Gandhuwuy and I have struck up a friendship. He says he is responsible for me now that I live on his people's land and he is a very good neighbour. I have met his two wives, Nancy and Margaret and some of his 14 chidlren and dozen or so grandchildren.
Gandhuwuy and I shared tea on by deck and I asked him about the significance of the rock formations dotted along the beach here at Dhambala. Gandhuwuy said the rocks have their own 'creation story' and after tea he led me down onto the beach, took me through a ceremony at an anciet waterhole and he told me the Dhambala Creation Story.
In short, Dhamabla was created by two ancient creation spirits known as the Two Sisters. The sisters dug walking sticks in the sand and created a waterhole. A flock of giant black cockatoos, known as Nadili, flew down and drank the bubbling water and over time transformed into the large dark sculptural rocks that now sit prominently on the beach.
This is one of more than 100 creation stories for how the landscape at Dhambala came into being and Gandhuwuy has offered to share them with me. I have offered to write them up and take photos of the landscape features to go with each story. Wehen they are done we will put them all together so visitors to Dhambala can learn about the Liyagawamirr clan and their deep spiritual connection to the land.
In the meantime, below is a pic of Gandhuwuy and one of the giant cockatoo (Nadili) rocks on the beach.
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