Central Land Council

Anthwerrke (Emily Gap) and Akapulye (Jessie Gap) Nature Park and surrounding areas

Anthwerrke (Emily Gap)

Anthwerrke (Emily Gap)

Emily Gap is called Anthwerrke after the innards of the ayeparenye, ntyarlke and utnerrengatye (caterpillars) that were spilt everywhere when the arlperenye (green stink beetle) chopped their heads off. It is a very significant place for Arrernte people:

“This site, possibly the most important place in the whole region, is where the caterpillar beings of Alice Springs originated. The caterpillars are the main creative ancestors of Alice Springs …"

This area also means a lot to Arrernte people because of historical significance. When my family used to live and work on Ntuyle ( Undoolya ) Station, we would go ‘walkabout' during winter time and camp at Anthwerrke. There were other people living and camping there - people lived around there when Alice Springs started becoming a town. Some old people were there permanently, while other people came and went, depending on work and ceremonies. People lived at a few places around town then, like Urrkenanenhe – a soakage further north on one of the main creeks that run into Emily Gap. There were a few different camps at Anthwerrke too.

Gully where Arrernte people herded arenge (euors) and arrwe (rock-wallabies)

One was in between the main range and the small hills to the west of the gap and others were scattered around the area. People dug soakages for drinking water away from the gap then, because it is a sacred site. When they went to get water from the soaks they had to follow in each other's footprints. If you didn't follow right in the prints you were seriously punished by the old men – they could tell whose footprints they were just by looking at them! There was plentiful food then too – yalke (bush onions) , utyerrke (figs) , alangkwe (bush banana) , arrangkweye (bush plum) and ataltyakwerle ( mulga apples). There were also alatyeye (pencil yams) on the north side of the gap and plenty of apere inwernenge (witchetty grubs) , apereltye (gum leaf manna) and aperante (river red gum honeydew). Plants like yalke and alatyeye have gone from this area now. Plants seemed to survive better in those days and the bush foods were around for a longer time.

People hunted big game animals in this area as well in those days, the arenge (euro), aherre-aherre (kangaroo) and arrwe (rock-wallaby). The animals were herded into the gully to the west of the gap and people were waiting up the other end with ture (clubs), ilye (boomerangs) and arne (sticks). They threw the ilye and arne at them to break their legs and then clubbed them on the head to kill them. That was people's meat then for a few days.

Veronica and Valerie Burdett talking about change at Anthwerrke

Anthwerrke has changed a lot for the worse since I was a young woman. The area is in a sorry state and some older Arrernte people feel sad that it has been allowed to reach this state. If you could have seen the area in the early days, you wouldn't think it was the same place you see today – especially the gap area. There used to be a lovely beach at the mouth of the gap with good clean sand, and there was a fairly big waterhole. After rain, the water laid here for months, years, until it rained again – much longer than it does today. The water was good to drink for people and animals, not stagnant. Nowadays the sand is all silty and dirty and the couch and buffel grass have taken over, covering the sand. There are big mounds in the river and when water comes through it digs out deep holes where there sand is loser. The water lays there and gets stagnant – there's not enough air getting through because the couch grass is choking it and the sand gets really black and smelly. The water isn't any good to drink now – even the animals sense it. The arenge and arrwe seem to dig their own soaks to get clean water instead of drinking the dirty, stagnant water.

Car tracks and erosion in the river opposite Anthwerrke, with ayepe vines in the foreground

Traditionally the ampere- artweye (owners) and akwertengerle (managers) looked after and burnt country to prevent things like the rivers getting all choked up like this.

People used to also camp on the south side of the Gap in the early days too - in the river, now over the road. Today Arrernte people and others like to go here for picnics or to camp on the weekends. Tourists sometimes camp here for two or three weeks. There are lots of car tracks here and erosion where people are driving down the bank into the river. It is a shame that people drive in the river. Small plants like the ayepe vine live in the river and the ayeparenye grub lives on these plants and cocoons underground beneath them. They are a very significant totem for our people. These caterpillars are probably getting killed off because of this. There aren't as many ayepe vines around as there used to be – they used to grow on the sides of banks as well as in the rivers. The driving is also carving up the river bed and makes the river look bad and hard to walk in. It would be good if this area could be fenced to stop this from happening.

