The Martu organisation Kanyirninpa Jukurrpa and The University of Western Australia have received a prestigious award for a major collaborative project that unlocked the scientific mystery of ‘fairy circles’ in desert regions.

The Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering Traditional Knowledge Innovation Award celebrates outstanding Science Technology Engineering and Maths research and development by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples or partners, significantly incorporating Traditional Knowledge.

Emeritus Professor Carolyn Oldham, from UWA’s School of Engineering, said Kanyirninpa Jukurrpa and the project team demonstrated that perceived data scarcity in Australian desert regions could be overcome through sophisticated co-research collaborations.

The award-winning project was led by Dr Fiona Walsh, from UWA’s School of Engineering, and one of Australia's leading non-Indigenous ethnoecologists.

Image: Matilda Nelson, Kanyirninpa Jukurrpa Martu Rangers Emilesia and Carol Williams, Professor Carolyn Oldham and Dr Fiona Walsh.

“The Martu people of the eastern Pilbara region in Western Australia, generously shared their Traditional Knowledge which was used to source climate and ecological data to calibrate desert hydrological models and better understand desert ecosystems,” Professor Oldham said.

“The project exemplifies an inter-disciplinary and cross-cultural approach to research and upended the international debate about ‘fairy circles’, which are known to Martu as linyji or termite pavements.”

Professor Oldham said Traditional Knowledge about linyji spans from Martu country in the Pilbara to Warlpiri country in the Tanami in the Northern Territory, and south to Pitjantjatara country in South Australia, covering about 18 per cent of Australia.

“The research revealed foundational roles of linyji in desert cultures and ecosystems: as water storage and for food, art and artefact production,” Professor Oldham said.

“Something well known to desert people has been hiding in plain sight to scientists, engineers and most Australians.”

UWA’s contributions in termite ecology by Associate Professor Theo Evans and the numerical modelling of standing water on termite pavements by Professor Oldham and Engineering Honours student Mattie Nelson were also pivotal to the project’s success.

“One of the most exciting outcomes of the linyji project has been the growing interest from Indigenous elders and younger generations living in linyji country and their communities,” Professor Oldham said.

“This extends to linguists, ethnographers, art historians, archaeologists and zoologists, who are now reconsidering archival records and Aboriginal artworks in light of the project’s findings.

“Overall, the project addressed a significant gap in climate and ecosystem data in Australian desert regions, with Traditional Knowledge – often overlooked as a source of ecological data – providing insights that have applications in understanding the impacts of mining and agriculture development.”

Kanyirninpa Jukurrpa Martu Rangers Carol Williams and Emilisha Williams travelled from Parnngurr to Melbourne to meet with UWA staff to accept the award.