Protecting Yinarra: Celebrating Country Through Creativity and Urgency

Image Credit: Jalaru Photography. Emergence: Yinarra, Jirr-ngin-ngan (Broome) Western Australia, 2025.

On the evening of May 1st, Djukun Country came alive in spectacular fashion through Emergence, a site-specific creative development performance held at Yinarra (Entrance Point). Presented by Bernadette Trench-Thiedeman and Theatre Kimberley, this unique public event used giant puppetry, music, and storytelling to honour the incredible and fragile marine life of Yinarra Reef. At the heart of the performance stood a towering, striped-armed sea anemone—symbolising not only the strange and beautiful life forms in our local waters, but also the urgent need to protect them.

This reef system, just steps from Broome township, is a rare ecological jewel. Local citizen scientists have already identified unusual and undocumented species in these shallow tidal zones. This absence of research puts Yinarra at risk of being overlooked—at a time when protection is desperately needed.

Yinarra Reef, like many others around the world, is under immediate threat from climate heating. Coral bleaching is already being observed in parts of the Kimberley, while industrialisation to support extractive industries continues to push into once-pristine coastal areas. These pressures threaten not only marine life but the cultural and spiritual significance of Djukun Country.

For the Djukun people, Yinarra is sacred. It forms part of a vast and interconnected cultural landscape, which includes ancient shell middens and 130-million-year-old dinosaur tracks—key markers of the Northern Tradition songlines that cross the Kimberley and connect coastal and desert peoples through ancestral memory and shared lore. These songlines remind us that the story of this land is written not only in the rocks and tides, but also in the voices of those who continue to care for Country.

Many Broome locals and visitors experience the wonder of Djukun Country through beach walking, fishing, boating, swimming and family gatherings at Yinarra. But with growing pressures, we must work collectively to ensure these places remain intact and thriving for generations to come.

Emergence was more than a performance—it was a call to protect, to celebrate, and to act. We are deeply grateful to the many hands and hearts who brought this project to life:

• Djukun Nation representatives.

• The puppet makers, puppeteers, and performers who gave movement and magic to our reef.

• Petris Jinunyili Torres, whose soundscape filled the cliffs with spirit and story.

• Michael Jalaru Torres, Jalaru Photography.

• Unbound Sound, the creative team, and the production crew.

• Kimberley Arts Network, who helped birth the giant sea anemone puppet.

• Broome: Clarke Rubber, for donating foam offcuts to help bring the puppets to life.

• The citizen scientists Dianne Bennett and Sharm Donnelly whose knowledge and dedication to local marine life continues to inspire.

• The generous sponsors, including the Indigenous Languages and Arts Fund and Act Belong Commit.

• And of course, Bernadette Trench-Thiedeman and Theatre Kimberley, for choosing to tell stories with deep cultural and ecological importance.

Let this be the beginning of greater conversations and stronger protections. The reef at Yinarra, the ancient shell middens, the songlines and dinosaur tracks—they are not just features of our coastline, they are living heritage.

The Djukun Nation invites all who walk this land to stand with us in protecting Yinarra Reef and Djukun Country.

Country is talking. Are we listening?

Video Credit: Ash Bin Omar. Emergence, Yinarra, Jirr-ngin-ngan (Broome) Western Australia, 2025.

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