A deep hole dug out by the flowing river, with stagnant water and couch grass mounds

Now that there is going to be joint management, it would be good to see young Aboriginal people and trainee rangers involved in caring for this area and maybe trying to restore in some way so that people can appreciate it more. There are some important trees and plants that grow here that also need to be looked after. Maybe even putting some plaques on these trees with Arrernte names would be good so that young people can recognise and learn about the plants that are important to their culture.

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Plants of significance in the area (see Section 2 for details of plant uses and significance)

Atnyere (supplejack)

Atnyere ingkweye (old supplejack)

Atnyere ure iperre lyapeme (old supplejack re-sprouting after fire)

Atnyere carpark-le ure iperre (burnt supplejacks at the carpark)

Apere akngerre at Anthwerrke (big river red gum at Emily Gap

Utyerrke name akurne at Anthwerrke (figs with a lot of buffel grass

Ltyentye urle ampeke (beefwoods burnt by fire)

Ilwempe atherre irrernte arenye arteke (two ghost gum guardian spirits)

This tree has an important ceremonial use for our people as well as being used for food and making tools. There are a number of old trees occurring in this park that are of particular significance. Some of them have already been burnt. They can grow back from the base but they take a long time to become big trees again. If fire is too frequent, they can get killed off. Buffel and couch grass need to be removed from around their base to protect them from fire. There was a big patch of ltyentye (beefwood) and atnyere growing together on the other south side of the road which has been burnt out. Some atnyere are sprouting back but others have died. The patch of atnyere near the carpark has also been burnt.

Apere (river red gum)

There are two big apere trees in front of the gap in the middle of the river that have particular significance as they have an altyerre (dreaming story) associated with them. The patch of young apere at the gap are also important because they come from the seeds of the big trees and will grow into big trees themselves with time, providing shade and habitat for birds and other animals. The really thick mats of couch grass around these trees represent a fire hazard.

Utyerrke (native fig)

The patch of utyerrke growing against the range on the west side of the gap is an important and accessible food source for our people, and also has historical significance – we used to eat these figs when we camped here when I was young. Many of the trees have a big build up of buffel grass around their base which is a potential fire hazard. It would be good if this could be cleared away.

Uyenpere (spearbush)

There are also a lot of uyenpere growing at the bottom of the range on the west side of the gap. These plants are used for making hunting spears and are significant to our people. They have buffel grass growing around them that needs to be controlled.

Arrkernke (bloodwood)

The really big old arrkernke tree at the turn-off to Emily Gap which has now burnt down is culturally significant to Arrernte people and has an altyerre (dreaming story) associated with it. For me, and others, it was seen as an important landmark tree. Valerie considered it to be a ‘welcoming tree' for all people - tourists, local Aboriginal people and non-Aboriginal people alike. A buffel grass fire around the base of this significant tree was the cause of it burning down. People are quite upset about this tree burning down. It would be good if we could work together to look after important trees like this.

Ilwempe (ghost gums)

There are two big ilwempe trees on the south side of the road to Emily Gap. These trees have special significance to our people - they are considered to be two spirits watching over the area. Although they are outside of the National Park, Arrernte people would like them to be maintained.

Ltyentye (beefwood)

A big patch of these trees on the south side of the road has been burnt and many of them have been killed. They used to flower around Christmas time.

Arrutnenge (native passionfruit)

The same fire burnt a big patch of passionfruits on the south side of the road. Only the young ones have survived. The older ones have been burnt off and will never grow back again.

Angelthe (native pear)

There are two of these plants on the south side of the road in the river. They are being crowded out by buffel grass. You used to see more of these plants when I was young, but now you only see one or two here and there.

