Aunty Doris Shares Bush Food Knowledge at Yanun Wanduin

“I grew up in the bush, and as I would walk with my Mum she would point things out and say ‘see those tree ferns? You can eat those. And see these shoots here, you can eat these too.’”

“She showed me the Wanduin (Lilly Pilly), the Cherry Ballart, all the plants and seeds the old people would use.”

“Mum would also show me what could be used for medicine. She’d say ‘the old people couldn’t just go down to the chemist…’”

It’s a beautiful winter morning on Brayakaulung Country, and Aunty Doris Paton is sharing knowledge.

The assembled crowd is silent, listening intently, all except for the Gang-gang Cockatoos which swoop about and screech in a nearby Strzelecki gum.

We are at the ‘Yanun Wanduin’ Indigenous garden in Yinnar, where a group of GLaWAC’s Gunaikurnai Rangers and men from the Wulgunggo Ngalu Learning Place have come together to continue their cultural journey, learning about the plants that Aboriginal people have used for food, medicine and cultural practices.

Thanks to a partnership between GLaWAC, Wulgunggo Ngalu and TAFE Gippsland, these fellas are undertaking hands-on, accredited training guided by Aboriginal traditional knowledge and practices, on their way to a Certificate II in Horticulture.

Aunty Doris’ knowledge of bush foods and medicine is like a wellspring that continually replenishes, and she shares her stories generously with those gathered at the garden.

As a co-author of the remarkable book Plants of Significance to the Ganai Community, Aunty Doris’ knowledge of bush foods comes from both the personal experiences of her life, and intrepid study.

“When you travel from place to place, you learn from other Country, from other mob.” 

She speaks about the seasons, which are based not on the modern calendar but the ancient rhythms of animals, birds, plants and Country, all connected.

These seasonal indicators might be the fish runs, the migration of birds, like the Mutton Bird down on the Peninsula, or when the Warrigal Greens come into flower.

“These things act as our seasonal markers. These are the things our old people knew.”

She speaks about Murnong (Yam Daisy) – “you cook it in the ground, in the coals of a fire”, and about Pig Face – “goes well with fatty meats like Echidna.”

We have a taste of podocarpus elatus, the Illawarra Plum, which some mob call Daalgaal, or Goongum, and then some delicious pizza topped with bush foods baked on site by GunaiKurnai chef Troy Anderson.

Later, GLaWAC Rangers Jake Atkinson, Michael Atkinson and Jared Browne study the wide variety of native plants throughout the garden, using a plant identification app to confirm what species is what.

They learn about little beauties like the Hop Bitter Pea, the Native Raspberry, Burgan and Kangaroo Grass.

With Aunty Doris’ words echoing through our minds, all of these plants look different somehow, their powers revealed.