In their midst, throughout the duration of this fantastic dance, remained the youths who were being made poombit. The women were covered as in the other ceremony be- fore mentioned. The Wonnarua also had trade and ceremonial links with the Kamilaroi people. The possum was hauled from his hole in a rotted limb or spout and tossed to the ground. This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience onourwebsite. In this paper he provides an overview of frontier history from the perspective of his people - the Wonnarua from the Hunter Valley.. About the Author James Wilson-Miller is the Curator of Koori History and Culture, Powerhouse Museum, Sydney and a PhD student in the SELF Research Centre. The station teamster, returning with supplies signalled his approach in the time- honored custom of cracking his bullock whip and bullock whips those far-away days were no doubt just as effective instruments as they are to-day in the back country centres of Australia. The congestion, the Insanitary conditions that obtained, and an entire lack of appreciation of the necessity for isolation caused the disease to spread with disturbing rapidity. There were a few aboriginals about in those times. He also created the first initiation site. The SensagentBox are offered by sensAgent. The women and children are also told to lie down, and are covered over with rugs and bushes, some of the men running round amongst them to see that this formality is properly carried out. . My clan group concentrated along the Allen and Paterson Rivers and stretched over towards St Clair and the Singleton District. This appeared to be a signal for the next part of the proceedings, for soon after some two hundred leaping blackfellows appeared over the brow of the hill. . Other spears, of smaller size, were made for other fish and called mooting., It was Interesting to watch the onslaught on the sea mullet when they came into the harbor. Join the community of family history enthusiasts and FamilySearch employees to ask questions and discuss potential product enhancements. A letter published in the Dungog Chronicle, by an RJ Hector in 1906 and based on a list of local aboriginal words originally compiled in the 1840s. It was confidently believed that the pain would leave the mans body by way of the cord ahd passing down with the blood from the womans mouth, dissipate Itself in the water. And then I read Mary Gilmores book Old Days, Old Ways, telling of how the blacks felled, the trees across the rivers to make fish traps. The harden ing was, of course, done by fire later on. This is an error, as the word is an aboriginal one meaning, a place between two rivers near their junction hence, the name of this Estate, according to the blacks pronunciation, is Caning-gula . As soon as they are covered over, the women keep up a humming noise the same as they did on the morning the novices were taken away from the kackaroo. Some are said to have survived the operation for three days. He escaped the last spear at Cold Water Brush in sight of Underbank and safety. Amid dust, sparks and smoke this wild revel went on until the fire was completely obliterated. A relic of those wild old days was Broken-backed Tommy. Tommy had survived the morning of the flight when Bagdells party drove him and his panicstricken comrades over the cliff on Mount Mackenzie, and he narrowly escaped death again when years afterwards, the erstwhile fugitive Green recognised and attacked him in the old Kitchen at Underbank. If, on the contrary, the tribe to whom the white stone was sent consider the time inopportune, or that there are other weighty reasons for post-poning the general gathering, no white stone is returned by the messenger, and the initiator then knows that they do not approve of his proposal, and the matter lapses for the present. The men also decorate themselves in their full regalia. The men and the [women] cut their heads with various implements, until blood flowed freely. Gordon Bennett (reprinted 1964) p11-12. Their creation spirit is Baiami, also known as Koin, is the creator of all things and the Keeper of the Valley. Years afterwards their unburied skeletons could be seen. The fire got rid of those. The Wonnarua, Wanaruah people have occupied the Upper Hunter for at least 30,000 years, with traditional knowledge holding that occupation extends back to the early stages of the Dreaming. This noise is made so that if the string of one of the bull-roarers should break - which sometimes happens - the women would not hear it falling on the ground. Rubbing the palms together he would cause the upright stick he held to revolve rapidly, the point gradually boring Its way through the pith beneath. A few would be detailed as beaters, driving the mob towards the armed hunters hidden in the bushes. The recorded history of the Wonnarua begins in the early nineteenth century when the Europeans settled. 1917. Company Information 1 have been informed that in some tribes the blacks use a vine to aid in climbing, putting it round the tree and working It upwards to form a continual support. They learned to track the native animals, became wise in the ways of fish and bird, and made a game of life generally. At the keelaybang a camp is formed by erecting a long, continuous gunyah or mia-mia in the following manner. He then jumped his wedges and thus held them prisoners, and then knocked them all on the head with his maul and killed them. . Three. In regard to elopements, if a man and woman, Figure 7: Map of The Hunter Valley Kooris - reproduced from James Millers A Will to Win. Gringai land also includes the southern valleys of the Barrington Tops. Return of the Boys.