Important population of Aherre-intenhe (Eremophila duttoni)

Actions

• Involve Amoonguna rangers in rehabilitation of these areas, under direction of Elders (Envirofund Grant)
• Control buffel and couch grass around the base of trees and plants of significance
• Fence off the river on the south side of the road to prevent people driving in there, causing erosion and killing off important plants
• Attempt couch grass control in the gap to help restore it to its former condition
• Labelling important plants with Arrernte and English names so that young Aboriginal people and tourists can learn them
• Guided culture and history walks with Elders, or self guided walks

Aherre-intenhe mape alturle Anthwerrke-nge (population of red poverty bushes west of Emily Gap)

Just West of Emily Gap

A band of a herre-intenhe ( Eremophila duttoni or red poverty bush) is growing on both sides of the Ross Highway , starting approximately four kilometers west of Emily Gap. These plants are important bush medicine for our people - the leaves are still collected and used for medicine by older people. The main band of aherre-intnehe on the north side of the highway has been fenced off as part of the Emily Hills Estate development. People are very concerned about the loss of access to, and probable destruction of, these plants. The main band on the south side of the road stretches back towards the rifle range. It would be good to see the population on the south side of the road protected for future generations.

Aherre-intenhe mape alturle Anthwerrke-nge (population of red poverty bushes west of Emily Gap)

Actions

• Talk to developers regarding minimising damage to population on north side of the road
• Ensure that any development on the south side of the road takes into consideration the importance of these plants. This land comprises NT portion 8099, which is subject to native title following the Alice Springs determination.

Akapulye - Jessie Gap

The Arrernte name for this area is Akapuly e . Some Arrernte people call it Tyethe , which is derived from the English word ‘Jessie'. This is also a very significant area for Arrernte people. On the south-east side of the gap was a birthing place where women learnt about giving birth. The men's site is on the north side. People use to camp and hunt on the north side of the gap towards Ntulye ( Undoolya ), but didn't camp near the gap because of its importance as a site. There's a bore on the north side that is used by Undoolya Station. A lot of yalke (bush onion) , alatyeye (pencil yam) and other foods were collected in this area, but they're gone now. These days, tourists and local people take photos and walk around everywhere, even near the sites.

Apere atherre at Akapulye (Jessie Gap)

These sites were really respected at the time because they were sacred sites. The cultural side of these areas has been lost because of them being taken over by national parks. The sites were still looked after by our people when they were part of cattle stations. None of this has been handed down to the younger generation like it used to be via the old people. People used to go back and touch up the paintings, but now it doesn't seem to get done – they're all fading away and being forgotten, just like the old people. It is sad for older people like myself to see this happening. It would be good too see the younger generation getting more involved in taking care of areas, like Emily and Jessie Gap and other places now that Joint Management is happening. These areas haven't been managed all that well for many years. Now that we have some Arrernte ranger trainees, it would be good to see them start to be involved in taking care of places that are important to our people.

The river at Jessie Gap seems to flow better than at Emily Gap and isn't clogged up with all that couch and sooty dirt. The couch isn't in the river bed like at Emily Gap. The trees seem to be a lot healthier here too. There is a bit of buffel and couch, though not right in the river. Again, we would like to see plaques with Arrernte names placed on some of the important trees at Jessie Gap.

Atnyere atherre with a lot of buffel grass around them at Akapulye

Important plants

Atnyere (supplejack) - There are two old atnyere under the foot of the hill closer to Jessie Gap, and a young atnyere growing near the fence. There's a lot of buffel grass around them that needs to be cleaned away to protect them from fire.

Utyerrke (native fig) - There's some old utyerrke growing here too, like the ones at Emily Gap. They tend to grow where it's hilly because it secure. Some figs at Jessie Gap have buffel grass around them that is a fire hazard.

Utyerrke ingkweye (old figs) at Akapulye

Apere (river red gum) – There are two big ones in the picnic area, and also an arrkernke. It would be good to have the Arrernte names on these. One of the big apere in the creek has some couch grass around its base.

Arrwatnurlke (striped mint bush) – This is an important medicine plant for our people. There is a patch of them growing on the side of the range to the west of the gap.

Actions

• Control buffel and couch grass around the base of significant trees
• Improve fire management around important plants and sites
• Label important trees with Arrernte names
• More information displayed about the importance of this area
• Culture and history tours

Antenhengantenhe - Corroboree Rock

This area is an important men's site. Traditionally women and children weren't allowed to go anywhere near here. Arrernte women and children still don't go to this area because it is a sacred site belonging to men. Men used to collect most of the plants around sacred sites and take them back for the women to use when they needed them. The Arrernte name for this area comes from the possum, antenhe .

