Capes trail to reconcile past

Wardandi Elder Bill Webb is calling for Indigenous massacres in the South West to be taught in outdoor learning experiences targeting students and tourists via the Busselton to Augusta trail.

Mr Webb said eco-tourism could educate the next generation about “respectful reconciliation”.

“The 1857 massacre in Cowaramup Bay and the massacre of men and women lined on the road to Bunbury from Busselton in 1841 is covered up, and I want for them to be taught to local students because they were large-scale massacres,” he said.

Mr Webb has based his claims on W.B. Kimberly’s 1897 text History of West Australia, which depicts a massacre in retaliation for George Layman’s spearing when Aboriginal men and women were “killed by the dozen”.

Capes residents Christian Hutton, Caralynn Hoft and Jinni Wilson recently walked the trail.

Ms Wilson said the walk along the trail was a gesture of respect for Wardandi people.

“A lot has happened since then, and I think now is a good time to revive the trail as a reconciliation project,” Ms Wilson said.

The South West Development Commission has previously been interested in reviving the trail from Busselton to Augusta as an educational tourism attraction called the Unbeaten Track.