Granny [RS] has been my backstop since age four. The moment Granny opened my eyes, and I became aware of my existence and the world around me, my first instinctive thought “it is Dreamtime.” The sound of the word ‘Dreamtime’ was floating around me at that time, and I heard it. Or did Granny whisper Dreamtime in my ear? It began in Nulla Nulla Creek. My grandfather was the last of a group of men in NSW to be ‘put through the rules’ in 1932. He was a full initiated man and the last Keeper of the – Keeparra – Men’s initiation knowledge. Fortunately, the knowledge was recorded by the National Parks and Wildlife Service in the early 70s. This knowledge is preserved and passed down to My brother, the Original lineage of the ‘Keepara.’
My grandfather said the water in Nulla Nulla Creek is magic. Whoever drinks the water always return to the area. Nulla Nulla Creek is my ‘birth water.’ It was created in the Dreamtime by the Porcupine [bunihny] as the Ancestors were hunting him down. The creek meanders its way to the ancient Macleay River. A large rock sits at the mouth of Nulla Nulla Creek, which marks the location my Ancestors caught and speared the Porcupine creating the quills we see on the Porcupine today.
My water birth site sits directly below – Burrell Bullai – ‘Watch Over You’. The most potent sacred place in all Dhunghutti tribe. The Goanna spirit is still alive today on top of the Mountain the way a Goanna can be seen laying on top of – Burrell Bullai. This site is my conception Dreaming place. It is where my mother realises she is expecting her first daughter – me. Burrell Bullai – also has the power to draw people back to the area.
This is -Beginning Place. My seed was planted in the waters of Nulla Creek, waiting to be born. My father also has a sacred location in his ancestral lands at Goanna Headlands – Dirrawong – Goanna Spirit. A protector of its people. It is alive, living in a cave at Evans Head North Coast NSW. My happiest childhood memory at these early locations. I wonder how I think I was carrying messages between the two locations. It is no surprise to me – a mini shaman, maybe.