Patch of old atnyere along the creek at Antenhengantenhe

Young and old atnawerte

Cattle damage to young atnyere

Important plants

Atnyere (supplejack) – A lot of old atnyere grow in the creek at Corroboree rock and along the road in. These trees were used in ceremony and were also used as torches to carry to make fire from place to place. People normally like to look after these trees - they don't light fires under them or near them. There's not very many around. They only grow in certain areas.

Atnawerte (native apricot) – This is an avoidance tree for Arrernte people at certain stages of their lives (see Section 2). You don't see too many of these trees growing, only one or two here and there. There are quite a few growing in and around Corroborree Rock – probably the most I've seen anywhere. There's both young and old ones here. It would be good if they could be looked after.

Ilwempe (ghost gums) – There is a patch of ilwempe growing on a small hill, just to the west of Corroborree Rock. These trees are connected with the altyerre (dreaming story) of this area.

Cattle seem to be a problem in this area. They have rubbed against some of the trees and broken the limbs off. The cattle go for the smaller trees like young atnyere , atnyeme (witchetty bush), arrangkweye (bush plum), utnerrenge ( emu bush) and young athenge (ironwood). If the cattle were kept out, the trees wouldn't get damaged and would have a better chance to grow.

Actions

• Fence off area from cattle
• Protect significant trees listed above from fire and other threats and label some of the important trees
• Change the spelling of the Arrernte name for this area on the interpretation signs (currently spelt as Antanagantana)

plants of significance at Antenhengantenhe (Corroboree Rock

Alherrkentye ( Trephina ) and Atneperrke (John Hayes Rock Hole)

When I was a young child, my family worked at Ross River Station – when it was called Love's Creek. We mainly lived and hunted around that area during these station times. My mother was born at Alhintarlpe (‘Dancing Lubra'), part of a group of dancing women that came from the west. I knew about those areas (Trephina and John Hayes) but never went hunting there because they were significant men's sites.

Apmere Atneperrke - John Hayes Rockhole

Atneperrke - John Hayes Rockhole

Lots of arrwe (rock-wallabies) live in the tunnels in the rocks here. There are also a lot of euros living here. Mpwaltye (frogs) live near the waterholes - they seem to burrow into the ground when the water goes down. You have to dig to find them. When the water goes right down the arenge (euros) and arrwe come down and dig little soaks to find water.

Important plants

Ahakeye (bush currant) – There are two ahakeye trees near the rockhole . These trees have a very sacred story – they are a very important totem belonging to certain people. They need to be cared for and respected because of their significance.

Hayley Wallace and ahakeye at Atneperrke

Atnyere (supplejack) – There are some of these trees in the little creek and in the carpark . This tree is an important tree for people to use for ceremonies and the sap was collected and eaten. These trees should be cared for. After fires goes through, some of them grow back from underneath. If they're old trees they seem to get burnt out and don't grow back again.

Utyerrke (bush figs) – These are important sacred plants to certain people as well - the same as the ahakeye . They grow mainly on the hills and in the rocks where they are protected from fire. There are some big ones near the waterhole at the back.

Ilweke (native pine) – There is a big ilweke in the picnic area on the edge of the small creek. This was an important medicine plant for our people. The wood and leaves were burnt for their pleasant smell to calm and relax people, even babies. The bark was used for high fever – people were laid in the bark and covered to sweat out the fever.

Hayley with alangkwe

Atnyerre in the carpark at John Hayes

Cynthia McMillan and ilweke at carpark

Other important plants growing here include, the alketyerre (dead finish or ‘wart tree'), alangkwe (bush banana), ntwernenge (curry wattle), aherre-aherre (lemon grass), alperre (whitewood), arrangkweye (bush plum), uyenpere (spear bush) and arrethe (hill fuschia bush) (see Section 2 for details about these plants). There are also some good patches of utnerrenge ( emu bush) growing along the road into John Hayes. Some of these have buffel grass growing around them.

Actions

• Have the Arrernte name for this area on the signs
• Label important trees in the car park and gorge area with Arrernte names
• Map of plants important to Arrernte people could be displayed and a self-guided walk of important plants developed
• Ensure that trees of significance such as ahakeye and atnyere are protected
• Remove buffel grass from around important plant populations to protect them from fire
• Training for Arrernte rangers in traditional plant use and management
• Engage young Arrernte people in learning about and looking after these areas

Alherrkentye - Trephina Gorge

Places like Trephina are good for anthetherrke (carpet pythons) to live – where there are crevices in the rocks and big river red gums.

