The site is listed on the Register of the National Estate and is considered a sacred site. Oral history tells us that by 1840 the natural food supplies were almost exhausted. For instance, a party of us were preparing to go fishing in Fame Cove under the guidance of Billy Steward, a man who had once been steward on a boat. To get the best possible experience using our website we recommend that you upgrade to a newer version or install another browser. Each tribe take their own novices away with them, and put them through the remaining stages of initiation in their own country. Flash Tommy was almost killed and lay insensible for several days. On another occasion, at a much later date, I came across another initiation ceremony when proceeding through the bush. Macarty then took the whites and put us across the creek where the dam now is. Check out the What's On calendar of events, workshops and school holiday programs. This was done and Mr. Donelan accompanied me himself to Stroud, while the constables and soldiers went by water to Booral. He is a Koori 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. Change the target language to find translations. Close to the eastern side of the general encampment was the kackeroo, 40 feet by 29 feet, from which the yippang or path led away on a bearing of N. 85 E., ascending some sloping ground for a distance of 17 chains to the goonambang, on the crest of a low ridge. 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. As soon as the mothers are covered over, they are directed to continue making a low humming or buzzing sound, in order that they may not hear the guardians taking away the novices. After the dances and games are over, one of the men sometimes sounds a goonandhakeea (excrement-eater) in the bush near the camp. About this fire, and in lines radiating from the centre like spokes of a wheel, were a number of naked blacks, their heads bowed to the earth. . The Wonnarua Nation Aboriginal Corporation was established in 1999 and represents the Wonnarua people. A dreamtime story from the Wonnarua explains how the hills and rivers in the Hunter Valley were created by a spirit called Baiame. For more information go to http://www.dec.nsw.gov.au/footer/copyright. . The fire got rid of those. A small collection from a cultural giant, discover the objects from China held in the Australian Museum's World Cultural Collection. 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. . 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. It was also here at the goonambang that the boys experienced what was to be their harshest physical ordeal of the ceremony. 1820. exposed pith of the under piece. The law claimed yet another victim. This left a white, flax- like fibre, very tough and strong. I verily believe that they would have held a shark. They would treat him hospitably, and talk with him about general matters of tribal interest. The belt and four tails or kilts are now put upon each boy, as well as head-bands, and bands across the body. Before the advent of the whites to the district it was death for a man to speak to her, and for many years after settlement was first established the punishment was a temporary banishment from the camp. As it reached a terrific climax it ceased suddenly, to be succeeded by great shouting and yelling from the men. If he wants to micturate, the guardian leads him out to the fire, and he micturates in the ashes. Captain Moffatt and I agreed to set off at 2 to-morrow, that nothing may be left undone on this lamentable occasion. Then they would begin on their own account. [8] If it is intended to erect the camp only a little way off, the pole is short; but if the new camp is some distance away, the pole is long. About the middle 30s there occurred a grim tragedy on the A. . The A. The flesh was never more than half roasted indeed it was sometimes almost raw. The latter keep marching on, and the keerang follow them till they arrive at a water-hole or running stream, which has previously been agreed upon as a suitable bathing place. When I departed from Port Stephens in 1873 to go to Queensland the tribe had dwindled to about fifty members. 30 Editable Family Tree Templates [100% Free] March 27, 2021 8 Mins Read. The clean, white bark was then split into string, and crocheted into dilly bags and such. Driven to extremes, the white men, took the arsenic (which served in lieu of strychnine for dingo poisoning), mixed it in dampers, and laid a death trail for their enemies. The two men now separate, one going round one side, and one round the other, and again meet at the entrance of the goonambang, where they stand and dance, shaking their boughs and boomerangs for a brief period. up in the smoke, the men raise a guttural shout, and the women wave their arms up and down. Within the cleared space, and on one side of it was a crude wooden effigy, colored vividly with some red pigment, having a cross-piece for arms, and a striking head-dress of grass and bark similar to the pattern used by the blacks when stalking kangaroos. 