Twonkup Nature Reserve (Dwangup Burial Ground)

This traditional burial and meeting place is located at the junction of the boundaries of the Minang, Korent and Kaneag Noongar groups on the Yeriminup Road. From 1836 to 1839 a military outpost was established adjacent to the reserve because of tribal fighting. Local elders now say that what was thought to be fighting was the delivery of judgement and punishment to those who had broken the Noongar laws. Within the living memory of Noongar residents of Cranbrook and Frankland River district the reserve has been traditionally used as a burial ground evidenced by forty one burial mounds, scarred trees and finds of typical grave goods such as spears, boomerangs, woomeras and stone implements. The reserve today warrants reverence and respect by Noongar people of the district who know the area as Dwangup.