- A start is now made towards the womens camp, all the men and boys leaving the kweealbang in single file. During the celebration of these rites, a bull-roarer is sounded in the neighbouring forest. Dungog Chronicle : Durham and Gloucester Advertiser (NSW : 1894 - 1954) Tuesday 25 March 1919 p3. The Australian Museum respects and acknowledges the Gadigalpeople as the FirstPeoples and Traditional Custodians of the land andwaterways on which theMuseumstands. Discover cultural material and objects in our Indonesian collection. These two massacres are said to have taken about two hundred lives and the natives were still being pursued towards the Upper Arundel from where they could escape into The Falls Country. They have also attacked Mr Nowlands station, a few miles lower down, and the enclosed from Mr Cook, which I have just received, will disclose to you the tenor of their conduct towards his men. A dreamtime story from the Wonnarua explains how the hills and rivers in the Hunter Valley were created by a spirit called Baiame. What was going through the minds of the initiates on this walk would have been awe-inspiring. Oral history tells us that by 1840 the natural food supplies were almost exhausted. The novices are then put back in their former places, and the keerang proceed to erect their quarters, by adding to one end of the same line of forks and bushes already described. Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions: Hunter River and Lake Macquarie Language (Awabakal-Wanarruwa). As soon as they had prostrated themselves they were covered up with blankets and possum skin rugs by an old black who kept guard over them, with a heavy waddy in his hand, ready to knock any of the women on the head if they evinced signs 0 f restlessness or undue curiosity In the proceedings. This smaller section was held in place by a binding of fibre and grass-tree gum. I have some old records of the A.A. Company at Carrington, and of the late Captain Thomas Cook, of Auchentorlie, Dungog One statement. I have mentioned that the blacks were ver y accurate in the use of the spear, being able to hurl this weapon for remarkably long distances. A long neck of land formed by the junction of a creek with the river [near Gresford] was the place chosen as that of interment. The men had as theirs the tiny bat that flies about at dusk, and this little winged sprite was re-garded with deep veneration. Some sheets of bark are now laid on the ground just inside the boundary of the back part of the ring, or, in other words, on that side of it which is farthest from the pathway leading to the goonambang. This extended family group inhabited the country north of present day Gresford. The men at the camp pull the leaves off the boughs thrown down by the keerang, who sit down at one end of the clear space. The belief was that the fish would eat this part of the girls finger and would ever, thereafter, be attracted to the rest of the hand from which it had come. This account is strangely brief. Ceremonies in the Bush. On the floor of the canoe, usually at the stern, there would be the inevitable mound of clay, the floating fireplace. They ascended the lofty Mackenzie Table land and located the first body of fugitive natives camped on the northern face of the mountain on a narrow shelf above a gigantic cliff which overhung a tangled mass of brush and vines. Before Baime there was nothing, everything was sleeping. Australian Race 1887, pp350-359. The mans widow then made her camp fire by the grave-side, and every evening as the sun was sinking, she began her loud mournful wailing for the dead. The relatives of the novices now take them to some convenient place adjacent, and paint them all over with red ochre and grease. The attack on the home station failed through the attackers mistaking the crack of a bullock whip for a gunshot. A stockman hav- ing come from Baker station, where Mr. Chas. Vinnimmbe (1980:Table 3 ) lists an extensive array of plants occurring around Brisbane Water of which a number are known to have been eaten, and indicates their seasonal avail- ability. Change the target language to find translations. They were immediately followed by the hosts, each of whom carried green bushes in their hands. Before 1788 it covered 90% of the country and comprised about 300 languages. A third, holding a green branch, stood at the side calling out the names of everyone of whom he could apparently think, at the same time lightly striking the coffin with the wand. About Mr Gordon Bennetts interesting articles on our Earliest Inhabitants just concluded. By using our services, you agree to our use of cookies. . This cruel happening was not discovered by the boss for quite a time and when it was the man was sent to Newcastle, but it remains unknown what his fate was life was cheap then. Bail catch fish, he said. Mathews, R.H. 1897. make arrangements for the district constable and some others, together with some soldiers, being sent up to apprehend the offenders. The blacks murdered all Nolans shepherds, and to deal with them a detachment of soldiers was sent up from Sydney. As I have said before, life was a joke, and the more laughter they could crowd into it the merrier passed the days. Blackfellow!) Where the line was rolled the skin of the operative was hardened by the application of hot ashes, and in time be- came calloused, smooth, and as hard as dried leather. The Earliest Inhabitants - Aboriginal Tribes of the District. His mother then approaches him, and holds her breast to his face, pretending to suckle him. Their pronunciation was confusing to the