00:00A commemoration recognising a sacred place with a devastating past.
00:09This waterhole near Geraldton, called Wooloo Bulungu or Bootnool Springs, was the site
00:14of a massacre in 1854.
00:16Now Ngagaja people have welcomed descendants of the settlers involved, sharing oral history
00:22about the event passed down generations from 170 years ago.
00:27They came from all sides, that side, that side, and made like a killing ground really.
00:35Official records estimate 30 people were killed in the attack, described as a retaliation
00:40against threats to settlers and their livestock.
00:43I don't trust any recording of it because it says 30 people but I believe it was 300,
00:49somebody dropped a zero somewhere.
00:51While it's unclear how many were killed, academic research shows local police led the attack,
00:57supported by station hands.
00:59Descendants who say their settler ancestors were involved faced uncomfortable facts.
01:04The guilt and shame that sort of stops a lot of us from doing the work, it's hard to get
01:11through it but it's just part of the journey.
01:14But it's been worthwhile for those taking part in this ceremony.
01:19Even with the knowledge of the past, you have extended your hands to mine in a search for
01:24truth and healing that I think we all seek in common.
01:28And just to start a process of truth telling, I find it makes me feel more freer.
01:38Dancing together on country in a step towards reconciling the past.
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