Below is the current program for the Matriarchs of the Wheatbelt weekend event. Please continue to check back through the month of August as we may add more details to the program outlined below.
Information about food options over the weekend is available here.
Saturday 6th Sept
Community Festival: Weaving stories in place
All programmed events take place in the Tammin Town Hall. See our more about our invited contributors here.
9:30am-10:00am
Welcome to Country (Balladong Noongar boodja)
10am-10:45am
Opening Ceremony with Prof Lyn Beazley, featuring an exclusive screening of ‘Lady of the Spiders‘ about Prof Barbara York Main, narrated by Sir David Attenborough.
10:45am-12:15pm
Noongar story time and crafts with Dr Cass Lynch.
1pm start
‘In Her Own Words’ full-length play adapted from Prof Barbara York Main’s writing about the wheatbelt by Julia Jarel.
2:30pm-3:30pm
Guest speakers including Loxley Fedec, Dr Jeremy Wilson and Dr Kim Feddema. More details on the programmed talks available here.
4pm-5:30pm
Sixteen Legs documentary screening followed by Q&A with Director Niall Doran.
Sunday 7th Sept
Citizen Science in the Bush – sign up on Saturday or contact us
Learn how to study spiders, and contribute to their conservation!
Join us for a rare chance to step into the world of the legendary Tammin trapdoor spiders. Guided by Dr Leanda Mason, along with a motley crew of people who really know their stuff, we’ll head out into a local reserve to search for the burrows of Gaius villosus. We will be looking for the same species as #16, the world’s longest-lived spider who died at 43 years old.
You will learn how to spot and measure active burrows, record important details; helping us check on the health and sustainability of this population. The information gathered will guide decisions about starting a captive breeding program at Perth Zoo – an exciting new step in learning from our trapdoor spider kin, protecting them for our future!
No prior experience needed, just curiosity, a good hat, walking boots, and a love for the bush. This is hands-on conservation, right where it matters most.
8:30am
All participants meet at the Tammin Town Hall to prepare for bus pick up.
8:45am
Travel by bus to North Bungulla Reserve.
9:00-9:30am
Introductory talk. We will learn about the trapdoors, how to survey them, and about any health and safety items that apply to the survey.
9:30-9:45am
Organise and break into teams for the survey.
9:45am-12:00pm
Trapdoor spider survey.
12:00–12:30pm
Collection of data and materials, and packing up.
12:30-12:45pm
Debriefing and boarding bus back to Tammin.
1:00pm
Arrive back at Tammin Town hall. Participants are welcome to shower at the Donnan Park Campground if they would like before heading home.
Sixteen Legs exhibition
From the 11th August the Sixteen Legs Exhibition will be on display in the Tammin Town Hall in the lead up to, as well as during, and after, the Matriarchs of the Wheatbelt festival.
The Sixteen Legs exhibition is free to visit and delves into the depths of Australia’s deepest caves, introducing the ancient Tasmanian cave spider that lives within them.
This exhibition explores the surreal inhabitants and structure of the caves, enmeshing art with science. It features contributions from high profile artists such as Stephen Fry, Kate Miller-Heidke and Neil Gaiman.