Cynthia's young sister found a carpet snake lying on a branch of a red river gum in the gorge here. They brought it back into town and sold it to a white man. It was a really big one. It should have been left there, rather than been taken away. They took it away from its original country.

Utyerrke at ampere Alherrkentye

The anthetherrke is kere (meat) for our people – we used to eat it in the early days. People knew what times the anthetherrke had young ones and didn't kill it to eat during these times.

It was the same for most animals, except for arlewatyerre (goannas) and atyunpe (perenties), which were eaten when they had eggs inside them. Animals like the anthetherrke were respected more because they were totems to certain people.

Both snakes and lizards ilkele aneme (hibernate) during wintertime. They come when it warms up to mate and have lots of young ones. The old people say that lizards and snakes come out of their hibernation when they hear the first thunder – they know this means that summer is here.

Important plants

Veronica and Cynthia recording at Alherrkentye

Hayley pointing to arrkipere (bloodwood sap)

Arrangkweye or ankweleye growing along the road to Alherrkentye (Trephina Gorge)

Tunpere grass in the river bed

Utyerrke akweke growing in apere (little fig growing in a river red gum)

There are some important trees in the car park, like the atwakeye (bush orange), atnyere (supplejacks) and arrkernke (bloodwood). The arrkernke trees have a lot of sap leaking out of them. This was used as a medicine.

On the track down into the river there is a small utyerrke (fig tree) growing in the hollow of an apere (red river gum). The utyerrke will most probably take over when the apere dies.

There are a lot of utyerrke and uyenpere growing along the cliffs in the gorge, and also arrangkweye and atwakeye . Most of these plants growing up in the rocks are protected from fire.

Twenpere grass (witchetty hook grass) grows on the banks on the side and in the middle of the river. They are getting crowded out by buffel and couch grass in some places. People used to make hooks out of these to pull out witchettys from the red river gums. These are the only types of grasses that used to grow around the rivers here and it would be good to see that they don't all disappear so our young people can learn about them.

Some good patches of ayepe ( tarvine ) also grow in the river in the gorge. These plants don't seem to be around as much anymore and neither do the ayeparenye grubs that live on them. It would be good if these plants could be cared for.

There is also some aherre-aherre (lemon grass), pintye-pintye (apple bush and sticky blue-rod) and irlperle (paper bark) in the river. Some of these are also getting choked out by couch and buffel grass.

Along the road to Alherrkentye there is a big patch of arrangkweye (bush plums) . They are an important plant to our people as a food and for making implements. They are susceptible to fire and it would be good if they are protected by controlling buffel grass around them. There is also some good patches of utnerrenge ( emu bush) along the main road that need looking after.

The big ilwempe (ghost gums) on the way to Alherrkentye are significant trees to Arrernte people from this area. If the Traditional Owners of this area have stories about these trees it would be good to see them displayed (just the public part of the story). It is interesting for people to know these stories. If they learn the stories, they will probably appreciate and respect the trees and the areas they grow in more.

There is also a patch of untyeye (corkwoods) near the big ilwempe . This patch has been burnt and some of them are growing back and others aren't. It would be good if the buffel grass could be cleared away from around the base of these trees to protect them. Buffel grass seems to grow thicker and bigger than the native grasses. The native grasses don't have as much fuel as buffel grass when they dry out – they are softer and more silky. Buffel grass is harder and stronger and burns hotter and for longer than the native grasses so it damages other plants more.

It would be good to see the trees and plants we've talked about here looked after so they don't get damaged or burnt. It would also be good to see the Arrernte names on the main signs for the national parks so when schools take children on country visits they can learn these – both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children. There are English names on plaques next to some trees in the national park already, but it would be good to see the Arrernte names on these trees as well.

Ilwempe akngerre on the road to Alherrkentye

Actions

• Have the Arrernte name for the national park on the main signs
• Control buffel grass and couch grass around important trees and populations of plants
• Improve fire management to protect important plants and sites in the park
• Label important trees with Arrernte names and have information about plant uses
• Display ‘public' dreaming stories about some of the important trees