The faces and stories of Menang and community elders will adorn the Albany Town Hall for the next month, the product of two years of hard work by photographer Nic Duncan and Menang elder Carol Pettersen.
The Binalup, Menang: First Light, First People exhibition started with a conversation around a campfire in 2024 between the old friends about Albany’s looming bicentenary.
The final result of that conversation is a stirring exhibition that combines Ms Pettersen’s mission to centre Indigenous stories in the celebration of Albany 2026 with Duncan’s renowned photographic eye to feature more than a dozen members of the Great Southern’s Indigenous community.
Each subject chose a location significant to them for Duncan to take their portrait in, and they were interviewed about their life and personal connection to Noongar culture.
Excerpts from many of these interviews are on show in the town hall alongside their corresponding portraits, effectively allowing the familiar faces of Albany’s Menang elders, and many members of the next generation, to tell their stories in their own words.
The exhibition was officially opened by Governor of WA Chris Dawson on Friday night, and many of the people photographed and interviewed for the project came along.
Duncan said it was humbling to see those who had contributed take in the final product on opening night, and said she was grateful to all the elders who had advised her throughout the ambitious project.
“From its beginning, this project has been Menang-led,” she said.
“A panel of elders selected participants from across all family groups, collaborated on interview questions, and guided me every stage of the way.
“The hope is that this project will continue so that more Menang people can be recognised and acknowledged.
“There are few cultures in the world that still hold such a deep connection to country.
“Despite two centuries of disempowerment, displacement, and policies designed to fracture culture, the elders continue to carry stories and knowledge that have been handed down for tens of thousands of years to the elders over the last two decades.
“I think for so many of us who live in Australia, knowledge of Aboriginal culture and of our shared, often uncomfortable history remains limited, and many people simply don’t know what they don’t know.
“I hope this project encourages curiosity, raises awareness, and inspires people to learn more.
“On a deeply personal level, this project has both challenged and changed me.
“I feel incredibly fortunate to have spent time with you all, hearing stories that are both heartbreaking and heartwarming, histories not of victimhood, but of survival, endurance, and quiet strength.
“I found your resilience and generosity extraordinary.
“I’m so grateful for the trust you’ve placed in me, trusting me with your stories and my camera.”
Ms Pettersen said seeing the project come to fruition after many years was a special moment.
“It was an incredible feeling, overwhelming at times, seeing everyone take it in and hearing their interpretations of it, but after two years of intensive work, to see it come together with such an accolade was incredible,” she said.
She said she hoped telling her community’s stories, particularly those of the elders, would serve as a record of a forgotten history.
“These portraits are not simply images, they are living stories,” Ms Pettersen said.
“They speak of generations of Menang people who guided, laboured, adapted, and endured while contributing to the social, cultural, and economic foundation of this region, and indeed this State, often without recognition.
“Addressing the absence of these stories in mainstream histories, this exhibition shares both historical and contemporary narratives through portraiture and storytelling. It honours the strength, resilience, and knowledge of elders and community members, ensuring these voices are seen and heard as a starting point for ongoing truth-telling.
“The project fosters pride amongst many people, while educating broader audiences, building understanding, respect, and connection across generations and communities.
“May this be the beginning, a commitment to continue listening, sharing, and walking together in truth and respect.
“Because when all stories are heard, we build a stronger future for everyone else.”
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