Monday, January 20, 2014

Special Womans Place near Woolgoolga - Mary's Waterhole

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I get a lot of messages but this sort of message is the kind I love to get in my inbox, I only hope I can assist.

I received this message from a lovely lady in Woolgoolga whose name is Emma.  This is what she wrote me :

Hello Mary-Ellen, You don't know me but I have been searching around the internet trying to get some help. I contacted a lady called Adele who directed me to you.

I am not Aboriginal but I do have a great love and respect for the people of this land. My elderly neighbour (83) took us to a place just behind our house in Woolgoolga and told us of this beautiful ceremony that he remembered as a boy.

It is a place the white locals dubbed Mary's Waterhole. Mary. the last in a very long line of women, used to take the soon-to-be mothers to this spring on the very top of the highest hill and bathe and sing to them and the child to give them an easy birth.

What a beautiful process. About 50 years ago some complete moron put a stick of dynamite into the spring in the hope of bringing up more water.

Of course it had the opposite effect and the pool in now reduced to a muddy puddle. But the spirit still remains in this place and I fear that no one lives to remember this any more.

I don't want it to disappear from peoples minds so I am trying to find an indigenous women's group who will "adopt" this site or... well I am not sure what. I simply don't want this history to be lost.

Anyway I hope you can help and if not I am sorry for bothering you.

Warm regards
Emma
Of course this isn't a bother.  It is an honor for me to be able to pass this information on to the right people.   I will look for the right person to contact and we will action this as soon as possible.

I agree with Emma, I do not want any of these places to disappear forever.  Although in the spirit world they are all still there and this cannot ever be taken by anyone other than the great creator.

Mary's Waterhole sounds like such a lovely name too.  I cannot wait to find out more history about this from where ever I can gather this from. 

Images @ Eminpee Fotography

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Hello my name is Lilly, I work at Yarrawarra Aboriginal Cultural Centre in Corindi Beach, I used to go to this site with my aunties when i was a kid, its very well known in our community as a sacred womens site and i know people who have seen and talked to spirits up there. We are trying to get together a womens' circle for ceremony, weaving and sharing language and stories to continue cultural practice, Mary's Waterhole would be a part of the ceremonial practice <3