Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara
You might have noticed our new dual name:
Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, the CSIRO Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory.
On 5 November 2022, the Wajarri Yamaji gifted us with a traditional name for our observatory. The new dual name is the first outcome from the new Indigenous Land Use Agreement finalised in early November.
The traditional name means ‘sharing sky and stars’ in the Wajarri language:
sharing: inyarrimanha
sky: ilgari
star: bundara
As Traditional Owners and Native Title Holders of the observatory site, the Wajarri Yamaji are sharing their sky and stars with the global astronomy community, who are in turn sharing their knowledge of the sky and stars gained by the world-leading telescopes on Wajarri Country.
The new dual name replaces the old names for the observatory and is now the full name for the site.
[Music plays and drone footage appears of a landscape consisting of red dirt, small patches of green grass and some trees and shrubs. Blue sky stretches across the top half of the screen. The camera slowly rises and text appears: Leonie Boddington CSIRO Aboriginal Liaison Officer]
Leonie Boddington: Our observatory in Western Australia has been gifted
[Image changes to a First Nations woman (Jennylyn Hamlett) sitting in the sun next to a river]
Leonie Boddington: A traditional name by the Wajarri Yamaji, Traditional Owners and native title holders of the
[Image changes to a close up of pink native wildflowers blowing gently in the breeze]
Leonie Boddington: site. Meaning ‘sharing sky and stars’, the observatory will now be known as
[Text appears: Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara]
Leonie Boddington: Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara,
[Image changes to a wider shot of pink native wildflowers blowing gently in the breeze]
Leonie Boddington: CSIRO’s Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory.
[Image changes to show Des Mongoo talking to the camera and text appears: Des Mongoo Minangu Land Committee member]
Des Mongoo: Wajarri has always had a connection with the with the stars and the skies and the Moon and the Sun and everything. What the telescopes does is bring our
[Image changes to show Des Mongoo talking to Dwayne Mallard]
Des Mongoo: Wajarri perspective in with western science.
[Image changes to show Des Mongoo and Jennylyn Hamlett on Country walking towards the camera and talking to each other]
Dwayne Mallard: From the onset
[Image changes to show Dwayne Mallard talking to the camera and text appears: Dwayne Mallard Minangu Land Committee member]
Dwayne Mallard: SKA and CSIRO was adamant in the support of a Wajarri name for the site. It’s important because what that allows is language to be prominent, and place-based language to be prominent in its meaning and its use.
[Image changes to show Des Mongoo talking to the camera]
Des Mongoo: We’re the oldest living culture in the world because we we’ve had you know, the atmosphere, the sky, the stars, the Moon to tell us where, where we are and where our rightful place on our Country is.
[Image changes to show Jennylyn Hamlett talking to the camera and text appears: Jennylyn Hamlett Wajarri Yamaji Aboriginal Corporation Chairperson and Minangu Land Committee member]
Jennylyn Hamlett: The meaning is sharing the stars in the skies. We look at it every day. But you know, we have the opportunity to share it with the rest of the world with what we have on this Country.
[Image changes to show Dwayne Mallard talking to the camera]
Dwayne Mallard: It’s very important that we can create opportunity and align ancient culture with modern science and, and create a mutual benefit. So, we’re sharing, you know, our land with others for this science project to walk side by side.
[Images move through Des Mongoo standing and looking to the left of the camera, a close-up of Dwayne Mallard’s hands holding and rotating a small green plant, Jennylyn Hamlett leaning up against a large gum tree next to a river, a river with green trees along both sides, and then Dwayne Mallard talking to the camera]
Dwayne Mallard: We’re sharing the knowledge and access to this land to other countries for the benefit of many.
[Image changes to show Jennylyn Hamlett talking to the camera]
Jennylyn Hamlett: You got to basically walk side by side with each other to get
[Image changes to a close-up of a green plant, and then the focus of the camera changes to the river in the background]
Jennylyn Hamlett: to where you want to be.
Leonie Boddington: CSIRO are looking forward to building on their strong relationship with the Wajarri Yamaji as they work together to protect this precious
[Image changes to Jennylyn walking towards the river with her back to the camera]
Leonie Boddington: cultural heritage.
[Image changes to show Jennylyn Hamlett talking to the camera]
Jennylyn Hamlett: We are Wajarri, you know, we are here and we’re ready to share so, you know, welcome aboard.
[Image changes to show the CSIRO logo on a white screen]
Pronunciation
Our Aboriginal Liaison Officer Leonie Boddington has recorded a pronunciation guide for the Wajarri language portion of the new dual name:
Usage of the new dual name
Formal usage
Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, the CSIRO Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory
Informal usage
This version will most often be used in spoken language or informal publications such as social media.
Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, CSIRO’s Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory
Signage and graphic usage
Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara
CSIRO Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory
Shortened form
The observatory is no longer known as the MRO.
The full observatory name should be used in all communications in first use, demonstrating our respect for our Wajarri Yamaji partners and the Wajarri language.
Once the full name has been introduced in your communication, ‘observatory site’, ‘observatory’ or ‘site’ depending on what would best suit the communication are appropriate shortened versions to refer back to the site.
Note
Using an acronym, such as IIB-MRO, is not an acceptable short form of the new dual name.
Referring to the entire observatory as Boolardy or the SKA site is not an appropriate short form for the observatory.
- Boolardy Station is the ex-pastoral station that is now the land area of the observatory. The smaller past observatory was a subset of the station area, and the expanded observatory footprint now covers the entire station. Therefore, Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, the CSIRO Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory is now the appropriate name for the area.
- The SKA-Low telescope site is a subset of the observatory location and therefore is not a stand in for the entire observatory.
Other uses
You might see us use the name as ‘Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, our Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory’.
We don’t tend to refer to ourselves in the third person, so this format follows our first-person style. It’s only for use in CSIRO publications and by CSIRO staff in their presentations and documents.
Frequently asked questions
Open allClose allThe Wajarri Yamaji, as Traditional Owners and Native Title Holders of the observatory site, gifted the new name for the observatory as part of a new Indigenous Land Use Agreement finalised in early November 2022. The name represents the ongoing connection to land and sky the Wajarri Yamaji hold, and the sharing of that land and sky with astronomers around the world through the hosting of world-leading radio telescopes on Wajarri Country.
The observatory has grown to accommodate construction of the new SKA-Low Telescope, part of the global SKA Observatory. The Indigenous Land Use Agreement process that allows for SKA-Low Telescope construction led to the new dual name.
The Wajarri Yamaji, in conjunction with CSIRO as owners and operators of the observatory and the Department of Industry, Science and Resources as lead negotiators on the Indigenous Land Use Agreement for the observatory.
The new name for the observatory will be in use from 5 November 2022 and implementation will occur from that date. Uses in digital media and other easy-to-update locations should be changed as soon as practical following 5 November and other uses in print and signage will be changed in stages.
Your day-to-day connection to the observatory and our teams within CSIRO will not change.
A pronunciation guide and recording for the new observatory name to aid in use in talks and presentations is available at the top of this page.
See the usage formats at the top of this page for details on how the new name should appear.
For example, usage by CSIRO could appear as:
Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, our Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory, is located in the heart of Wajarri Country in the Murchison Shire. The observatory site is host to world-leading telescopes, such as our ASKAP radio telescope.
And usage external to CSIRO could appear as:
The SKA-Low Telescope is located at Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, the CSIRO Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory, on Wajarri Yamaji Country in remote Western Australia. The observatory site was chosen as one of two future locations for the SKA project in 2012 after an international selection process involving many sites across the globe.
This change has very little separate cost as it is being implemented within the overall expansion of the observatory.
Printed materials will be updated with the new observatory name as needed from 5 November, and large amounts of printed material waste will not be produced from this change.
Boolardy Homestead will continue to be known by its historical name in recognition of its history as a pastoral station within the Murchison region. There are also no current plans to change the name of the Boolardy Accommodation Facility at Boolardy Homestead.
The overall Boolardy Station area is now part of the observatory, so the appropriate name for the land area is Ilyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, CSIRO’s Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory.
However, Boolardy Station may still be used when referring to area’s history and the land’s past life as a pastoral lease.
For example:
CSIRO Executive Doug Hilton visited Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, CSIRO’s Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory, this week to see the progress on construction of the brand-new SKA-Low Telescope and enjoyed the hospitality of local Traditional Owners who work at the Boolardy Accommodation Facility nearby.
Negotiation with the Wajarri Yamaji of the Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) for the observatory was led by the Department of Industry, Science and Resources on behalf of the Australian Government, with involvement from CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency.
Providing a new Indigenous name for the observatory was one of the first terms of the ILUA agreed among parties when negotiation started.
The Wajarri Yamaji Aboriginal Corporation held a competition among Wajarri Yamaji to suggest a Wajarri language name for the observatory site. The Minangu Land Committee from the Wajarri Yamaji selected Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara as the winning name suggested by young Wajarri woman Shakira Whitehurst. The new traditional name was included in the ILUA process and endorsed by DISR and CSIRO as part of the new dual name of the Observatory.