Wilam: A Birrarung Story (Board Book)

Author: Andrew Kelly, Aunty Joy Murphy, Lisa Kennedy (Illustrator)

ISBN: 9781760656225

Now in board book format, this is the story of one day in the life of the vital, flourishing Birrarung (Yarra River).

As ngua rises, Bunjil soars over mountain ash, flying higher and higher as the wind warms. Below, Birrarung begins its long winding path down to palem warreen. Wilam – home.

Yarra Riverkeeper Andrew Kelly joins award-winning picture book duo Aunty Joy Murphy and Lisa Kennedy to tell the Indigenous and geographical story of Melbourne’s beautiful Yarra River, from its source to its mouth; from its pre-history to the present day.

About the Authors

Aunty Joy Murphy is a respected Wurundjeri Elder and author of Welcome to Country. She is passionate about using story to bring people together and as a conduit for understanding Aboriginal culture.

Andrew Kelly is the Yarra Riverkeeper, part of an international organisation of Riverkeepers. He has written numerous books for children and adults.

About the Illustrator

Lisa Kennedy is a descendant of the Trawlwoolway People on the north-east coast of Tasmania. Lisa was born in Melbourne and as a child lived close to the Maribyrnong River. Here she experienced the gradual restoration of the natural river environment alongside cultural regeneration and reclamation. Through sense of place she feels connected to the Wurundjeri country and all that entails - the water, the land, the animals and the ancestors. The experience of loss and reclamation is embedded in her work. Welcome to Country was her first title with Walker Books.