Not only did many of these children die, those who survived were almost invariably rendered infertile, a hugely significant factor in Aboriginal depopulation. English Encyclopedia is licensed by Wikipedia (GNU). Figure 5: Richard Browne (17711824). Then panic stricken they turned to the cliff edge and sprang into space and so perished. The novices are not allowed to leave the camp, but must sit in the shelter all day with their eyes cast down, some of their guardians remaining with them. Research revealing the rich and complex culture of Aboriginal people in the Port Jackson region. The adjoining parish, Belbora (correctly Baal Bora) owes its name to the tragedy. The sisters of the novices each pick up a piece of burning bark from a fire close by the ring, where they have been smouldering ready for use. 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. A few of the old men remain standing near them, armed with spears, to see that the covering is not interfered with. Sir I feel called on, and do myself the honor, to state to you for the informa- tion of His Excellency the Governor, that there are now residing on the Manning River upwards of 400 persons without protection or instruction of any kind, governed solely by lynch law. These men were not allowed possession of fire arms. [Coen] delighted in tormenting and carrying them away when he could get opportunities. But he was about somewhereintangible and dread- conveying. Vocabularies of the Manning RIver and Hunter river in Edward M Currs The. Each tribe take their own novices away with them, and put them through the remaining stages of initiation in their own country. The recorded history of the Wonnarua begins in the early nineteenth century when the Europeans settled. A row of wooden forks, about 4 or 5 feet high, are first inserted in the ground, and saplings laid from fork to fork, resembling a fence with only one top rail. The bearer, John McIntosh, ranger for our Association, will conduct any party that you will be pleased to send in the direction they are reported to be in. The site is listed on the Register of the National Estate and is considered a sacred site. of two men. The Wonnarua had some idea of a Great Spirit, but what the idea was my informant does not know. When the grave, which was very neatly dug with the rudest implements, was considered to be of sufficient depth a man got into it and tried it by lying down at full length. The tubers varied in thickness from an inch to an Inch-and-a-half, and were a few inches in length. Strangely enough neither men nor women adorned themselves with ornaments of any description, being content to present themselves to the world as Nature so fashioned them. The Dutton Family tree remains a mystery with the conclusion of 1923's first season. The keerang then march right through the line of men and boys, some going through at one place and some at another, the line opening to let them pass. A dreamtime story from the Wonnarua explains how the hills and rivers in the Hunter Valley were created by a spirit called Baiame. Fanny, on seeing it, became greatly agitated and ordered me to restore it to its hiding place at once. These men were employed as shepherds and whenever they got a chance practised almost unbelievable cruelties on the blacks, but stealing the black women was the most serious in the eyes of the aborigines. Warning: This article contains content that some readers may find distressing. We actively repatriate material from our collections to Indigenous cultural centres and keeping places, and collaborate directly with communities to return significant cultural objects and ancestral remains to their places of origin. He then jumped his wedges and thus held them prisoners, and then knocked them all on the head with his maul and killed them. They were formed in two divisions, and kept crossing and recrosslng the path, interlacing as the met at the run, and descending the hill rapidly, all the time yelling at the top of their voices. On account of the novices hair being singed short, and the white paint on their bodies, the mothers are sometimes unable to recognise their own sons. The spirit of Baime is depicted on a cave overlooking the Valley at Milbrodale painted more than 3000 years ago. In a hollow fork I discovered one of these mystery bags. Then they would begin on their own account. The PCWP has askedfederal Environment Minister Sussan Ley to use Aboriginal heritage laws to protect the countryside around Ravensworth from further mining. Among the last remaining artefacts of that era is the Ravensworth homestead, whichlies directly in the path of a proposed extension to Glencore's Glendell coal mine. Such a camp would be formed on some tolerably level ground near a running stream or water-hole. This hostility was fraught with serious results, and led up to the grim tragedy at Ghangat, and afterwards to the massacre at Kiripit. The grief displayed at the funeral of a venerable.and honored man was unquestionably great and genuine. A dreamtime story from the Wonnarua explains how the hills and rivers in the Hunter Valley were created by a spirit called Baiame. Dungog Chronicle : Durham and Gloucester Advertiser (NSW : 1894 - 1954) Fri 13 Apr 1923 Page 2 The Origin of Dungog. Dont interfere with them ! The novices are told that the noise they hear is the voice of Goign, who would come and eat them if he got the chance. Before Baime there was nothing, everything was sleeping. At these camping places, one of the men swings the bull-roarer in the adjacent forest just after dark, and again a little before daylight, and the women reply to it by beating on their rugs, and singing; the men give a shout in unison. It was a very simple process for the tribe to kill all they needed. His photo is still hanging in the School of Arts. (I may here mention this burial place has been held sacred by his descendants, and many of the tribe have been buried there since then, the dead being conveyed many miles in order that they might make this their last resting place.) This smaller section was held in place by a binding of fibre and grass-tree gum. Mr R. Dawson describes a meeting with some strange blacks. I think 1838 would be nearer the mark. Plains Clans of the Wonnarua People A5410(x) Xerox copy of The History of Bulga near Singleton N.S.W. Dungog was the ultimate limit of settlement for ten years or more. Strings are bound tightly round the upper arms of the novices to make their muscles swell, which is supposed to cause their arms to grow stronger. Just as preparations were being made for a continuation of the rites, some of the strange blacks raised an objection to my being present with a gun, for I had with me a small sixteen-bore fowling piece I Invariably carried on my excursions in the bush. The blacks attack on Kiripit homestead was averted by the merest accident. In response to the PCWP's application for Aboriginal heritage protection, she appointed an independent anthropologist to prepare a wide-ranging report. This only lasts a few minutes and then all the men follow after the novices. Fires were always kept burning about the camp. 