Galup

Black swans at Lake Monger, 1978 (COV PHO0100)

Located beside the Mitchell Freeway between Leederville, Wembley and Glendalough, Lake Monger is an urban wetland home to rich bird life and used by many thousands of locals and visitors each week. Few people know its complex, buried history. 

For tens of thousands of years, Lake Monger was a traditional Noongar camping and meeting place known as Galup (Kaarlup) - a place of fires. In 1830, it was also the site of a colonial massacre of Noongar people.

The Galup Project

The Galup project explores untold stories of the lake through performance, virtual reality and online history and educational resources and seeks to bring people together for truth-telling, connection and healing.

The project included a series of performances around the lake and a virtual reality film created by Ian Wilkes and Poppy van Oorde-Grainger with an oral history from Noongar Elder Doolann-Leisha Eatts about a massacre at the lake in 1830. The project was produced by Same Drum and guided by a team of supportive Noongar Elders.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander audiences are advised that this production includes the names, images and voices of people who have died. Names, images and voices are used with permission.

Image by Dan Grant, Galup performance, 2019 (courtesy of Same Drum, commissioned by IAS)

For more information about the Galup project visit the links below.

Same Drum - Galup

Galup VR Experience - Study Guide

Galup / Lake Monger Historic Timeline

The City of Vincent Local History Centre, Town of Cambridge Local Studies and Same Drum collaborated to develop a historic timeline that explores the impact of settler colonialism at Galup/Lake Monger.

Click to view the historic timeline below.

Galup Historic Timeline

Galup VR Experience

The Galup VR Experience is a nine-minute virtual reality film exploring the history and untold stories of Lake Monger in Perth, Western Australia. Galup invites audiences on a virtual tour of an iconic Perth wetland to share an important history obscured for nearly 200 years.

The Galup VR Experience can be viewed in the City of Vincent Local History Centre during opening hours.

For groups of more than 6 people, please contact Same Drum directly.

More Information

Mon-Fri Drop in: 9am - 1pm

By appointment: 2pm - 5pm

Contact the Local History Centre on (08) 9273 6534 or email local.history@vincent.wa.gov.au