Wurundjeri

The Wurundjeri are Indigenous Australians of the Kulin nation, who occupy the Birrarung Valley, its tributaries and the present location of Melbourne, Australia. Prior to European settlement, they lived as all people of the Kulin nation lived, sustainably on the land, predominantly as hunters and gatherers, for tens of thousands of years. Seasonal changes in the weather, availability of foods and other factors would determine where campsites were located, many near the Birrarung and its tributaries.

Wurundjeri people spoke the Woiwurrung language. The term Wurundjeri is paired with the term Woiwurrung in that both refer to the same region. Wurundjeri refers to the people who occupy the territory, while Woiwurrung refers to the language group shared by the clans within the territory. The Wurundjeri peoples territory extended from north of the Great Dividing Range, east to Mount Baw Baw, south to Mordialloc Creek and west to Werribee River. Their lands bordered the Gunai/Kurnai people to the east in Gippsland, and the Bunurong people to the south on the Mornington Peninsula. Wurundjeri people take their name from the word wurun meaning Manna Gum (Eucalyptus viminalis) which is common along the Birrarung.

History

The Wurundjeri people bore the brunt of the effects of British settlement in the Melbourne area. In 1842 the Native Police Corps was formed, based at Narre Warren, but later moved to Merri Creek. In 1863 the surviving members of the Wurundjeri and other Woiwurrung speakers were given 'permissive occupancy' of Coranderrk Station, near Healesville and forcibly resettled . Despite numerous petitions, letters, and delegations to the Colonial and Federal Government, the grant of this land in compensation for the country lost was refused. Coranderrk was closed in 1924 and its occupants again moved to Lake Tyers in Gippsland.

All remaining Aboriginal people of the Woiwurrung or Wurundjeri people are descendants from Jemima and Robert Wandin. (says Wurundjeri Elder, Ian Hunter) source: http://www.freshwater.net.au/wurundjeri/melbourne_aboriginal_hunter_lineage.htm the website also has several Wurundjeri Dreamtime Stories. At the beginning of the twenty first century descendants of the Wurundjeri-willam look to their people's future. Joy Murphy Wandin, a Wurundjeri Elder, said:

In the recent past, Wurundjeri culture was undermined by people being forbidden to "talk culture" and language. Another loss was the loss of children taken from families. Now, some knowledge of the past must be found and collected from documents. By finding and doing this, Wurundjeri will bring their past to the present and recreate a place of belonging. A "keeping place" should be to keep things for future generations of our people, not a showcase for all, not a resource to earn dollars. I work towards maintaining the Wurundjeri culture for Wurundjeri people into the future. (People of the Merri Merri, 1999).

The Jindyworobak Movement claim to have taken their name from a Woiwurrung phrase jindi worobak meaning to annex or join.

Structure, Borders and Land Use

Communities consisted of six or more (depending on the extent of the territory) land-owning groups called clans that spoke a related language and were connected through cultural and mutual interests, totems, trading initiatives and marriage ties. Access to land and resources, such as the Birrarung, by other clans, was sometimes restricted depending on the state of the resource in question. For example; if a river or creek had been fished regularly throughout the fishing season and fish supplies were down, fishing was limited or stopped entirely by the clan who owned that resource until fish were given a chance to recover. During this time other resources were utalised for food. This ensured the sustained use of the resources available to them. As with most other Kulin territories, penalties such as spearings were enforced upon tresspassers. Today, traditional clan locations, language groups and borders are no longer in use and decendents of Wurundjeri people live within modern day society.

Clans

It is generally considered that prior to European settlement, six separate clans existed:

Wurundjeri-balluk & Wurundjeri-willam - Yarra Valley, Yarra River catchment area to Heidelberg
Balluk-willam - south of the Yarra Valley extending down to Dandenong, Cranbourne, Koo-wee-rup Swamp
Gunnung-willam-balluk - east of the Great Dividing Ranges and north to Lancefield
Kurung-jang-balluk - Werribee River to Sunbury
Marin-balluk (Boi-berrit) - land west of the Maribyrnong River and Sunbury
Kurnaje-berreing - the land between the Maribyrnong and Yarra Rivers

Language

Main article: Woiwurrung language

The Wurundjeri people were part of the Woiwurrung language group, each clan spoke a slight variation of the Woiwurrung language. Some basic terms include;

bulluk, balluk - swamp
Nira - cave
willam, wilam, Illam, yilam - hut, camp, bark
gunung, gunnung - river

Religion

Main article: Australian Aboriginal mythology

The Wurundjeri people shared the same belief system as other Kulin nation territories, based on a creative epoch known as the Dreamtime which stretches back into a remote era in history when the creator ancestors known as the First Peoples travelled across the land, creating and naming as they went. Indigenous Australia's oral tradition and religious values are based upon reverence for the land and a belief in this Dreamtime. The Dreaming is at once both the ancient time of creation and the present day reality of Dreaming. There were a great many different groups, each with their own individual culture, belief structure, and language. These cultures overlapped to a greater or lesser extent, and evolved over time. The two moeity totems of the Wurundjeri people are Bunjil the Eaglehawk and Waang the Crow.

Significant Locations

Birrarung - the primary river flowing through the territory, a major food source.
Warrandyte - a gorge in the middle reaches of the Birrarung, named for the actions of the dreamtime figure "Bunjil"
Merri Merri - where the Merri Creek enters the Birrarung, a frequent location for corroborees.

Notable People

Notable Wurundjeri people at the time of British settlement included:

Billibellary, (c1799 - 10 August, 1846) ngurungaeta of the Wurundjeri-willam clan
Simon Wonga (c1824 - 1874), ngurungaeta and son of Billibellary
William Barak (c1824 - 1903), last traditional ngurungaeta of the Wurundjeri-willam clan
Tullamareena
Derrimut (Indigenous Australian)

References

People of the Merri Merri. The Wurundjeri in Colonial Days. (1999), Isabel Ellender and Peter Christiansen ISBN 0-9577728-0-7
The First Residents of Melbourne's Western Region. Gary Presland ISBN 0-646-33150-7
Aboriginal Melbourne. The lost land of the Kulin people Gary Presland ISBN 0-9577004-2-3

External links