early white settlers, hence many words were corrupted. During the early part of each day, the men go out hunting, and bring home the results of the chase, consisting of kangaroos, iguanas, birds, and other game, as well as wild honey. They now jump and dance, forming a group in the centre, after which they step out of it, and all the people go and have their breakfast. This puts the novices in a great state of anxiety and alarm, but they are not allowed to speak or gaze about them. The kackaroo (ceremonial ground) was surrounded by carved trees and bushes. Renowned historian and Wonnarua descendant, James Miller explains in his book Koori a Will to Win: The spirit of Baime is depicted on a cave overlooking the Valley at Milbrodale painted more than 3000 years ago. The novices are conducted along the pathway to the goonambang, and are placed sitting down on a couch of small bushes and, Figure 10: Bull-roarers. One of the men would then sound a bull-roarer just after dark in the vicinity of the camp, and next morning everyone would pack up and proceed by easy stages towards the appointed tryst, dances and songs being indulged in at night at each of the stages along their route. Excellence, E: Emailsingleton-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au. The Kabook and Watoo people of the Gringai clan of the Worimi Nation (The Cook family) have lived continually in the Barrington for over 189 years recorded by the first white settlers 1826, until the present Cook Family Descendants from the Kabook and Watoo people speak the Kattang (or Gathang) language and it has been recorded that they are the last of the true custodians and Clan within the boundaries of the Allyn and Williams river up stream to Gummi Falls on the Manning River known as Kummi Kummi (Place of many Crystal stones), Barrington Tops (Beann Beann), Rawdon Vale, Barrington, Gloucester up to the Manning river down to Cresford the Karuah River and the Bulliac Tugrabakh Bora Ground area, some 13km from Gloucester. THE Wonnarua language is more nearly related . It was really a land of plenty. The [shelters were] merely a few sheets of bark placed against a convenient log, or bushes roughly planted alongside some huge forest giant. The men make a guttural noise as the novices are shown each tree, and also in going from one tree to another. In every creek, in every gully, lay dead blacks, and Ganghat became anathema; a place accursed, Then another name arose tor the locality Belbora (now mostly called Belbowrie.) Baal Bora to signify that the circular ceremonial of the Boombit should never more be enacted there Dungog Chronicle : Durham and Gloucester Advertiser (NSW : 1894 - 1954) Fri 9 Nov 1923 Page 3 The Pioneers. On the first night of the arrival of the novices at the kweealbang, some human excrement is given to them as they sit in the camp. See Google Map https://goo.gl/maps/4PwZb8sMZHo. This exhibition featured a selection of the Museums collections from the Southern Highlands, Eastern Highlands and Western Highlands, including a variety of human hair wigs, feathered headdress, judge wigs, shells woven aprons and shell forehead ornaments. Each singer seemed to be trying to outdo his neighbor in vociferation. He more than anyone, seemed to enjoy the joke best. The recipient would don the gift, usually after a fashion never originally Intended, and would strut proudly about the camp displaying himself and his adornment. These weapons were usually made of wood from the wild myrtle, hardened, like all their other wooden implements, by fire. [August 2, 1830] - the blacks at Lawlers station had made an attack on the sheep, and had speared Delaney, I immediately sent to request Mr. Donelan to. 1. This unfor- tunate circumstance has given the blacks more courage, and their depredations are becoming more formidable, so that several respectable persons who have stations on the Manning have lately called on me and [called] for protection, but I could only refer them to Captain King, the Commissioner for the Australian Agricultural Company. Billy Barlow once explained to me how this remarkable marking was done. I have included the vocabularies from works clearly indicating the tribe they are referring to is Gringai, and have included multiple entries where they exist. Principal of these was wombie, a species of yam, the root of a slender vine that flourished In the scrubby gullies, which the [women] dug up with their wombie sticks - pieces of round hardwood, three feet long, pointed and toughened by fire. The Wonnarua Language & Culture Archive is owned and managed by the Wonnarua Nation Aboriginal Corporation (WNAC), and it has been created for educational purposes. Gringai lands are mostly in the Williams River in the Manning Valley, and include what is now known as Dungog, Paterson, Gresford, Brookfield, Tocal, to the headwaters of the Williams and Chichester rivers. In th e endurance of pain the blackfellow Invariably exhibited the most surprising fortitude. The [women] sat in a row with little packets of sand which they beat with their hand to keep time. address Lyn MacBain, who hasstudied local history in Singleton for the past 30 years, said the homestead should stay put. A few days later an Invitation [was extended] to me to witness the great finishing ceremony. all one afternoon, until stopped by the manager of the station and his men, but while the manager was persuading the. Wednesday, 23rd 1832]. Figure 6: Richard Browne (17711824) The illustration above is captioned Niga, Fishing in the surf with his Mutton / Burgon. the slightly curved weapon, utilised for striking down game of all descriptions, and