Foundation Housing renames interview rooms in Noongar Language for NAIDOC Week!

July 15, 2022

During NAIDOC Week, our Reconciliation Working Group (RWG) were excited to incorporate Noongar language into our offices in Midland, Leederville and Joondalup by renaming our interview rooms which provide a space for Housing Staff to meeting with new tenants and residents.

Foundation Housing recognise the importance of sharing Noongar Language external of our workplace to encourage cultural understanding and knowledge in the community.

We are excited to further increase our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural recognition by promoting reconciliation through the renaming of our interview rooms. The names chosen were selected by our RWG in consultation with Noongar elder Neville Collard. We are excited to announce the new names: 

  • The Moort Room (Leederville): meaning ‘family’ or ‘relations’. Family is at the heart of Noongar culture.  
  • The Kaartdijin Room (Leederville): meaning ‘knowledge’. Lore for Noongar people is unwritten and refers to kaartdijin, beliefs and rules or customs.  
  • The Bidi Room (Midland): meaning ‘pathway’ or ‘track’. A bidi joins wetlands, rivers and lakes with their campsites and areas of importance.  
  • The Yellagonga Room (Joondalup): Mooro country (subgroup of Whadjuk) stretches from the Swan River in Perth to the Moore River in the Nrth. At the time of European settlement, Yellagonga was the leader of the Mooro group.  

The artwork incorporated into the signage was that of local Noongar artist Seantelle Walsh which was originally painted onto a mural at our Newcastle Street Lodge, depicting the six Noongar seasons.

Foundation Housing is pleased to have more language of our Traditional Custodians incorporated into the workplace, and we look forward to renaming our lodges in the coming months.