Woollool Wooloolni - NSW

Woollool Woolloolni is a protected Aboriginal place of cultural and mythological importance to those that lived in the local area.The 370ha reserve is home to a mountainous granite outcrop (Wellington Rock), rising over 1,000m above sea level at its peak. On top is a mushroom-shaped rock balancing upon the other boulders. It is visible from Bruxner Highway, 18km northeast of Tenterfield.Woollool Woolloolni is a centre of spiritual power for the Aboriginal people, a ‘djuravehl’ in the Bundjalang language. A Wuyangali or ‘Clever Man’ called Woollool Woollool had exclusive rights to the djuravehl. Aboriginal people believe that when the owner of a djuravehl died, their spirit would return to that place and cause some physical change.It is said that when Woollool Woollool died, a rock on top of the present balancing rock fell off. This event indicated that Woollool Woollool’s spirit had returned and that it would now be safe for anyone to approach the site.The stories that surround this site vary according to the locality of the storyteller. The Wahlubal at Tabulam have one, the Githabul at Mulli Mulli near Woodenbong have another and the song sung by Woollool Woollool’s son is another. They do have common elements – the person, Woollool Woollool, and the importance of the top rock, for instance.The area was first recorded by European settlers in the early 1840s by Thomas Hewitt, who managed Stonehenge Station south of Glen Innes. He explored the area in the search for a route from the Tablelands to the coast. He marked out the route the Bruxner Highway now follows, and, while doing this, named the rock ‘Wellington’s Lookout’ because of its resemblance to the hat worn by Wellington at the battle of Waterloo.We are privileged to visit this site (access via Basket Swamp National Park), so please respect this place of great natural beauty and spiritual importance.