The Aboriginal Bush Food & Medicine Garden at the Museum of the Goldfields has sprouted new life—literally!

Thanks to a partnership between Major Partner, gold mining company Gold Fields, the Western Australian Museum and the Foundation for the WA Museum, over 70 native plants found their new home in our garden on Monday 9 December, expanding the cultural and educational gem for years to come.

For over 60,000 years, Indigenous Australians have used native plants for food, medicine and tools. The Aboriginal Bush Food & Medicine Garden, first established in 2022, preserves and shares this knowledge while strengthening an understanding of food, biodiversity and sustainability. The garden also holds an emotional connection for the local community, having been dedicated to the late Cara Haymes, a much-loved former Regional Manager of the Museum.

Gold Fields staff rolled up their sleeves to help with the planting, which included species like the Desert Cassia (senna artemisioides), a small woody shrub with silver green leaves and bright yellow flower known for its healing properties, and the Jam Wattle (acacia acuminata), a versatile plant whose seeds can be ground into flour, bark used as a painkiller and timber crafted into tools.

This planting day comes after a detailed audit by Rangers from the Goldfields Aboriginal Community Services, with invaluable help from Eastern Goldfields Regional Prison’s Section 95 Program. The team worked to clear non-native plants, paving the way for a beautiful expansion, which will also include a fire pit, yarning circle and interpretive signs designed to encourage cultural exchange and dialogue.

As part of the three-year partnership, the Museum of the Goldfields will also expand its educational programming to raise awareness of Aboriginal knowledge and cultural practices, and its integration with Western science (two-way science).

Marta Perona, Manager of the Museum of the Goldfields, shared her excitement about what the garden means for the community and visitors.

“The WA Museum has an important role in understanding the past and sharing stories of Western Australia. The bush garden is an excellent example of this. Through the garden and the museum’s associated programs and activities we will be able to build community connection and educate our visitors about historic and modern scientific and medical practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.”

With its roots now firmly planted, the garden will continue to grow as a space for education, cultural exchange and environmental stewardship. Next time you visit the Museum of the Goldfields, take a moment to wander through the garden and new plant variety. As the garden expansion continues, the incredible knowledge it preserves will sow the seeds for many stories to be shared.