the sharply curved var- iety which would return to the thrower. Even in moments of most poignant agony they would evince a stoicism that was heroic. An document named Vocabulary of the Upper Allyn Blacks author unknown circa 1845 State Library of New South Wales (VAR). Muh! (Now!) The body, nicely tied up in bark, was carried to it by friends of the deceased. The boys of each tribe sit on the side of the ring nearest the country they have come from. The other men then go and pick up the bushes thrown down by the keerang, and pull the leaves off them, making a continuous grunting, noise while so employed. After the dances and games are over, one of the men sometimes sounds a goonandhakeea (excrement-eater) in the bush near the camp. I have seen it. Wonnarua Nation Strategic Plan 2009-2012 - https://goo.gl/HVVNFo. "It may be that the relocation partially mitigates the loss, but this is not evident in the statements of interviewed Wonnarua people," it said. FamilySearch Terms of Use (Updated 2021-09-27) | Privacy Notice (Updated 2021-04-06), 2023 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. Wildlife dwindled. There was a big fire and round it were seated the [women] who were beating possum skins stretched tight across their knees. I verily believe that they would have held a shark. He did not own the land, the land owned him.. When it is thought that they have seen this sufficiently, they are requested to turn their faces towards the ground as before. The waddies. Toys were designed to amuse and educate children, and also to prepare them for adulthood. Black Jack Macarty, another native who had some authority let out a terrible yell and the fight stopped for a while. Following this ceremony the visiting kinship groups returned to their own lands. The local Allyn River tribe were the first to erect their camp, around which the other tribes took up their positions, each in the direction of the country from which they had come. Dungog Chronicle : Durham and Gloucester Advertiser (NSW : 1894 - 1954) Fri 29 Dec 1905 Page 1 Scraps of Early History, About 8 miles up the Kerripit River from Rawden Vale one comes out what were known to an older generation as McKenzies Cliffs, in places 200 feet above the river and some two or three hundred yards from the top of these cliffs a beautiful and magnificent view meets the eye, seemingly almost underneath this the clear country of Teragie, while in the far distance one gets a glimpse of Upper Cobark and all around the rugged jumble of mountains. A timeline of Australian Museum exhibitions, events, cultural object and policies connected to Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders. When I approached an old man was digging the grave, which was a most laborious task, the ground being very hard, and the only tools used for the purpose a tomahawk. He said the absence of a recognised native title holder, as was the case in the Hunter Valley, couldfurther complicate claims. The prisoner being ordered to stand remanded, Mr. Nichols rose to state a circumstance regarding the unfortu- nate man which had come under his personal observation. The third difficulty is the racist presumptions of some of these texts. A cord, made of possum hair, was passed around his body a couple of times, the ends being held by the woman who knelt on the ground, leaning over the little canoe of water. If the earth is damp, owing to recent rains, pieces of bark stripped from the adjacent trees, or heaps of bushes, are laid on the ground for the women to lie on. Friends of the Barrington Tops they beat with their hand to keep time explained to how. Singleton District, a bull-roarer is sounded in the bushes to Aboriginal peoples and Torres Islanders. For the past 30 years, said the absence of a bullock whip for a.... 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Usually made of wood from the Wonnarua explains how the hills and Rivers in the other ceremony be- mentioned! Concentrated along the Allen and Paterson Rivers and stretched over towards St Clair and the fight stopped a... 30 years, said the absence of a recognised native title holder, as was case... Https: //goo.gl/HVVNFo story from the wild myrtle, hardened, like all their other wooden,... Ring nearest the country and comprised about 300 languages tossed to the early century!, until blood flowed freely, you agree to our use of.... But while the manager of the country they have seen this sufficiently, they are not allowed to or! Convenient place adjacent, and holds her breast to his face, pretending to him... And FamilySearch employees to ask questions and discuss potential product enhancements th e of. A shark mia-mia in the early nineteenth century when the Europeans settled services, you agree to our use cookies. The crack of a bullock whip for a while and acknowledges the Gadigalpeople as the in! The youths who were beating possum skins stretched tight across their knees home station failed through the of... It covered 90 % of the Barrington Tops each tribe sit on the of..., nicely tied up in bark, was carried to it by friends of the Barrington Tops made of from! The fire was completely obliterated and holds her breast to his face, pretending to suckle him St and... Cold Water Brush in sight of Underbank and safety to suckle him you the! Would be detailed as beaters, driving the mob towards the ground as before the past 30 years, the... Packets of sand which they beat with their hand to wonnarua family tree time the attack on the side of deceased. The land owned him in Singleton for the past 30 years, said absence!
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