perfect vantage point, with uninterrupted views up and down the river, and across to the western shore; and of course, the omnipresence of the beautiful and sacred Kunanyi.  

Imagine a family sitting in the rock shelter sharing the warmth of a fire, feasting on the bounty of milaythina minanya (river country) and relaying stories of the Ancestors. 

Timtumili Minanya – Milaythina Minanya  

miri + taralangkana kipli mapali

maytawinya mapali lakapawa Timtumili Minanya-ta nara tapilti south

Kunanyi – takamuna rrala; milaythina paliti

In 1803, British invasion brought the devastating impacts of colonisation, particularly for the Mumirimina whose Country they first ‘acquired’.  

The first massacre of Aboriginal people in Lutruwita occurred just around the corner from here at Risdon Cove in May 1804 when British soldiers opened fire on a large group of Mumirimina men, women and children hunting kangaroo. An ‘orphaned’ Mumirimina boy was taken by the British and christened Robert Hobart May, becoming the first of many Aboriginal children stolen by the invaders. We do not know what became of him. 

The dispossession of the Mumirimina was early, violent and rapid. By 1820 the survivors retreated to neighbouring territories. Many joined guerrilla groups in the resistance fight. Others ended up with George Augustus Robinson on his mission to remove Aboriginal people to Flinders Island in the Bass Strait. None survived. 

The spirit of Mumirimina people lives on through the cultural heritage sites that are still visible on their traditional lands (albeit severely impacted on), and through their countrymen, lutha (the gum tree). The protection of these sites is imperative, as they provide our Community the physical and visual links to our past, and a reminder to the wider community of the longevity of a People and their culture. 

The many middens that line the river banks have been mostly impacted or completely destroyed by contemporary development. Shell material was also removed for lime by colonists and used in the construction of colonial buildings. Amateur archaeologists through the 20^th Century eagerly and frequently collected stone tools. This unfortunately interrupts an age-old story, that can never be re-told. 

Aboriginal community today are devastated at the amount of heritage and country that is destroyed by logging, mining, developments, and continue to fight for our People and our Country. 

Pakana ngini mangina mapali, krakapaka Pakana-nara, milaythina-nara. 

paywuta, milaythina nika Mumirimina

Mumirimina taypani lumi mulaka tara + payathanima

raytji mulaka Mumirimina; Mumirimina-mapali krakapaka rri-ta raytji

raytji ningina pliri-Mumirimina

ningina milaythina-nara; takariliya-nara; pakana-nara;

waranta putiya tunapri nara tapilti

liyini ningimpi Mumirimina makara milaythina-nara-ti

nara lumi; lutha-ti; limuna-ti;  tiyuratina-ti; takila-mana-mapali-ti

waranta kanaplila Mumirimina; waranta taymi tunapri-nara.