About Us
Kooyar Wongi is a 100% Nyungar owned and operated consulting business, based in the heart of the South West of WA on Nyungar Boodja. Kooyar Wongi means ‘Frog Talk/Talking/Yarning/Story’ in Nyungar language. We have more than 40 years’ expertise and experience in heritage protection, environmental management, community engagement, cultural awareness and education in the public and private sector.
Kooyar Wongi is Supply Nation certified, registered on the Aboriginal Business Directory WA and is a member of the Noongar Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Our Business
Kooyar Wongi means ‘Frog Talk/Talking/Yarning/Story’ in Nyungar language. The Kooyar was chosen as the icon for our business because it is the Bennell family totem and the frog Dreaming is central to their cultural identity.
Kooyars were used by Nyungar people traditionally as an indicator of waterway health (when frogs were singing in a waterway, the water was good, but if there were no frogs singing, the water was not). This illustrates the critical and intrinsic link between Nyungar culture and environment.
Frogs are also used as an indicator species for environmental health in contemporary science, as they are hyper-sensitive to their aquatic environment
Our People
Bill Bennell is a Ballardong-Whadjuk Nyungar maarman, born and raised in Bunbury with strong ancestral ties to the Bunbury-Collie area. He has worked all over Australia in land management, cultural heritage protection and Aboriginal community capacity development for more than 30 years.
Nerilee Boshammer-Bennell is a wadjella yorga (non-Indigenous woman) from Cervantes, located in Yued Nyungar Country. Nerilee has a Bachelor of Science (Environmental Management), is a Certified Environmental Practitioner with EIANZ, and has been working in environmental management and community engagement in the South West for almost 20 years.
Between them, Bill and Nerilee have extensive community, government and industry networks and a lot of experience in heritage protection and management, Aboriginal community and enterprise capacity building, community engagement, environmental management and education.
