Heading west
Passing forested hills, tattered barns and parched wheat fields, I headed into Githabal Aboriginal country, towards a place allegedly frequented by lice and evil spirits. The closer I got, the stranger were the names of the towns I passed through. Woodenbong, then the old gold rush town of Urbenville. Finally, I rolled through a gate at the end of a dusty road into the significant Aboriginal site known as Tooloom Falls, in the Tenterfield Shire, NSW.
Located roughly two-and-a-half hours west of Byron Bay, Tooloom Falls tumbles nearly 10 metres into a large pool which is part of Tooloom Creek. The pool is surrounded by forest and a rock face that arcs around the far side of the falls. Above Tooloom Falls lies a sedate river that’s painted with pretty reflections of trees that stretch across the shallows.
I didn’t swim here, but I hear the top of the falls is good for a dip, while the bottom can get muddy and unpredictable following heavy rain. The local Githabal Aboriginal people, to which Tooloom Falls is a significant cultural site, call the falls ‘Dooloomi’, meaning head lice. The Githabal told their children not to swim below the falls as they believed the pool was lice infested.
The Githabal creation story
Long ago, a woman fought with her daughters and their husband, Balugan. The woman became angry and hid the only fresh water available. Balugan’s dog found the water, gave it to Balugan and in anger he split it with a supernatural echidna. The water then gushed out and carried the woman and the fig tree under which she was camped towards Grafton. The Clarence River formed, as did the waterfall when the woman tried to stop the torrent.
Spirits
The Githabal also discouraged their children from swimming here as they believe the woman, Dirrangun, is an evil witch that haunts the falls.
For my part, I felt the urge to explore. I leapt down the cliff face on the far side into the forest, and on my way back up, I got stuck. Suddenly, the ‘word’ ‘minjilapa’ flew into my head. I said it and regained my agility, reaching the top. Curious that it might mean something, that it might be a Githabal spirit, I later looked up this ‘word’. Of course I found nothing and was almost certainly getting carried away. Let me know otherwise!
Bush cows
Heading back towards the entrance, I wandered below the falls along a forest trail. Tooloom Falls is readily accessible, even though it was declared an Aboriginal place in 1977. Today the Githabal Aboriginal people co-manage the park with the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. And as I found out, people are certainly not shy of camping below the falls. Continuing through the forest, I saw smoke from a fire and cows grazing.
Bush cows.
Someone was camping with cows. I’m not kidding. Here’s my sneaky investigative shot.
Dooloomi, or Tooloom Falls, is a revitalising little escape. It’s the perfect spot to flee from the phone and computer, at least for a few hours.
Fast Facts
- There’s no mobile reception at Tooloom Falls.
- A campground is located at the top of the falls for public use. Picnic, BBQ and toilet facilities are available. However you must bring your own drinking water.
- The closest township is Urbenville, located about 15 minutes away by car.
- You can walk across the top of the falls but there is no vehicle access across, not since the last major flood.
I love the whole spirits thing about it. Love horror, yet.. Wouldn’t be brave enough to trek there past sundown. :/ Thanks Andy!
My Great Great Grandmother was a full blood from Tooloom. She married my Great Great Grandfather Thomas Close – a white man from Ireland. Tom’s son married Lillian Williams and that is our connection to Woodenbong!
Wow Lillian, you must feel a real connection to this area – your home. I would love to explore this area more, including Woodenbong. Thanks for stopping by!
Wow, loved your story, especially the singing out of special word.
Am researching and found this quote i thought you might like:
“Githabul must sing to Country as they enter sacred places extends further—to sing or speak about them while in another place is forbidden, you must be in a place to be able to talk about it “”(McClean, N. 2010).
The Githabul won native title in the Federal Government in 2007 over 6000 square kilometres of land after a 12-year battle against the NSW Government.
Lodged by Native title claimant Trevor Close in 1995, It was the first time in NSW history that the NSW Government had been forced to settle a Native title claim for traditional Aboriginal owners.
Thank you Tara, and Interesting quote. Maybe I wasn’t totally getting carried away then!
The Githabul won native title in the Federal Government in 2007 over 6000 square kilometres of land after a 12-year battle against the NSW Government.
Lodged by Native title claimant Trevor Close in 1995, It was the first time in NSW history that the NSW Government had been forced to settle a Native title claim for traditional Aboriginal owners.
Hi, I stumbled across this as I lost my husband in these falls
Hi Andy,
Bundjalung people remember that a boat arrived from Ngareenbeil ‘someone from another country’. In Old Javanese of 800-1300CE it means ‘your beloved countryman’.(Isaacs 1980. Putra, UQld email). Javanese were gold-mining in Philippines then and Tooloom had gold. Maybe a legend was borrowed, like many OJava loan-words in Bundjalung. ‘Darangan of the Maranao people of Mindanao. This epic, written sometime in the 14th century, tells the fateful story of Princess Gandingan, who was caught in the middle of a forest during an earthquake … the trees that were falling, which she gracefully avoids.’ ‘the principal hero of the darangen is the brave and handsome prince Bantugen’.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/43498156
‘Bandahngan Aboriginal Area (Tooloom Falls) .. of a clever woman, Dirrangun, .. (last page).
https://www.visittenterfield.com.au/content/uploads/2020/03/Tooloom-Koreelah-National-Parks-Brochure.pdf
Tooloom would be dangerous for kids and maybe the ‘head-lice’ story was to keep them away. As a cultural legend, tooloom may be derived from: tuluy Kayan Borneo ‘be caught up in a dense crowd (and carried along)’
tuluy Sunda Indonesia ‘follow, continue, proceed on’
tuluy, tuli Old Javanese ‘immediate continuation’.
tulúy-en Kankanaey Philippines ‘to continue, to terminate’.
Sama Bajau sea-nomads crewed boats acros SE Asia and maybe carried numerous loanwords. Minjilapa could be from:
mata Old Javanese ‘set with (stones)’
m-in-atey Manobo Mindanao ‘dead person’.
jilat Malay ‘to lick or lick up’
pa Tabun Borneo ‘water’.
Javanese has adjectives after the noun and the idea could be that Tooloom Falls is like a mouth swallowing water. So minjilapa ‘water-licked dead-person’ ?
Website has changed a word format.
minata Old Javanese ‘set with (stones).’
Also, Tooloom may be from
Old Jaa tulumbu atulumbu ‘in great haste, in confusion?’
tulumpak* = tumpak, q.v. anulumpak, tumulumpak ‘to ascend, embark’.
tulumpakan ‘place to stand (squat) on’.