DRB Nats, 11 July 2025
“BoorYul-Bar-Bilya”, in the Noongar language, means, more or less, “magic river”, a concept that includes the beauty, peace, tranquillity, and life of a pristine river. In a lively presentation to the members of the DRB, Francesca Flynn described the work of the BoorYul-Bar-Bilya programme, which is work being undertaken to bring the magic back to the Mandoon Bilya, otherwise known as the Helena River. In the Guildford area Mandoon means “place of many trees”. The catchment of this river system is large (but not too large – much smaller than that of the Swan River) and therefore is suitable as a model for developing techniques that can apply to the restoration of other river systems.
Francesca described how the work being done is being led by traditional owners combining traditional and western knowledge for the benefit of all. This enlightened approach ensures that local community knowledge is included and better enables the balancing of social, cultural and economic factors. By considering the river catchment at a landscape level the intention is to establish a scalable and transferable model that can be applied to other river systems.
The BoorYul-Bar-Bilya plan is in three stages, beginning with such things as cultural mapping and conservation auditing, through socio-economic analysis, and culminating in a community science programme, a business plan, and a nature-based tourism plan, all to coincide with the 2029 Perth bicentenary.
From the BBB website
An exciting idea to come out of the work is the proposed Regional Riverpark along Mandoon Bilya between Helena Valley and Guildford. This has the potential for 250 hectares of bushland in what is a highly urbanised area giving recreational and community facilities for the inevitable urban growth. This land, more than half the size of King’s Park, is already zoned for parks and reserves but is highly degraded. There is much work to be done, but with support from key stakeholders (incl. DBCA, Shire of Mundaring, City of Swan) the plan includes boosting tree canopy, improving river health, urban revitalisation, community facilities, cultural heritage protection, and much more.
Booryul-Bah-Bilya Integrated Community Catchment Plan – Image from the website
Immediate work in the current cooler weather includes ongoing groundwork such as weed removal, the planting of local species and the installation of wooden log benches and signs. A fauna camera project, with assistance from DBCA, will continue monitoring a recently discovered population of quokkas. There will also be continuing cultural mapping involving site inspections and stakeholder interviews. The recent acquisition of a dedicated 4WD vehicle, funded by Bendigo Bank, along with drone surveying of the river will enable further progress.
The health of the Mandoon Bilya has been in decline since European colonisation. It is hoped that the massive effort being put into this enormous project will stop and even reverse that so that future generations of all communities can enjoy this beautiful place.
Many thanks to Francesca for her inspirational talk and for her patience with our initial technical glitches.
For more info see: Booryul Bah Bilya website
Mike Green