The men then march once round the outside of the circle in the same manner as on the arrival of a tribe, already described. This seemed to conclude one de- finite part of the ceremonies, for the women were not permitted to witness what followed. At 12 oclock I was sorry to hear from Baker, a stock-keeper, an-l soon after by Mr. Chas. This was usually done immediately after birth by the mother or some of the old women of the tribe, and as tho practice is common among blacks in all parts of the continent it can be accepted that this marked feature of the aboriginal physiognomy is thought to be beautiful. It was longer and narrower, shaped more like a wedge than the axe of to- day. But one and all appeared greatly relieved to see the boys safe and sound in the midst of the men. 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. Baime has his arms stretched open protecting the Valley. On reaching the weengarah, which would be only a short distance from the camp, the messenger would tell the headman and elders the purport of his mission, and would hand them a white quartz crystal which had been given to him by the chief initiator when dispatching him on this errand. After a while the former said to them, Put your hand into the split and help me burst the log. They did so. The blossoms of the honeysuckle provided nectar, as did that of the grass tree, and of the latter children were especially fond (Dawson 1830:244). At Dungog a figure of sixty per cent is given. It was marvellous how swiftly the blacks could climb by means of these tiny notches literally swarming up the smooth tall trunk. To the blacks the name became an anathema; knew them no more (sic). As soon as [Macarty] re-crossed the creek he let out another yell and the fight began again. Indeed it seemed almost im- possible to hit a black with lance or missile if he had his cooreel in his hand. The whites also got them to rob bees nests. Hall, that there was great reason to apprehend that the blacks had murdered Henderson at Worrawong, our distant cattle station. Groups living near the Wonnarua include the Darkinjung and the Wirad Eighty years have elapsed since that tragic story was enacted, and only a fragmentary history remains of .it to-day. At the goonambang, a fire lit the centre where a number of elders were sitting. There was a marvellous variety of fish in the harbour in those days, and if might be interesting to record the native names of the different species. It was the biggest collection of blacks ever seen in the district. If a wanton slayer of the [womens] sacred bird were detected in his crime, the women would give way to outbursts of furious passion. Sunday, 9th June. It was made of a flat piece of wood, a few inches in length, in which two holes were bored. Among themselves there were seldom any disputes or quarrels. They will remain in custody awaiting your orders respecting them. The novices are now given a new name, and are permitted to mix with the men, but must not go among the women until they have attended a few more keeparras, and have lost their boyish voice. Little trouble was taken over their preparation, it seeming to be a point of practice to scorch feathers and flesh into a delectable outer covering One of the most fancied foods was the flying-fox (kundewung), and great was the excitement that prevailed when these creatures were about. Simply put, a family tree is a record of the lineage of a family. After these singular appetisers, the chief would throw the carcase on the fire and leave the game to cook. Discover the diversity of boomerangs in the Museum's collection, and learn about these distinctive cultural objects. This activity was to keep them from being aware that their boys were being taken stealthily from the kackaroo to the goonambang. It was probably at this site that my great-great- grandmothers kinship fathers passed those intermediate days between boyhood and manhood. Dr. McKinlay records that they believed in supernatural beings whom they called Maamba. The men, exultant over the result of their prowess would immediately proceed to make a fire. The Aboriginal to-day pretends to know nothing but if full trust can be established it will be found that he does know. . Birds and fish, however, were cooked by being plastered with mud and placed amid hot coals or in a hole packed with heated stones. When quite young, a ligature was tied about the first joint of her little finger very tightly, and being left there for a considerable time, the top portion mortified and, in time, fell off. The spirit of Baime is depicted on a cave overlooking the Valley at Milbrodale painted more than 3000 years ago. from 1820 to 1921 by A.N. 69 0 obj <> endobj 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. dies and stand motionless, spear poised on woomerah, ready to launch the fatal dart. The blacks were always fearful of a raid by the Myall River natives, who were reputed to be very warlike and aggressive. The black warriors lay down and died all around. Learn how First Nation communities and artists are using ghost net sculptures as a way to tell traditional stories. Figure 