Gordon Bennett (reprinted 1964) p8. 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. One of the keerang now goes and meets the men and novices -who may be distinguished as the white mob - who are by this time waiting just out of sight, and tells them that everything is ready. Before doing so, however, I peered into it and saw only a piece of rock crystal. The corpse was neatly encased in a sheet of bark (paper-bark) stripped from the giant tl-tree (Melaleuca) and bound with vines from the scrub. The hull of the little vessel was made of a single sheet of bark of the stringy-bark (punnah) tree, obtained from a tall, straight clean bole. A possum or kangaroo would be placed on top of a glowing fire and when half cooked one of the older men would remove it and proceed to dismember it. The men tap the ends of their boomerangs together as they walk, and the women wave their arms. [8] So long as it wa s well warmed in the fire they would eat it with avidity. There is one chorus that I well remember, for it was sung nightly, over and over again, by the whole tribe. I often heard my father speak of the blacks fish traps but it was years after his death that I read Mary Gilmores book, and so I could not ask the questions I wanted to. If a boy wants anything, he must touch his guardian, who then commences asking him the most likely things, until he guesses correctly, when the boy nods assent. Figure 12: The men and novices silently surround the women at the Kweealbang. Future of historic Ravensworth Estate sets up showdown between Indigenous groups, coal company, There is an emergency bushfire warning in place for Maintongoonin Victoria. The review found the option of moving the homestead to a nearby farm "better preserves many more aspects of significance than the rebuilding at Broke". Such a tribe, on reaching the main camping place, and finding all the people gone away, would go to the kackaroo, and on seeing the index pole would start away in that direction, and join the other people at the new camp, and take up their quarters on the side nearest their own country. Meaning people of the hills and plains, the Wonnarua were bounded to the south by the Darkinjung, to the northwest by the Nganyaywana, to the northeast by the Awabakal, and to the southeast by the Worimi peoples. This stiffened the carcase fairly effectively, thus making it more convenient to carry over the shoulders, a factor appreciated by the man that had to bear the burden for per- haps many a weary mile. Their movements are made as noiselessly as possible, so that the women may not hear them coming. As part of the ceremonies, the aspirants undergo the ordeal of having an upper front tooth either bitten off or knocked out with a stick prepared for the occasion. In the far- off days of the first decade of the nineteenth century, the locality that we know as Dungog was called by its primitive inhabitants Tunkok or Tungog, both of which words mean, in the Awabakal dialect, the place of thinly wooded hills. up in the smoke, the men raise a guttural shout, and the women wave their arms up and down. Mr. Irwin remembers a spotted gum ridge on which all the trees were marked. It was also here at the goonambang that the boys experienced what was to be their harshest physical ordeal of the ceremony. In this way they were deliciously cooked, and indeed the doctor relates that he frequently dealt with his own game and fish in this manner. Dungog Chronicle : Durham and Gloucester Advertiser (NSW : 1894 - 1954) Fri 9 Jul 1943 Page 4 THE DUNGOG CEREMONIES. These pieces of bark about 9 inches or a foot long, and 2 or 3 inches wide, are cut off trees or saplings for the purpose. They never smiled nor did they ever applaud. But men were callous, and life was cheap in those far off days, and tradition tells a yet weirder tale of a blood bounty at half a crown per head.. Nor would they return to the original spot for months. After some slight alteration he again, got into it. [2] However, it has also been claimed that the language of the Wonnarua people is more closely linked to the Darkinjung language. These sheep were driven to Berrico at shearing time. Of the ceremonies that they did permit white people to see, I was the fortunate spectator on one occasion, when I was about eleven years of age. In 1999 the Wonnarua Nation Aboriginal Corporation acquired the site of the former St Clair Mission where their forebears lived. In th e endurance of pain the blackfellow Invariably exhibited the most surprising fortitude. They were always so covered while the fire dancing was on. These fire-brands, renewed as often as necessary. The Museum works actively to build links with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to ensure the objects held in our collections are always available to Traditional Owners, to activate our collections through programs that provide connections with living cultural practice, and to deepen public understanding of Australias First Nations cultures. That night they camp in sight of the mens quarters, and each succeeding night they come a little closer, until at last they get right into the single mens camp. Some with animals, others with birds and hands cut out of the bark. Moffatt sent me a letter from Major Sullivan complaining of one of the Companys servant[s] (as is supposed) having come to his farm fired at some blacks in a camp close to his house, and taken away one of their [women]. The novices are then lifted up in the mens arms, two