Gomeroi Country

In Part 1 Gomeroi Country we start at the beginning and then encounter invasion, massacre and colonisation.

This podcast has been informed by the historical work of Aunty Noelene Briggs, and particularly her books Winanga-li and Burrul Wallaay. To find out more about Aunty Noelene's books click here


Detailed Music Credits
"Track 4 (Hurt)" by Philip Okerstrom, Damian Mason and Symon Ayton, "Didgee Beat Box Mix" by Philip Okerstrom, "Didgy" by Philip Okerstrom "Quirky Play" by Marco Pesci, "Green Garden" by Score Wizards, "Track 10 (Hurt)" by Philip Okerstrom, Damian Mason and Symon Ayton, "Talismanist’s Art" by Tera Mangala, "Omen" by Richard Johnson, "Didgeridoo Long Loop" by Tera Mangala, "Track 3 (Hurt)" by Philip Okerstrom, Damian Mason and Symon Ayton, "Charmaine" by Philip Okerstrom.

This podcast was made with funding from Create NSW.

A podcast from Matthew Priestley supported by Third Space Ventures and Coequal.

To contact Coequal and find out more, check out our Patreon page, click here

Content Description

This episode contains discussions of colonial violence, including detailed references to massacres and systemic dispossession of Aboriginal people
 
Wirilla – Episode 1: “Gomeroi Country” Duration: ~22 minutes
Setting: Recorded on Gomeroi and Dharawal Country, moving between ancient storytelling space and historical narration.
Narrators/Voices:

• Matthew Priestley – Mehi Murri man (Terry Hie Hie clan, Gomeroi Nation)
• Dante – Young Gomeroi man, co-narrator and learner
• Kim – Anglo-Saxon background, long-time friend of Matthew, teacher from Moree
• Phil – Co-creator, occasional narrator

🪶 STRUCTURE AND CONTENT BREAKDOWN Opening Invocation: The Wind

• Speaker: Matthew Priestley
• Matthew opens the episode with a poetic reflection about the wind as the source of life and communication.
• He describes the wind as magic—essential, invisible, and often unacknowledged.
• Key idea: Breath and speech come from the wind, positioning “air” as the first teacher.
• Sets a meditative, spiritual tone—listeners are drawn into Country as a living force.

🌀 Themes introduced:
Connection to Country · Breath as life · Gratitude to unseen forces · Story as wind.
Welcome and Setting

• Speaker: Dante (intro narration)
• Dante welcomes listeners to Wirilla, acknowledging Gomeroi, Dharawal, Elouera, and Wadi Wadi lands.
• Introduces Matthew and the location — the ridge called Wirilla.
• Kim describes standing on the ridge: red gums with “red bellies,” tall and narrow.
• Matthew teaches that these are Yarran trees, sacred and central to story.

🌿 Theme: Naming and language as a way of seeing; reclaiming Aboriginal place-names and meanings.
Creation Story of Baime and the Yarran Tree

• Narrator: Dante
• A Dreaming story unfolds:
  • Baime creates the first humans from red earth on the ridges.
  • After a drought, one man refuses to eat a kangaroo rat, walks away, dies beside a red gum.
  • A Yowie appears, places him inside the hollow tree, which then rises into the sky amid thunder.
  • Two cockatoos follow it upward — their flight creates the Southern Cross.
  • The story marks the origin of death in the world.

🌌 Themes:
Cosmic transformation · Origins of mortality · Sky stories as moral lessons · Animal kinship.
Yarran Do and the Hidden Star

• Speaker: Matthew
• Matthew expands on the story:
  • The lifted tree becomes Yarran Do.
  • Hidden within is Gameeri, “the smallest star in the universe,” invisible to the naked eye.
  • Knowing the story helps you never get lost on Country — signs are everywhere.
• Ends with cockatoos shrieking (“See you later”), blending story and lived moment.

✨ Themes:
Knowledge as orientation · Invisible truths · Story as navigation · Spiritual continuity.
Introductions and Reflections on Identity

• Speakers: Dante, Kim, Matthew
• Dante introduces himself as Gomeroi, living on Dharawal land, learning about his ancestry through this project.
• Kim introduces herself as Anglo-Saxon, long-time collaborator and teacher from Moree.
• Ra