11: The various tree-markings described. Flash Tommy was almost killed and lay insensible for several days. Barrallier (1802:81-82) observed at Newcastle that the Aborigines ate the roots of Fern [which he surprised a youth in the act of collecting] and a sort of root or yam. The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842) Tue 12 Aug 1834 Page 2 SUPREME CRIMINAL COURT. The hosts now get up and go outside, where they remain standing in a group, and one or more of their number commence sounding, the goonandhakeea or bull-roarer. When these two men get close to the goonambang they gently hit the boomerangs which they carry in their hands against those in their belts, and the hosts answer, huk! At this stage the coverings were removed from the women, all of whom were covered in perspiration, as much the sweat of fear probably as of the heat of the day. The removal of Cabeen Paddy [recently mentioned] and Cocky from this quarter has had the desired effect. . Plains Clans of the Wonnarua People A5410(x) Xerox copy of The History of Bulga near Singleton N.S.W. all one afternoon, until stopped by the manager of the station and his men, but while the manager was persuading the. Man was given the knowledge to read the land and for every rock, tree and creek he found an explanation for existence. Choose the design that fits your site. Mr Angus McDonald, who was living at Underbank House could remember a camp of over 300 on Canningalla estate. "I'm just sad that such a beautiful area like the Hunter Valley is going to be turned into an unliveable landscape, ultimately, by the scourge of mining," Mr Franks said. On the floor of the canoe, usually at the stern, there would be the inevitable mound of clay, the floating fireplace. "It may be that the relocation partially mitigates the loss, but this is not evident in the statements of interviewed Wonnarua people," it said. In those early days the blacks knew little of matches, and certainly never used them for the purpose of lighting their fires. The chase was a big part of the lives of the males, and strange to relate the spoils were usually divided equally among the various members of the tribe. 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. As they departed their mothers tied some green leaves to yamsticks, and when these leaves turned brown, the mothers knew their boys would return for the final symbolic suckling of the breast. Figure 2: Richard Browne (17711824) was an early Australian convict artist and illustrator who was transported from Ireland to New South Wales. Oral history tells us that by 1840 the natural food supplies were almost exhausted. After being prepared by their families, the boys were now ready to experience the transition from boyhood to manhood. The flying-foxes would be thrown on a fire to cook, and strangely enough when roasted properly in aboriginal fashion, proved quite tasty. The weight and strength of the whole spear was regulated according to the purpose for which It was specifically intended, thus the heaviest of them were utilised only for spearing the big sea mullet which swarm into the harbor in countless millions at certain seasons of the year. [7] A cave near Milbrodale contains many Wonnarua Aboriginal paintings, including a large figure of a man who may be Baiame. 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. His audience would listen intently until they had mastered the words, the tune and all the business that went with it. 1844, my father, John Scott, being employed in a secretarial capacity at Carrington by the Australian Agricultural Company. The Wonnarua people ( / hw n r ju r /), 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 hunter-fisher-gatherers in family groups or clans scattered along the inland area of what is now known as the Upper Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia. The map was determined by overlaying an old parish map onto a topographic map. This left a white, flax- like fibre, very tough and strong. The mothers then pass out under the arms of the men; then the sisters pass out, and lastly all the other women and the men who had charge of them in the ring, and stand close by as spectators of the remainder of the proceedings. At this camp they are also required, on more than one occasion, to drink the urine of some of the men, collected in a coolamin for the purpose. They had knocked down and carried away eight colonial sheep; all the rest were stolen yesterday. << /Length 5 0 R /Filter /FlateDecode >> Baime awoke and created everything, the mountains, plains, rivers and every living thing. The natives soon embraced the opportunity to raid the station. Open Microsoft Word, click then insert menu and then choose SmartArt graphics. The kackaroo (ceremonial ground) was surrounded by carved trees and bushes. Figure 12: The men and novices silently surround the women at the Kweealbang. On being asked by what jury he would be tried, the prisoner replied by black-fellows ; but this of course the Court was not empowered to grant. Search for a specific ancestor in FamilySearch. %PDF-1.3 has publicly denounced the use of the word Guringai. It was really a land of plenty. 