Albany 2026: First Lights Kinjarling to shed light on Noongar creation stories of Great Southern landmarks

Menang Noongar history will be presented in a new light this weekend, with First Lights Kinjarling bringing local elders and their stories of country together with drone technology.

Presented by Fremantle Biennale over three nights, First Lights Kinjarling will tell the story of three culturally significant areas of the Great Southern through the voices of Albany’s Noongar elders.

The elders will narrate colourful drone shows, with the drones taking to the skies from 7.30pm over the Anzac Peace Park across the three nights to create a visual partner to the elders’ stories, and aiming to show audiences a different side to some familiar landmarks.

Fremantle Biennale have taken the First Lights drone shows around regional WA since the project launched in 2022, including to Albany in 2023 with First Lights Binalup.

Celebrated Albany-born author Kim Scott has been involved in both Albany editions of the project, and said it was a “privilege” to be telling ancient Noongar stories in a new way and in the elders’ own voices.

“It’s very exciting to be able to tell these stories at this moment, and it’s probably only in recent decades that we’ve been given the opportunity to retrieve and rebuild a lot of these stories,” he said.

“Some families have carried them through intact, but there’s been a lot of loss, so it’s a privilege to be able to tell them now.

“I think that’s empowering and healing for us, and it be able to share them with a mainstream audience, that’s where the power is.

“I hope these shows will be an opportunity to think and talk about that cultural renewal process, and also to put a different light on some of our shared history with more of a Noongar perspective.”

Lindsay and Averil Dean will tell the creation story of the Stirling Ranges in the opening show on Friday night, a place Averil calls the “centre” of her people’s country.

Saturday night brings the story of the Porongurups to life with the voices of Vernice Gillies and Larry Blight, alongside Albany-born artist Cass Lynch.

The story explores the mountain range through the eyes of a granite peak, the moon, and a trapdoor spider that is only found in the Porongurups.

Gillies said she hoped the shows would give the wider community a better appreciation for the depth of Indigenous history and stories in the region.

“These three stories are incredible, and I think for us to actually share them is going to highlight to a lot of other people just how important it is for us to retell those stories, to pass them on, but for them to learn them as well,” she said.

On Sunday night, elders Iris Woods and Olivia Roberts will share the story of Mammang Koort/King George Sound alongside Scott.

The event opens at 6.30pm with the drone shows starting at 7.30pm.