​MARGARET SANDERS 
​
Derbal Elaap (Inlet)
marine ply, acrylic paint, pencil
27 x 53 cm 
$570

Derbal Elaap (Ashore) 
marine ply, acrylic paint, pencil
15 x 53 cm 
$340

Derbal Elaap (Sandy Hills)
marine ply, acrylic paint, pencil
20 x 53 cm 
$440
                                                                                                                  
While researching my family history I become interested in the lost landscapes of Bunbury, especially near the Eelup Roundabout where my grandmother, historian Theodora Sanders, lived as a child. This was formerly a convergence wetland area of the Preston River and Leschenault Estuary.

I made a close study of Louisa Clifton’s 1841 map drawing of early Bunbury (1) and was surprised to see the extent of the lagoons, swamps, waterways of Derbal Elaap (2) The pristine shores and waterways Louisa saw (3) on her arrival at Post Leschenault, home to the Elaap Wardandi people, have long since been destroyed or greatly altered by settlement, urbanization and industrial development.

My work visualises the estuarine environs of Derbal Elaap at the time of early European settlement.

REFERENCES
1. Copy on display at Bunbury Museum and Heritage Centre.
2. Derbal, a Noongar word meaning ‘place where the salt water meets the freshwater.’ Elaap, a Noongar word meaning ‘on or by the water, referring to the people and their place.’ (From Stories Want To Be Told: Elaap Karlaboodjar, Wooltorton, Collard and Horwitz.)
3. Louisa writes “We were … struck by the pretty aspect of the country at the mouth of the inlet and in parts along the shore.”

Photo 1. Derbal Elaap (Inlet), (detail) Margaret Sanders
Photo 2. Map drawing of Bunbury by Louisa Clifton,1841 (detail). Margaret Sanders
Photo 3. Casuarina Point, Bunbury, WA. Margaret Sanders
Photo 4. Mangrove Cove, Bunbury, WA. Margaret Sanders

BIO SUMMARY
Margaret Sanders has a Degree in Communication Studies from Murdoch University (1975) and Diploma in Museum Studies from The University of Sydney (1979).
Margaret studied Printmaking at the Canberra School of Art (1989-1993) and she lived in Adelaide between 1994 and 2015 where she worked as a researcher, community artist and curator. She now lives in Albany.