placed in a slanting position, forming a shelter, covered in on one side, leaving the other side open. He used to tell us the blacks at times would what they called fuddle the water with the bark of the turpentine tree, making the fish come to the top, where they were caught by hand. 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. 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. WNAC focuses on nurturing the history and culture of the Wonnarua Nation, improving the wellbeing of its members and managing investments to sustain the . The mother of each novice, before leaving the kackaroo, picks some small green bushes, which she ties on the top end of her yamstick. The triangle icon that indicates to play. 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. 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. As soon as the bull-roarers commenced to sound, the men of the new mob entered the goonambang, and walked round, and then started towards the kackaroo in a meandering line, in single file carrying their boomerangs and other weapons with them. A newly releasedindependent heritage review commissioned by the NSW Department of Planning as part of its assessment for the mine extension determined the Ravensworth Estate was "likely to meet the threshold for state heritage significance for its historical heritage value". In this section, find out everything you need to know about visiting the Australian Museum, how to get here and the extraordinary exhibitions on display. Fires were always kept burning about the camp. This means, that the big question remains unanswered. As soon as a black got hold of a white mans tomahawk, he would remove the handle to substitute it with one of his own fashioning. A. Cos men had sought shelter. 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. Fishing lines were cleverly made from the inner bark of young kurrajong trees, the finished article being of extraordinary strength and capable of landing the heaviest of edible fish. When one of these messengers arrives at the camp of the tribe he has been directed to summon, he sits down in sight of the mens quarters, and some of them go over to him, knowing by his manner that he is the bearer of news to their tribe. Sir The aboriginal black named in the margin [McCarthy,] for whose appre- hension a reward of 10 was offered some time since in the Govt Gazette, has lately made his appearance in this neighbourhood, and could be easily captured, but as. Figure 5: Richard Browne (17711824). like shoulder-belts. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Collection. The men took their share first and the women and children made a meal of what was left. Each singer seemed to be trying to outdo his neighbor in vociferation. The latter, on receiving this token of their concurrence, then selects a suitable plan in some part of his own territory where game is sufficiently plentiful to afford food for his visitors, and there he commences to prepare the ground. 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 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. A cave near Milbrodale contains many Wonnarua Aboriginal paintings, including a large figure of a man who may be Baiame. In th e endurance of pain the blackfellow Invariably exhibited the most surprising fortitude. A dreamtime story from the Wonnarua explains how the hills and rivers in the Hunter Valley were created by a spirit called Baiame. A canoe-shaped vessel of bark a couple of feet long, was half filled with water and placed near him. There have been as many as 2OO blacks at the Tillegra initiation ceremony, some coming from the Karuah. His photo is still hanging in the School of Arts. Nor would they return to the original spot for months. 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. The hair on the heads of the inovices is now singed, for the purpose of making the women believe that Goign has had them in the fire during their sojourn in the bush. The stripping operation was carried out with an exact judgment, lines being cut cross- wise with a tomahawk around and across the tree so that the section removed would be of the required size and shape. A dreamtime story from the Wonnarua explains how the hills and rivers in the Hunter Valley were created by a spirit called Baiame. The guardians also throw pieces of bark over the heads of the women. With this Captain Moffatt very promptly complied, and the men were mounted and off in an hour, and Mr. Chas. Some of the men go to the goonambang and camp there, and during the night they swing a bull-roarer at intervals, and the women at the kackaroo beat their rugs and sing in response, whilst the men give the customary shout. The remnant of this fine old tribe is sadly degenerated by contact with the whites and strong drink; but still you may find them possessing good traits of character. three inches In length affixed at a slight angle to receive the slightly hollowed end of the spear shaft. 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. [8], Media related to Hunter Valley at Wikimedia Commons. They, too, were buried at Violet Hill. The sparks would be gently blown upon until a flame appeared, when thereafter it was no trouble to build up a roaring fire. The men and the [women] cut their heads with various implements, until blood flowed freely. It was not peace but submission which was achieved and hate and distrust were buried in the Aboriginal subconscious. Sometimes, when a man was wracked with an internal spasm, he would have his wife pere-ally for him, an operation carried out in the following manner. 