Banbai calendar

Discover the traditional seasonal calendar of the Banbai people in Wattleridge, New South Wales

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The Wattleridge Indigenous Protected Area covers 650 hectares of woodlands and forests on granite soils, home to an amazing diversity of plants and animals. The Banbai nation are the traditional owners of this country and fire is an important part of their way of life.

Wattleridge was the first Indigenous Protected Area to be declared in New South Wales.

    Welcome

    Thainburra una burranyen ngaia nyam ngenda dunga nguralami

    The members of the Banbai nation would like to welcome you to learn about our country. This land was walked on, played on and hunted on by our ancestors. As an act of remembrance, honour and loyalty to our ancestors, we ask that you take a moment to remember them.

    Our vision for our country is that it is self-sustaining for future generations where our children learn cultural values (such as bush tucker and traditional practices) and understand what healthy country means. Our country is a meeting place for family and community gatherings where knowledge is shared and what we see now, generations will see in the future. Healthy country, healthy people and healthy waterways will make our country self-sustaining.

    Banbai fire and seasons calendar

    Colourful wheel with text showing the Banbai seasonal calendar
    Enlarge image

    The Banbai seasonal calendar shows the plants and animals associated with each season. Provided by Firesticks.

    Wildfire time

    Magpie flying.

    In Wildfire time, magpies can be seen teaching their young

    November to March

    Wet and hot becoming warm.

    November

    • Burr, indyara (eel), tuk (frog)
    • Pink Kunzea, Lemon Dovetail, Common Buttercup, Yellow Buttons, Native Geranium, Slender Stackhousia, Slender Tea-tree, Bell-fruited Mallee and other plants are flowering. The Spiny-headed Mat-rush is seeding.
    • Mat-rush leaves are used to weave baskets and eel traps. Tea-tree is used as an antiseptic and broom. Diurus Orchid tubers (like Lemon Dovetail) are an important food resource in south-east Australia. In some areas, they were 'everyday vegetables for Aboriginal people'.
    • New England Tree Frogs, Common Eastern Froglets, Spotted Grass Frogs, Striped Marsh Frogs, Peron's Tree Frogs and Eastern Banjo Frogs are calling and breeding.
    • A lot of bats are around, catching insects, including the threatened Eastern False Pippistrelle.
    • Snow gums are flowering, attracting honeyeaters.
    • Magpies are teaching their young.
    purple fringed lilies in bloom.

    Fringed Lily flowers during Wildfire time

    December

    • Awkendi/gugunbil (water)
    • Scarab Beetles are swarming.
    • Black Grevillea, Ladies' Tresses, Buttercup, Fairy Aprons, Crinkle Bush, Blue Bell, Native Violet, Chocolate and Vanilla Lilies, Native Geranium, Fringed Lily, Creamy Candles, Glycine Pea and Forest Goodenia are flowering. Black Grevillea is a threatened species found only around the Wattleridge region.
    • Lance Beardheath, Spiny-headed Mat-rush and Blackberry are fruiting.
    • The roots of the Vanilla Lily are eaten raw or roasted. Geranium, Glycine Pea and Fringed Lily roots are cooked and eaten. Lance beardheath fruits were eaten.
    • The Native Potato is flowering. The roots of this orchid were roasted and eaten in some parts of Australia. Aboriginal people could find the tubers by digging down where they noticed bandicoots had been scratching.
    • Drooping Mistletoe on New England Manna Gums is flowering, attracting Eastern Spinebills and New Holland Honeyeaters.

    January

    • Wurupil (koala), wale/wole (rain)
    • Native raspberry fruit are eaten as a delicious snack.
    • Bracken fern roots are processed and eaten as a staple food. Young leaves are rubbed onto skin to relieve insect bites. Bracken fern is abundant after fire.
    • Many wildflowers are blooming.
    • Animals feed on the increasing insect populations and eucalypts are flowering.
    • Koalas are breeding.
    • Summer migratory birds visit, including the Striated Pardalote, Sacred Kingfisher, Rufous Whistler, Satin Flycatcher and Grey Fantail.

    February

    • Beambyu (eat), phatae (food)
    • Blackthorn, Ladies' Tresses and Greenhood Orchids are flowering.
    • Wombat Berries are eaten. The raw roots taste sweet. This plant is also used for medicine.
    • Some bush tomato (solanum) fruits are eaten but some species are poisonous – the local solanum fruits are probably poisonous.
    • Native bush rat juveniles are active.

    March

    • Dule (tree)
    • Diehard Stringybarks are flowering, attracting birds such as New Holland Honeyeaters and White-naped Honeyeaters.
    • Box Mistletoe is fruiting, attracting Mistletoebirds. People eat mistletoe fruit, colloquially known as snotty gobbles.

    Grass cures

    two rainbow lorikeets talking to each other.

    Rainbow Lorikeets are among the many birds attracted to flowering Broad-leaved Stringybarks during April to mid-May

    April to mid-May

    Dry becoming cool.