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. The seeds of Zamia spiralis [a species of cycad] were soaked in a creek or swamp for several weeks, pounded and then roasted (Threlkeld in Gunsom 1974:55; Backhouse 1843:380). Some with animals, others with birds and hands cut out of the bark. I have mentioned that the aboriginals (possessed a keen sense of humor and were marvellously clever mimics. In regard to the food supply of a camp, Dr McKinlay states that the aborigines lived well and happily about Dungog. The rhizome of this fern, probably Blechnum sp. Everything was sleeping. The business of fishing was per- haps the most important of all to the natives. Renowned historian and Wonnarua descendant, James Miller explains in his book Koori a Will to Win: The land held the key to life's secrets. The mothers of the novices are painted with red and white stripes on the face, chest and arms. It means a place to be shunned. The bush provided the secular climax of the ceremony. I have been to two corroborees, said Mr. Irwin. Dungog Chronicle : Durham and Gloucester Advertiser (NSW : 1894 - 1954) Fri 12 Nov 1926 Page 3 VENGEANCE ON THE BLACKS. Mathews, R.H. 1897. On the bank of the Kerripit almost in front of the homestead at Stobo lie the remains of these old-time shepherds. Hurst wrote that fatal disease, introduced by licentious Europeans interfered with the natural source of supply and increase. . But a Wonnarua Indigenous group believes the project will cause the destruction of centuries of Aboriginal history. Take your designs to the next level. The novices entered the water first, and as each boy plunged in, the men standing around gave a shout. Summarize this article for a 10 years old, The Wonnarua people, otherwise written Wanarruwa, are a group of Aboriginal Australian people united by strong ties of kinship, and who survived in family groups or clans scattered along the inland area of what is now known as the Upper Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia. There have been as many as 2OO blacks at the Tillegra initiation ceremony, some coming from the Karuah. This was carefully secured, taken out into the bay, and, with great solemnity, committed to the deep. The attire usually consisted of a kangaroo skin tied round the middle with a belt of fibre or sinews. The settlers from the Williams River side came across to the head of the Gloucester driving the blacks before them while the settlers on this side drove all the blacks up the river and at last cornered them on the small flat above McKenzies cliffs where they shot men women and children without mercy or consideration. At Port Stephens, where the tribe numbered in the vicinity of a hundred persons, men, women and children, two totems did duty for the community. Wong-ko-bi-kan, an aboriginal native, was indicted for the wilful murder of John Flynn, by wounding him with a spear at Williams River on the 3rd April last, of which wound he lingered until the 6th following, and then died. My fathers name was called first, followed by quite a number of others, when suddenly, on a certain name being mentioned, the bearers of the body lurched forward as though the corpse had moved. 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. Hence the name Baal Belbora. Groups living near the Wonnarua include the Darkinjung and the Wirad Instinct and. The soldiers came by boat via Newcastle and landing at Clarence Town marched in search of the tribe of blacks. Fanny, on seeing it, became greatly agitated and ordered me to restore it to its hiding place at once. News travelled slowly in those far-off days of 1838/39 from this then remote settlement, but as time went on most exaggerated reports began to filter in and reach the authorities in Newcastle and Sydney. One in particular was situated near the Allyn River not far from the town the white man now calls Gresford. x\{xT_fL! $$!fdS!>p&QTD Ujmoql GjKj[Bks" Y[k^{g7(HxB`Kh[-_2H|v*u/'JKxkko"r6_z+Su,o?x(wDYQqEufWES^v0*X_9X+vxI6EZ|zd$]-/tdy.%(RVdD&WD/?K /T:}LFEay*h7~FE36obV*z2[-CFz~>/-r5 ' x^|XjU~H!-t]!KWjBaZN}{NRHgEB=hSE*wQ'D[t5mt/fqms94_~imuIXI%AnEb]~7MeI7g9?k&3 Shortly there was. Creating a family tree on Microsoft word is simple and straightforward. 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 . Carrington [on the north- ern shore of Poet Stephens] was a considerable establishment, although declining in importance, as the Company by that time was transferring the main centre of Its activities elsewhere. Not only did many of these children die, those who survived were almost invariably rendered infertile, a hugely significant factor in Aboriginal depopulation. By some unerring instinct the blacks knew to within a day when the first of the great shoals would appear through the heads. must be carried bv them, when going from place to place, till they again meet their brothers at the kweealbang. Material on this site has different rights, uses, and permissions associated with it. Black Jack Macarty, another native who had some authority let out a terrible yell and the fight stopped for a while. This, I was told, was the end, but to me it now seems clear that it was the beginning of the ceremonies, being the time when the contingents have arrived, and before the final part when the boys who are initiated are taken from their mothers. In particular was situated near the Wonnarua include the Darkinjung and the Wirad Instinct and the tribe had dwindled about! 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