or three men, including the guardian, to each boy, who advance and stand on the green bushes, which by this time are emitting a dense smoke, which ascends round the men and boys. Company Information The sketch appeared in the Memoirs of the Geological Survey of New South Wales. During the day-time the novices are sometimes allowed to sit up, keeping their eyes towards the ground, but are not allowed to speak to anyone. One toy with which they delighted to play was a contrivance that gave out a deep booming din like the bull-roarers the elders used in the initiation ceremonies. The women would be on the look out for the shining, shimmering mass of fish to come round some wooded headland, and when their shrill outcries told of the approach of the finny prey, the men would rush to the shore. Monday, 10th June. Those who escaped the bullet were killed by falling over the cliffs and being smashed on the rocks below thus, was the whole tribe of blacks with one or two exceptions which inhabited this part of the district exterminated. The men then paint themselves with white stripes on their chests, on their arms, and on their legs from the knee down. The flesh was a delicate white color, and I confess that I tasted it one one occasion only and found it good. The whites, themselves, being oppressed with scarcity and dearth of provisions, were forced to withdraw that countenance and support they had formerly afforded to the blacks, and that was indeed the cause of all the mischief that occurred some little time since. On hearing this noise, the guardians and other men present say to each other, That must be Thoorkooks dogs coming to kill the boys; let us cut steps in the trees near us so that the boys can climb up out of their way.. Glancing about I saw a strange aboriginal walking across a cleared space and approaching the camp. Explore the world's largest collection of free family trees, genealogy records and resources. The Grengai tribe were possessed of a wonderful marriage law, which prevented relations from marrying, and this law extends to Queensland. The Wonnarua were part of the land. The boys of each tribe sit on the side of the ring nearest the country they have come from. How he, or she, was dealt with I was never able to discover. Dungog Chronicle : Durham and Gloucester Advertiser (NSW : 1894 - 1954) Fri 18 Mar 1927 Page 5 Early Days Of Port Stephens. After he finished creating, he jumped back up to the spirit world from Mount Yengo, which he flattened. The belt and four tails or kilts are now put upon each boy, as well as head-bands, and bands across the body. established a heifer station at Bakers Creek, twelve miles north-east of Gloucester, now known as Upper Ghangat. Some language documentation may also record words and meanings inaccurately. One subject that has interested me for years is the way big- logs were across the Williams River; one, and often two, on each of the smaller farms. Evening News (Sydney, NSW : 1869 - 1931) Sat 24 Aug 1895 Page 3 WITH THE BLACKS. Then the mothers go back to their own quarters, and the novices are taken by their guardians a short distance away, where they make a camp. (Vinnicombe 1980: VI 4), was also eaten at Lake Macquarie (Threlkeld in Gunson 1974:55) and in the Dungog area (Ebsworth 1826:71), where it was called Bungwall. They saw some of it. The fish after being cleaned appeared as though, it had just come out of the water.
Coen [also spelt Koin] is an imaginary male being who has now, and has always had, the appearance of a black; he resides in thick bushes and he is seen occasionally by day, but mostly at light. 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. My great-great-great grandmother belonged to the Gringai group of the Won- narua people. A census taken by Dr. McKinlay in the early [1830s] showed that there were about 250 blacks in the valley of the Williams. (By WIRRAPIT). The sparks would be gently blown upon until a flame appeared, when thereafter it was no trouble to build up a roaring fire. The Gloucester Advocate (NSW : 1905 - 1954) Tuesday 6 November 1923 p 1. 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. ~;26BBV?AsU7uNbhGkC5x"lvV3=: ;A~=6456v;H>JEl$v+vmK9ox-+/NpC*xj}HQJYvaKv`?6- \
The Australian Museum respects and acknowledges the Gadigalpeople as the FirstPeoples and TraditionalCustodians ofthe land and waterways on which theMuseumstands. [There was] a fight between the Wallamba tribe and a portion of the Kabook (Gloucester, Barrington, Rawdon Vale tribes). Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Email (required) (Address never made public). Never at any time could we get them to men- tion the name of anyone who had died. These logs were generally supposed to have been left by floods, but I never felt satisfied, for they were mostly about the same distance apart. This mighty unknown was not in any way associated with such natural phenomena as thunder or light- ning, nor did he seem to have any particular dwelling place. If some of the men have remained in the camp all day, they also will proceed to the goonambang and meet the others there. Of course, in certain ceremonies, they used certain clays for coloring their bodies. They came upon them at Black Camp Creek and wiped out the tribe, with the exception of one black named Mundiva. 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. It was a risky game for the women I but I never heard of one being [attacked]. Eleven blacks were killed and the child recovered. 