    April

    • Byurngarran (Musk Lorrikeet), biribi (Rainbow Lorrikeet)
    • The Hairpin Banksia is flowering and Wait-a-while Vine, fruiting. Banksia nectar can be sucked or dipped in water to make a sweet drink. The banksia cone can be used as a comb. The Wait-a-while Vine was used for rope or string.
    • Broad-leaved Stringybarks are flowering, attracting Rainbow Lorikeets, Musk Lorikeets, Eastern Spinebills, Yellow-faced Honeyeaters, Red Wattlebirds, New Holland Honeyeaters, White-naped Honeyeaters, Noisy Friarbirds and Silvereyes.
    • Native bush rat females are pregnant.
    two sugargliders facing each other on a branch.

    Sugar Gliders are attracted to flowering Honeysuckle Banksia

    May

    • Gapi/kupoa/kurake/gupe/gurakai (possum), banggo (Sugar Glider)
    • The Honeysuckle Banksia is flowering, attracting Rainbow and Musk Lorikeets, Eastern Spinebills, Yellow-faced Honeyeaters, Red Wattlebirds, New Holland Honeyeaters, White-naped Honeyeaters, Silvereyes, Satin Bowerbirds and Sugar Gliders. Bird species are dispersing after breeding, including the Fantailed Cuckoo, Flame Robin and Silvereye.
    • Banksia cones were used as firesticks to assist Aboriginal people to carry fire across country.

    Burning time

    Mid-May to June

    Dry and cold to frosty.

    • Winba (fire), buang (strike fire), rule (smoke)
    • Jam tarts, known traditionally as mookrum, produce small edible fruits and nectar. Prickly Moses, Jam Tarts, Greenhood Orchid and Mint Bush are flowering.
    • Superb Lyrebirds and Bassian Thrushes are breeding.

    Too cold

    July

    Freezing and windy.

    • Karil (cold)
    • Greenhood Orchid tubers are small but starchy and nutritious.
    • The male Scarlet Robin is busy at this time of year, getting ready for breeding, establishing his territory and looking for food.

    Burning time

    black cockatoo with wings out landing on a tree branch.

    Wattleridge is one of the key habitats for the threatened Glossy Black-Cockatoo

    August to September

    Cold becoming warm.

    • Kukra (echidna), wir (black cockatoo)
    • Echidnas are breeding. The males form lines to follow a female. Traditionally, echidnas were eaten. They are culturally significant and feature in rock art at Wattleridge.
    • Day length is increasing, which stimulates animals, such as Antechinus, to start mating.
    • Eastern Grey Kangaroos come in after a low-intensity fire to eat the fresh green pick, which made them easier to hunt.
    • Young black cockatoos can be heard begging for food from tree hollows. Glossy Black-Cockatoos are a threatened species with key habitat found at Wattleridge. She-oak cones are an important food source for them.
    • Magpies are swooping.
    Slithering red-belled snake on the ground.

    Red-bellied Black Snakes become active in September

    September

    • Tools: Ilemen (wooden shield), ganay (digging stick), kunnai (yamstick), pikora (spear), tua (boomerang), mawkaw (stone axe)
    • Bridal-veil Orchid is one of the first plants to flower as the weather warms up.
    • The beautiful purple flowers of the hovea shrub welcome warmer weather to the bush.
    • Many wattles are flowering prolifically. Wattles were often indicator species used to let people know when to use fire, move camp or access resources. Wattles have many uses including gum, seeds (ground or eaten green), timber, bark, 'apples', grubs/insects, tools, flowers and medicine.
    • Snakes are becoming active, including Highland Copperheads and Red-bellied Black Snakes.

    Risky time

    Eastern water dragon standing on the ground near a river.

    In October, Eastern Water Dragons are active around Lizard Gully

    October

    Hot and windy.

    • Kume (sleepy lizard), gunrul (Frill-necked Lizard)
    • Geebung are fruiting.
    • Native Clematis, Lemon Dovetail, False Sarsaparilla, Leafy Purple Flag, Wait-a-while Vine, Native Violet, Dusky Fingers, Australian Indigo, Beard Heath, Grass Tree and other plants are flowering.
    • Native Clematis leaves were crushed and inhaled to cure headache or cold. Australian Indigo Roots can be used to stun fish in waterholes. False Sarsaparilla stems were used as rope or string for baskets. Grass Trees were important for food and tools. The flower stalks were used as a base for fire drills and dry material used as tinder to make fire.
    • Whistling tree frogs and eastern sign-bearing frogs are breeding.
    • Eastern Water Dragons are active around Lizard Gully.
    • Bowerbirds are active near the homestead.

    Learn more about the Banbai calendar and community

    For more information on the Wattleridge Indigenous Protected Area and the work of the local community, visit Firesticks.

    To understand the importance of Indigenous protected areas for connecting to and managing Country to preserve and enhance its cultural and ecological values and connectivity, view the Connecting to Country video.

    The Wattleridge Fire and Seasons Calendar is part of a PhD research project by Michelle McKemey (University of New England) in collaboration with the Banbai Traditional Owners of Wattleridge.

    The calendar is supported by the Firesticks project, Banbai Enterprise Development Aboriginal Corporation, University of New England, School of Environment and Rural Science, Rural Fire Service Association, Rural Fire Service, and Northern Tablelands Local Land Services (through funding from the Australian Government National Landcare Program).

    Permission to host the Banbai seasonal calendar is granted by the Banbai Enterprise Development Aboriginal Corporation on behalf of the community.

    Copyright

    See Indigenous weather knowledge copyright information for restrictions on the use of information on this page.