Albany 2026: Menang elder Vernice Gillies reflects on importance of acknowledging Indigenous history

Menang elder Vernice Gillies says Albany’s bicentenary is a time to acknowledge her people’s history, which stretches far beyond 200 years.

Ms Gillies is a woman small in stature but large in character, and is well-known in many Albany circles for her passion and knowledge of Menang Noongar traditions and culture, and keeping Aboriginal people involved in their region’s future.

Ms Gillies also still runs cultural education tours on country alongside her son Larry Blight, through their company Kurrah Mia.

She was born and raised in the port city, and as we sit atop the towering Kardarup/Mt Melville, looking over Princess Royal Harbour and the Torndirrup National Park, she recalls how her hometown has adapted and changed over the years.

“We’ve had to keep pace with the rest of the country, the rest of the world, but I think we’ve done it in a way that hasn’t taken a lot away from the uniqueness of Albany,” she said.

“We still have our ‘mammang’, our whales, and that just draws people from everywhere, and we don’t kill them anymore, which is an incredible thing.

“Having been born here and grown up here, things have changed but I think underneath it all, we still remain the same.”

As 2026 loomed, questions abounded in Albany about how the bicentenary, the anniversary of European colonisation of the region, should be celebrated.

Ms Gillies says to begin with, the prospect of celebrating that particular milestone was something a lot of local Indigenous people struggled with.

However, she said that over time, many have come to view 2026 as a time to bring Indigenous culture and history to the fore, and share it with a wider audience.

“I think initially, a lot of our people were a bit reluctant about whether this was a celebration or whether it isn’t a celebration, or it shouldn’t be a celebration.

“I think a lot of that was just left over from when we had the (the Voice) referendum, because it was such a crushing loss that a lot of our people went into mourning and didn’t want to become involved in anything much at all, just smarting from such a slap in the face.

“I was very much aware that there was a lot of apathy, and we still haven’t shaken that off completely yet, I don’t think.

“I’m personally looking forward to the things that are happening over this coming year because a lot of our people have now come out of their shells a whole lot more and and there are a lot more of our people involved.

“It is a special year, however you look at it.

“It marks 200 years of white settlement, and I think for our people it’s 200 years of acknowledgement, because we’re here.

We were here, we are here, we don’t plan to go anywhere.

“So I think a big part of it is that acknowledgement that, yes, we were here before.

“But another special bit, I think, is people joining in and all coming together to celebrate the milestone, and the city have done a wonderful job.

“I think it’s because we do things down here differently to our cousins just the other side of the hills and our cousins in the metropolitan area.

“We’re hoping that lots of people will come and take the opportunity to meet our people and have a look at this beautiful country and and go away with lots of really good memories.

“We’re a very lucky town, and we are the very proud owner of many, many firsts in WA.

“Perth can do an OK job, but I’ll tell you what — Albany is going to lead the way, and they’ll take away from here something that is just completely out of this world, and compare it to when Perth have their bicentenary in three years time.”