A collection of Nyangumarta children’s stories about the Dreaming, hunting and everyday life in the desert of north-western Western Australia have been newly translated and illustrated.

UWA Publishing has acquired the world rights to Stories about Fire, Wind, the Moon and other Dreamings – Warinypa wariny Mangunyjaja muwarr wirlarrapa wangalpa wika, a collection of Nyangumarta children’s stories by Solomon Cocky.

Solomon (Ngalyarrkiny) Cocky was born around 1930, in or around the gold mining town of Nullagine and as a young man he joined the Pilbara Strike, mining for tin and other minerals around Moolyella, Mount Frisco and Blue Bar in the Pilbara region.

By the late 1970s he had become part of Strelley School, founded by the strikers and as one of the elders taught the children the skills of surviving in the desert, including making spears and fire, while also illustrating schoolbooks in Nyangumarta for the Strelley Literature Production Centre.

Mr Cocky recorded more than 200 stories on cassette tapes during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s that were transcribed by Nyangumarta linguist Monty Hale.

Some of the stories were published with Mr Cocky’s illustrations for the bilingual school publishing program at Strelley Community School.

Fourteen of these stories have been newly translated by Mr Hale’s daughter and Nyangumarta elder Barbara Hale and Inge Kral.

Ms Hale said Mr Cocky was drawing in his own way, no one was ever telling him or teaching him how to draw.

"He was inspired by the Manguny (Dreaming or Creation Time) and he had the images in his mind,” Ms Hale said.

"It was his own unique style. He gave us all these stories and pictures to be passed down from generation to generation.

"Through this children’s book, Solomon’s stories and pictures are coming alive once more to be widely appreciated by children around the world.”

Ms Kral said it was wonderful that the unique artwork and stories could now reach a wider audience and that children could enjoy the traditional tales and delightful illustrations.

Stories about Fire, Wind, the Moon and other Dreamings – Warinypa wariny Mangunyjaja muwarr wirlarrapa wangalpa wika will be published Saturday 1 November 2025.