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 web service Alexandria is granted from Memodata for the Ebay search. Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, 26: 320-340. The Wonnarua people are the traditional land owners of the Maitland area and their lands extend throughout the Hunter Valley. Their creation spirit is Baiami, also known as Koin, the creator of all things and the Keeper of the Valley. It was made of a flat piece of wood, a few inches in length, in which two holes were bored. Leaves are then thickly strewn on this bark, forming a kind of couch, and when the painting of the novices is completed, they are led into the ring and placed sitting down in a row on the couch of leaves - the novices belonging to each tribe being put in a group by themselves on that side of the ring which faces their own country. The ceremonial break from their mothers signified the first step towards manhood, it was the beginning of an event that would make them spiritually as well as physically different from women. . They lived for the most part, he says, on opossums, kangaroos, wallabies, birds and fish. Join the community of family history enthusiasts and FamilySearch employees to ask questions and discuss potential product enhancements. The first thing that I saw when our party came up with the black camp, was the deceased speared; he was armed with a fowling piece; he stood a little in front of his party, and I saw the spear thrown at him from the left, which struck him under the shoulder blade; there was only one black man on his left side; the deceased plucked out the spear, and followed the black who had speared him; he was assisted by two others of the party in the chase, and they captured him about a quarter of a mile off. [8] See also [ edit] Another favorite food was the cobra found in decaying logs on the banks of the tidal watercourses. (VMR, VHR). Until the Great Sky Spirit Baiame opened his eyes'. The Gringai people, a group of indigenous people of Australia, are those Aus tralian Aborigines that were united by a common language, strong ties of kinship and survived as skilled hunterfishergatherers in family groups as a clan of the Worimi people, whose traditional land is now known as the Port Stephens of New South Wales, Australia. For weeks and weeks he would labor, fashioning with the crude tools at his command, such things as he believed would bring him the best return in his bartering. After this outrage the natives dividedone body seeking shelter south-west towards the Upper Arundel. With a woomterah to aid the cast, the y could hit a mark at almost every throw up to a distance of 50 to 75 yards. Add new content to your site from Sensagent by XML. and the only cessation was when all burst into screams of laughter. The Gloucester Advocate 22 March 1935. The boomerang, a weapon universal throughout Australia among aboriginal tribes, naturally held a prominent place In the communal arsenal. When all is ready, some of the old men who are assisting the women give a signal, and the gupardians and novices approach the kweealbang. Fatal was the effect. In those early days the blacks knew little of matches, and certainly never used them for the purpose of lighting their fires. . Long before resource companies moved in to tap into the rich coal reserves below, surgeon James Bowman established the Ravensworth Estate in 1824 and it became a hub for horticultural experimentation. Almost every evening one of the tribes present gets up a corroboree for the amusement of the others. 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. Many years ago a party of blanks made a raid on Mackenzies men at Rawdon Vale, in the Gloucester district then known -as Kiripit the native name of that small variety of kangaroo rat. The Wonnarua people (/hwnrjur/), a group of indigenous people of Australia, are those Australian Aborigines that were united by a common language, strong ties of kinship and survived as skilled hunterfishergatherers in family groups or clans scattered along the inland area of what is now known as the Upper Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia. Baiame is often shown with internal decorations such as waistbands, vertical lines running down the body, bands and dots. The patient was seated or placed in a reclining position on the ground. Their creation spirit is Baiami, also known as Koin, is the creator of all things and the Keeper of the Valley. As I have said before, life was a joke, and the more laughter they could crowd into it the merrier passed the days. Most of the older hands in Dungog can remember the old aboriginal cemetery near Mr William Abbots home at Violet Hill and at the rear of the Rectory. After the novices have been about a week at the keelaybang another mob of men from the womens camp make their appearance during the afternoon. Eather, and a description of the last combined Bora ceremony on the family property in 1852. Lettris L. E. Threlkeld. They were going to the bora ceremonies. Fortunately sickness troubled them but little. But the blacks remained, and many of my earliest recollections are of them. [3], On 5 September 1995, descendants of Sara Madoo, a traditional custodian of the Wonnarua lands, passed the Federal Court registration test of native title claims, pursuant to Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) s190A. Give contextual explanation and translation from your sites ! 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