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. The English word games are: 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. Bark was then carefully placed over the body. 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. The mother of each novice, before leaving the kackaroo, picks some small green bushes, which she ties on the top end of her yamstick. In 1892, Fraser republished his work and this time modified [Gringai] to Kur- ringgai and said the group occupied the coast for a long distance north and south of Newcastle. grease. Learn more about this collection acquired by Alexander Morrison in the New South Wales Hunter Valley during in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Melanesian cultural area is the nearest neighbour of Australian and the museum holds a significant collection of cultural material from Melanesian nations. The possum was hauled from his hole in a rotted limb or spout and tossed to the ground. A sort of warlike pantomime was then enacted and the women and children closely covered up, were frightened out of their wits, and cried lustily. 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. Instinct and. In travelling from place to place a fire-stick was always carried, the brand being whirled and twisted so that it would not go out. The business of fishing was per- haps the most important of all to the natives. [The canoes] were generally 15 feet long, and with a fair beam, required some handling by an amateur. In th e endurance of pain the blackfellow Invariably exhibited the most surprising fortitude. If any of the boys are very young, they may be required to carry a fire-stick till their hair grows as long as it was before being singed at the water-hole in the bush, as already described. To-day looking on this quiet and peaceful scene it is hard to believe that where one stand was enacted one of those terrible tragedies that unfortunately too often happened in the early days when the white pioneers were taking up the land and outsing the primitive aboriginals from their hunting grounds. [7] A cave near Milbrodale contains many Wonnarua Aboriginal paintings, including a large figure of a man who may be Baiame. ?D*1q4"'7fw +3k I |`! The spirit of Kawal is embodied in the wedge tailed eagle, found throughout the Hunter Valley. Never once In all my life at Carrington did I ever see a [child] slapped or chastised, and the younger fry could be mischievous and very trying on occasions. Through these holes two cords were threaded. These two circles connected by the path formed the sacred ground. No return was made to this, and on repeating the sign an answer was returned in a loud and as it seemed menacing tone. Give contextual explanation and translation from your sites ! in that locality. They called their nocturnal operation kroji or koradji, and were in great terror of them. The upper stone was a water- worn basalt pebble flattened on one side only from use: It was used for grinding seeds, including those of the Kurrajong and it is the first I have seen from eastern New South Wales. During the journey thither the novices are not allowed to gaze about them, but have to keep their eyes cast upon the ground at their feet, and their hands held on their stomachs as they walk along with their guardians. The booming noise from the top of the hill was again to be heard, and It seemed to become louder and louder. It is therefore necessary to give them a little relaxation to afford them an opportunity of regaining their strength before attempting the journey to the kweealbang. The belt and four tails or kilts are now put upon each boy, as well as head-bands, and bands across the body. The Keeparra Ceremony of Initiation. The bias towards the coast applies to plant foods as to others, and this aspect of the evidence makes impossible any comparison between the relative importance of plant foods in coastal and inland environments. It is quite true, he added, when it is said that no white man ever saw a bora ceremony. The boomerang, a weapon universal throughout Australia among aboriginal tribes, naturally held a prominent place In the communal arsenal. As the neophytes are held. She was Indeed a wonderfully lucky fisher. The attack on the solitary shepherds was tragically successful and five fell victims to the vengeance of the natives,. three inches In length affixed at a slight angle to receive the slightly hollowed end of the spear shaft. The womerah, also common M most aboriginal tribes, was used to give further Impetus to the flight of a spear. or the boogerum and they and raised them to frenzy when the ceremonies were being performed. Another group, the Wanaruah Local Aboriginal Land Council, declined to be interviewed, but it wasunderstoodthe group believed evidence of a massacre on the site was inconclusive. Glancing about I saw a strange aboriginal walking across a cleared space and approaching the camp. It Is marvellous what the blacks were able to fashion in the way of weapons and equipment of various kinds. The gins peeled the bark off the long straight limbs of the white myrtle and soak it in water holes till the brown skin came off. Owing to the humming noise which they have themselves been making, and the quiet manner in which the men and boys have come in, such of the younger women who have not been to a keeparra before are surprised to see the cordon of white men standing around them. pare the lines. The head was of four prongs made of iron-bark and hardened by fire. We would like to acknowledge the Wonnarua people who are the traditional custodians of this land. On the floor of the canoe, usually at the stern, there would be the inevitable mound of clay, the floating fireplace. As a feat of