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. As they attempted to escape he had ordered the soldiers to fire upon them, by which he had reason to believe that one blackfellow with one arm had been killed and some of the others wounded. One author [anonymous] used a crossed d to denote a td sound. Day broke and the sleeping blacks arose. The fat so stolen was greatly prized and was divided among the adults who anointed their bodies with it, and generally carried portions with them in the belief that the prowess and virtues of the deceased would pass to them. Most English definitions are provided by WordNet . During winter would hunt kangaroos, emus, possums and wombats, fish and other animals. At the keelaybang a camp is formed by erecting a long, continuous gunyah or mia-mia in the following manner. As the neophytes are held. When he had finished, he returned to the sky and people called him the Sky Hero or All Father or Sky Father. Many years later Enright (1937-40:91) wrote of having been given a grinding stone which had been found on the bank of the creek at Milgarra, near Bunnan. The noise was something like a drum. on which a few embers were always burning. 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. I happened to have a few emu feathers stuck in the band of my hat as an ornament. 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. 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. Company first established itself on the shores of the harbor. They were fond, too, of pets, for the place was always alive with parrots, bears, opossums, squirrels, kangaroo rats and bandicoots that had been caught in the bush and tamed to the domesticity of camplife. 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.. . Until the Great Sky Spirit Baiame opened his eyes'. The diameters of this oval space were 28 feet and 20 feet respectively, being smaller than the oval near the camp. It was this ordeal that tested their physical and emotional abilities almost to breaking point. This was to show that they were [grieving]. 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. These arrivals generally take place in the afternoon a few hours before sundown. 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. 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. When they get to the rear, they turn round and again throw pieces of hark over the heads of the men and boys. A stockman hav- ing come from Baker station, where Mr. Chas. A service provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 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 fishing line was called ylrra- warn, and the hook pirrewuy. Some of the hooks were fashioned of bone after the primitive style, but they usually preferred the hooks that my father was able to supply. Their songs consisted mostly of a few lines, repeat- ed over and over again, with a loudly shouted wy-yahng as a re- frain. I never knew the blacks to steal anything from our premises except water-melons, of which they were extremely fond. There were short boards nailed across the dangerous parts. On the following morning he would accompany the men to the weengarah, or meeting place where they assemble to discuss all such matters as they do not wish the women or uninitiated youths to take part in. . After this outrage the natives dividedone body seeking shelter south-west towards the Upper Arundel. 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. Throughout the Gringai country [there] were many [aboriginal cemeteries]. This is done in the following, manner: At the end of a certain time of probation, which is fixed by the headmen, the neophytes, painted and dressed as men of the tribe, are brought to a fire near the mens camp, where there is food ready laid on rugs spread upon the ground. Online help is available anytime from other FamilySearch users. The juvenile males of this (the Dungog) tribe were, from the age of about twelve to eighteen, allowed to accompany their parents and friends in hunting excursions, and assisted in the incidental fagging necessary about the camps. The bush provided the secular climax of the ceremony. Bail catch fish, he said. Material on this site has different rights, uses, and permissions associated with it. In some parts of the tract of country to which the ceremonies herein described apply, one of the front incisor teeth was formerly extracted during the time the novices were away at the keelaybang, but as this custom is not now enforced anywhere From conversations which I have had with very old black fellows, there appear to be some grounds for supposing that the custom was not universally carried out in the districts referred to. of the same class ran off together they were punished by death if captured.A man was not permitted to speak to his wifes mother and could only do so through a third party. The Wonnarua. There is none left now of the populous tribe that once inhabited the district, and the sole surviving relic, poor, unfortunate Brandy passed to the care of the great spirit, Coen, more than fifteen years ago. They never seemed to tire of the diet, and the schools of mullet yielded them more than enough for their wants during the period they would be in the harbor. It means a place to be shunned. 'gxI'wHOs$;I qv,1*dFnuv1:d8G+2(Qke >W8T 9s+-uanLm Having gone round in this manner two or three times, the men and women come out, and the white mob keep closing in nearer and nearer the fire - the guardians and novices being in the centre. The blacks living in the district that extends from just about where Brookfield now is to the headwaters of the Chichester and the Williams belonged to a tribe known as the Gringai. They used to start and cry at nightfall and beginning with a very low moan that would rise to a high shriek. The men also decorate themselves in their full regalia. Give contextual explanation and translation from your sites ! Dungog Chronicle : Durham and Gloucester Advertiser (NSW : 1894 - 1954) Fri 18 Mar 1927 Page 5 Early Days Of Port Stephens. in that locality. 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