Culture, heritage and respect: SKA-Low celebrated on Wajarri Country

BY LIZ WILLIAMS (SKAO)

Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, the CSIRO Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory, is about 800km north of Perth – “outback” Western Australia – on Wajarri Country.

Our trip starts on Saturday 3 December, two days before the ceremony. We drive out to site on a hot and sunny day – the sky is a deep blue and the landscape covered in shrubs and low trees, with a few remaining wildflowers thanks to late season rain. I spy a small group of emus sheltering under a tree as we drive the four hours from Geraldton to Boolardy station, the accommodation facility that will serve as our base. Boolardy’s resident bungarra (goanna) Giuseppe greets us on our arrival. It’s a significant exercise in planning to coordinate the movement of so many people to and around such a remote site, particularly when factoring in the need to protect the on-site ASKAP and MWA radio telescopes from radio frequency interference (RFI) that activities of this nature bring. All equipment brought to site is vetted for RFI potential, including the media crews’ cameras and microphone equipment.

On Sunday we spend the day out on site setting up for the event, erecting marquees, and working with media who have arrived a day early to do their filming. This is our last chance to check and re-check the dozens of details on our planning spreadsheet to ensure everyone is briefed and prepared for the big day.

The forecast tells us we are in for a hot day on Monday – the day of the launch – reaching a high of 38 degrees Celsius. Those of us accompanying the media crews wake at 02:00 to drive out to site and set up in time for the breakfast news crosses to the east coast of Australia, three hours ahead.

It’s well worth the early start. When we get to site it is still dark; the Moon has set and the stars are brilliant. This is an opportunity that few people get to experience; it is a special occasion to be on site before sunrise. It’s peaceful and quiet and we enjoy the magical view while we prepare for the day ahead. As the media and CSIRO AV specialist Shaun Amy set up for the live crosses, we search for Yalbirri – the Wajarri emu in the sky – a well-known Aboriginal constellation that sits in the Milky Way, visible in the dark space between the dust and stars. The TV stations broadcast live as the Sun comes up, providing a magnificent backdrop. The Yalbirri is not the only bird we are watching for. A local nesting pair of wedgetailed eagles guard the skies, and could take a disliking to the media’s small buzzing drones.

TV journalists began broadcasting before dawn at the AAVS2.0 prototype station on site, which was specially lit for the occasion. Among the interviewees, SKA-Low Site Construction Director Ant Schinckel spoke to Nate Byrne of ABC Breakfast News.

Credit: SKAO

Final preparations for the official launch are under way as we wrap up with the media. The team has worked across the weekend to get ready for the event, from setting up marquees and AV, to stocking up on water, food and icy poles (ice lollies) to keep people hydrated in the heat.

Guests start arriving on site at 08:00 as we welcome almost 100 people from local pastoral stations, the Wajarri community, official party, partner organisation representatives, media and a few members of staff.

We begin with a Welcome to Country – a ceremony in which Traditional Owners welcome attendees to their ancestral lands. The formalities include a Wajarri cultural dance, performed by Godfrey Simpson, Geoffrey Mongoo and Gerard Boddington.

To launch telescope construction in Australia, we welcome SKAO Director-General Prof. Phil Diamond, Minister for Industry and Science The Hon Ed Husic MP, WA Government representative Ms Sabine Winton MLA, CSIRO Executive Director Prof. Elanor Huntington, SKA-Low Telescope Director Dr Sarah Pearce, along with local Murchison Shire President Rossco Foulkes-Taylor and Wajarri representatives Colin Hamlett and Dwayne Mallard.

Dwayne gives a moving speech about the Wajarri connection to land and culture, and the respectful and collaborative relationships between the Wajarri and SKA partners who will guide the project into the future. To mark the turning of the soil that will begin construction, Gail Simpson has crafted six traditional Wajarri digging sticks, which she presents to Minister Husic, Prof. Diamond and Ms Winton, together with Ivan Merry, Edward (Teddo) Ryan and Colin Hamlett from the Wajarri. In his speech, Dwayne references the digging sticks and turning of the soil as having a special connection and purpose for the Wajarri: “It has ceremony, it has dignity and reverence through reciprocity of love and respect.” Following the speeches, new and old friends have a chance to meet and chat.

Gail Simpson from the Minangu Land Committee crafted traditional Wajarri digging sticks for the occasion, one of which was presented to SKAO Director-General Prof. Philip Diamond.

Credit: SKAO

The event finishes with a tour of AAVS2.0 – the test array of antennas that has been built on the observatory site by the Curtin node of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR), Italy’s National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), and the SKAO, to prepare for the SKA-Low telescope. As journalists put the final touches to their stories to file them in time for the evening news, our staff start to pack up the site and we bid farewell to our guests as they fly and drive off site. Our official party hop on planes back to Perth for their next event – an evening reception for project partners, key stakeholders, ambassadors and consular representatives to coincide with the launch activities.

Minister Husic was surprised and delighted to receive an original Wajarri artwork on the day, commissioned and gifted by the SKAO, and presented to him by the artist Susan Merry. Susan’s painting shows SKA-Low antennas under the bright Murchison night sky – where one of the oldest living cultures and lands meet the newest technology in a joint quest to solve the mysteries of the Universe.