agility it was more than ordinarily remarkable. The perpetrators were the Barrington River natives. The section of the tree intended to be used for the purpose was first shaped in the rough and then put In the sea water for a lengthy period until the sap had gone and the tissue toughened. When going to the creek for water they were careful to look in some other direction. Some of the game caught during the day is cooked for the novices, the bones and sinews being taken out of it, and the pieces cut small, so that they may not be able to distinguish what animals flesh is being given to them. The men invariably carried their tomahawks In their belts, and a piece of grass- tree gum, which latter seemed to be an indispensable part of their equipment This exudation of the pummirri had so many uses that no blackfellow could be without his supply ready at hand. Afterwards the gift, whatever it was, never seemed to have any particular owner, for it would be free for all the tribe. The twin hills across the river from Dungog were called Cooreei or Cooreal. About the Wonnarua, by James Miller contains more information about the Wonnarua. The report concludedthat mining on the estate "violates the traditional relationship between the Aboriginal peoples and their land". They never felled a tree, but climbed it by cutting nicks in the tree for toe holts. Backhouse also noted the Giant Lily (Doryanthus excelsa) flourishing along the route from Newcastle to Threlkelds mission on Lake Macquarie. 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. In 1882, Maitland schoolteacher John Fraser wrote what he thought was an authoritative work on the Aborigines of NSW and used the word Gringai when referring to a group of Aborigines in the Dungog area but made no connection between that group and the Aborigines who lived in or around Sydney. There was a bora ring on the property of the late Justin Bruyn, on Sugarloaf, and was situated on what was known as Bora ridge. community together, who may be called the Chief Initiator, sends out messengers to all the neighbouring tribes whom it is desired shall be present. You can also try the grid of 16 letters. Climactically the upper tooth was extracted by an elder and the slightest indication of objection or pain resulted in ridicule. The Family Tree offers users a free family tree template featuring multiple tree and fan chart views, timeline and mapping tools, record hints and research helps, and access to . My father had been admitted as an honorary blood-brother of the tribe and was regarded by them with a sort of veneration. While the covering is being placed over the women, a man runs away to the goolambang and tells the men there that everything is ready. When the novices have got about 50 or 100 yards from the kackaroo, two men who were in readiness, one on each side of the ring, commence loudly sounding their bull-roarers. The settlers of Port Stephens, reinforced by the small body of time expired soldiers, retained by the A.A. Coy, proceeded direct to the scene.. . I was born at Carrington, Port Stephens, on September 19. We boys did not know that for as a result of ingenuously asking Nancy if she was lonely after the death of Jack, the writer was only saved from personal violence by the presence of some adults. In Australian Aboriginal mythology, Baiame (or Biame, Baayami, Baayama or Byamee) was the creator god and sky father[1] in the Dreaming of several Aboriginal Australian peoples of south-eastern Australia, such as the Wonnarua, Kamilaroi, Guringay, Eora, Darkinjung, and Wiradjuri peoples. He came straight up to the group, and within a dozen or so paces of us, threw on the ground his spears and boomerangs. Sir I do my self the honor to inform you that the blacks have again commenced committing serious depredations in this neighbourhood. The novices are also forbidden to eat certain kinds of food until relieved from this restriction by the old men. Wildlife dwindled. 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. 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]. At Port Stephens the tribe was happily situated in the matter of provender. 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. Very carefully was the length of bark separated from its hold so that not a crack appeared in Its tough surface. What the first settlers also brought with them were a wide range of European diseases, to which the locals had no immunity, resulting in what in other parts of the world has been called conquest by disease. . There was, I knew, another and more pregnant reason that no one would disclose. One was held on the top of the ridge in Irwins paddock, at the back of the house which is now situated at the Underbank-Wangat turn-off. His audience would listen intently until they had mastered the words, the tune and all the business that went with it. At various times they were ordered to assume uncomfortable positions and to remain so until the sun crossed the sky. Nor would they return to the original spot for months. Although there was some kind of communal ownership of everything about the camp, there was a distinct proprietary interest by individuals in certain things, particularly weapons. The Wonnarua people are the traditional land owners of the Maitland area and their lands extend throughout the Hunter Valley. The Wonnarua people's traditional lands are located in the Hunter Valley area of New South Wales. The two blacks named are most intelligent fellows and have great weight with their tribe. - As before stated, the novices are taken to the goon- ambang (excrement place), where they remain till the women and children have departed from the other circle, which would occupy half an hour, or perhaps longer. However, it did not tally with what I had seen elsewhere, or had been told by natives whose confidence I had won. 30 Editable Family Tree Templates [100% Free] March 27, 2021 8 Mins Read. This cleared space and its adjuncts is called kweealbang (fire place, or place of the fire). A complete guide to the Duttons, from 1883 to Yellowstone. The blacks had lately been very troublesome and bold. The men at Port Stephens did not employ this method the toe-hold affording them all the assistance necessary. Heard, and were a few inches in length affixed at a slight angle to the! Licensed by Wikipedia ( GNU ) the toe-hold affording them all the business of was! 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