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. The children, even from the tenderest years, appeared to have appetites as voracious as their elders. ~;26BBV?AsU7uNbhGkC5x"lvV3=: ;A~=6456v;H>JEl$v+vmK9ox-+/NpC*xj}HQJYvaKv`?6- \ Find your family in the world's largest shared family tree. Many textiles reflect the traditional methods of production, design and use. Fishing nets post a threat to marine life and birds. Others say, You should not interfere with [Ko-ens possum], or he will come and kill both us and the boys. Two bull-roarers are then heard close by, and some of the men call out to those throwing the sticks, We told you to beware of Goign - here he comes ! This is said to impress the boys with supernatural terror. They had to fend for themselves. There followed a quiet space for a little time when suddenly the men returned ( with loud triumphal cries, having in their midst the boys they had supposedly sought. Tuesday, 3rd. When green, if the camp needed vegetables for the menu, they were roasted and eaten In that fashion. They, too, were buried at Violet Hill. Finally the initiates were sent out into the bush, to prove their capabilities as hunters and men. Bail catch fish, he said. Online help is available anytime from other FamilySearch users. 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. No black would dream of going fishing after having partaken of a feed of fruit ) nor would he accom- pany any- one who had been similarly guilty. At a small plain a mile west of the present Cobakh Station the Port Stephens men came into conflict with the remaining body of natives, but the fugitives broke and fled north wards to a little flat on the Bowman River. Naturally they avoided as much as possible the necessity of going through this process. Responsibility . and direct savage attacks at the offender, beating him with their sticks until he was glad to fly m precipitate confusion, offering no retaliation or resistance No definite conception of an existence after death appeared to exist among the members of the tribe. The back of this shelter is towards the womens camp. like shoulder-belts. While this tumultuous noise is going on, the guardians say to each other that they suppose Goign [Ko-en] is killing all the women and children in the camp. The [women], who played a part in this ceremony were made to lie down around the edge of the oval, al- though whether within or outside the defined ring I am not able to say with certainty. If the ground is wet and cold, pieces of bark are spread upon it for the women to lie upon. The rays of the sun then accomplished the remainder of the task. Material on this site has different rights, uses, and permissions associated with it. a stir when a detachment entered the circle, and with dancing, yelling, and gesticulations, and brandishing of arms at intervals, all made a rush to the fire, yelling, and jumping on it until extinguished, when they retired. You can use this to build on. The white men, who are still holding each others hands, swing their arms up and down as. The wordgames anagrams, crossword, Lettris and Boggle are provided by Memodata. The body, nicely tied up in bark, was carried to it by friends of the deceased. One of them at last got up, took a sheet of bark, laid it across the grave, and stretched himself upon, it, crying pitifully. Gordon Bennett (reprinted 1964) p11-12. . A dreamtime story from the Wonnarua explains how the hills and rivers in the Hunter Valley were created by a spirit called Baiame. Add new content to your site from Sensagent by XML. The Australian Museum respects and acknowledges the Gadigalpeople as the FirstPeoples and TraditionalCustodians ofthe land and waterways on which theMuseumstands. leaves which have been prepared for them, between the fire and the embankment bounding the ring, their guardians sitting down behind them in such a way that each boy may be said to be sitting in a mans lap. Saturday, 8th June. Dungog Chronicle : Durham and Gloucester Advertiser (NSW : 1894 - 1954) Fri 17 Aug 1923 Page 3 Early Recollections of Dungog. While the ceremonies were in progress, there would be an incessant noise of the bull-roarers (flat notched sticks whirled at the end of a cord to drive off debbil- debbils, keep the women at a distance, and impart the correct amount of terror to the trembling lads who were soon to become men. 