Bonnie Connelly Nakara was born in 1936, at Illurpa, a place near Blackstone in the Ngaanyatjarra lands, Western Australia. Her family moved to the Walka area when she was young. Walka is a significant site as it at the confluence of the Tjala Tjukkurpa (Honey Ant Country) and the Minyma Kutjara Tjukkurpa (Two Women creation story). Both depicted in Bonnie’s paintings.
Using a delicate dry-brush technique, Nakara brings to life the rich textures of the desert landscape that she has called home for a lifetime. Born near Papulankuja (Blackstone in Western Australia), she has traveled extensively across the remote Ngaanyatjarra lands, drawing inspiration from her deep cultural knowledge, ancestral connections, and the vast familial networks that weave through the desert.
Adults from left to right: Alison, Dianne, Marlene, and children at the cave at Walka, and at Minyma Kutjara site, 17 December 2025 Photo by Remy Faint.
Minyma Kutjara (Two Women) Tjukurrpa—a significant creation story that maps the land from South Australia through the Central Desert to Kaltukatjara (Docker River) in the Northern Territory. This powerful narrative, central to women’s law and ceremony carrying immense cultural significance. The Minyma Kutjara (Two Women) story is unique to the Walka area. It is a creation story that follows two sisters as they separate from their ten siblings and journey deep into the country.
Their journey takes them to Walka, known as Tjalaku-Ngurra (Honey Ant Country), where the sisters stop to dig for honey ants. One sister kneels to dig while carrying a coolamon—a shallow, curved-sided dish—on her head to collect the honey ants. She can still be seen there today, now transformed into a rock formation. The other sister dug deeper and has become submerged into the hill. The honey ant eggs, unearthed by the sisters in their search, are scattered across the surrounding hillside as white rocks.
Bonnie’s eldest daughter, Marlene, says that Bonnie knows the songline and the Tjukurpa for that area. “Mum grew up here, and her brother was born there,” making it a place of deep significance for her.
Marlene remembers the time she spent with Bonnie at Walka as a child. A nearby cave, which provided shelter for the family when it rained, features ancient rock art of the Honey Ant Tjukurpa and the Two Sisters Tjukurpa—evidence of the timescale this story is a part of, passed from one generation to the next.
Bonnie conveys this knowledge through the intricacies of her paintings, which now live on through another pair of sisters—Marlene and Dianne, two of her six children. The custodianship of The Two Sisters story and the Walka area has passed from Bonnie to her children. As a senior artist, proud great-grandmother, and strong cultural woman, her paintings serve as a legacy for them and future generations, preserving the eternal story lines within their Tjukurpa—a path to follow long after she is gone.