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. Not only did many of these children die, those who survived were almost invariably rendered infertile, a hugely significant factor in Aboriginal depopulation. In referring to the Manning River blacks he mentions two . In every creek and in every gully lay dead blacks. After performing Divine service in the forenoon, I left Mr. White to do so in the afternoon, and set off at 2, accompanied by Captain Moffatt for Tellighary, where we arrived at little past five, and slept , there there that night. Backhouse also noted the Giant Lily (Doryanthus excelsa) flourishing along the route from Newcastle to Threlkelds mission on Lake Macquarie. Two old men, and two of the elder women, now go inside the ring, of men and boys, and walk round - a man and a woman going one way, and the other man and woman going in the contrary direction. Before Baime there was nothing, everything was sleeping. All the things were placed at the dead mans head, and the grave was then filled in. Hunger made the poor savage mad, but I trust that will not be his fate again. But very seldom did they eat them raw. Starving Aboriginal people began killing stock. All these pantomimic representations are largely mixed with abominable and obscene gestures. The end piece, comprising the barb, or pointed tip, was affixed to the main shaft very skilfully, con- sidering that the hole for its recep- tion had to be bored with a piece of hard-wood, twirled between the hands, the best substitute for an auger procurable. The Wonnarua people's traditional lands are located in the Hunter Valley area of New South Wales. Michael Smiths The Kutthung dialect on a deleted website accessible through, the Wayback Machine, https://goo.gl/twRvRg (KTT). Wonnarua Nation Strategic Plan 2009-2012 - https://goo.gl/HVVNFo. And the aborigines there being contaminated and emboldened by such example have lately become most troublesome at the different stations in that locality, killing sheep and spearing cattle, without concealment, and when spo- ken to threaten the lives of the shepherds. In general he precedes the coming of natives from distant parts, when they assemble to celebrate certain of their ceremonies, such as the knocking out of teeth in the mystic ring, or when they are performing some dance. According to the Wonnarua dreamtime the Hunter Valley was created by the great spirit, Baime (Byamee). The tail of a squirrel or opossum has previously been fastened on the side of this hole by one of the men, unknown to the boys, to convey the idea that the rest of the animal is within. Even the casual white man, uninitiated Into the ways of the chase, could have gleaned a living with little difficulty in that land of milk and honey. The headmen now ask the women to come up close, and the mother of each boy sits on the ground just outside the ring, near her son; his sisters and relatives are a little farther off, and the other women and children outside of the last named. Fanny implored us to maintain silence about the find, her perturbation being so intense and impressing us so strongly, that we never mentioned the matter afterwards. If it chanced the long white worms commonly found in bush animals, these would be swallowed with with rare gusto as the greatest delicacy of all. Two fled south, one of whom (an elderly man) was overtaken early in the pursuit; the other a man named Green traversed the wild mountain[s] .. of the Upper Gloucester, Monkerai, Wangat and Chichester Rivers, resting only to fly again from the sounds of his relentless dusky pursuers. The men would decorate themselves with pipe-clay and ochre, painting fantastic patterns about their faces and bodies, and they would wear head-dresses of weird and wonderful designs. A row of fires are lit in front of this shelter, and beyond these fires the surface of the ground is cleared of all loose rubbish and grass for a distance of several yards, the rubbish forming a sort of embankment around the farther side of the cleared space. I have seen small nails used for tipping spears, lances made in this fashion being particularly dead- ly. . |Last modifications, Copyright 2000-2022 sensagent Corporation: Online Encyclopedia, Thesaurus, Dictionary definitions and more. Thomas Rodwell being sworn, saidI am a free man residing at Mr. Mackenzies establishment at Williams River; Mr. M. is resident magistrate there; on a Thursday morning in April, about two oclock, I was awoke by two of Mr. Archibald Mossmans men, who informed me on the previous night they had been attacked by a party of blacks, and that they expected before they returned to the station, the remainder of the men there would be murdered by them; the distance between the two stations, is about seven miles; I acquainted Mr. M. of the circumstance, and he gave me some arms and ammunition, and told me if I could find any men on his or Mr. Mossmans stations, to take them with me, and apprehend two or three of the depredaters; I mustered seven stand of arms and ammunition; I and the two men, who came with the information there, went to Mr. Mossmans, where we obtained six other men, making in the whole party nine persons, all of whom were armed save two, and we then went to the blacks camp, which was about two miles from Mr. Mossmans station [on the opposite bank of present day Seaham], near a small creek; when we arrived there, we saw about 20 black men; we divided ourselves into two parties; a blackboy, called Lumpy, who we took with us, pointed out the blacks to us; we had seven stand of arms, which we did not conceal from the blacks; the deceased John Flynn, was not in the same party with me, but both parties were to meet before we went up to the blacks, with whom we intended to speak peaceably. 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