Wathaurong
The Wathaurong , also called Wada wurrung , are a tribe of the Australian Aborigines who live near Melbourne , Geelong and the Bellarine Peninsula , as do the Kulin Aborigines . The Wathaurong area stretched from the south side of the Werribee River to Port Phillip , the Bellarine Peninsula, the Otway Forest and northwest to Mount Emu and Mount Misery. Their territory also included the Ballarat gold fields .
Before the European settlement, there were 25 clans. A tribal leader or elder was called by them Arweed , who had the same social status as a Ngurungaeta of the Wurundjeri aborigines.
history
The Wathaurong have lived in this area for 25,000 years. 140 archaeological sites have been discovered in this region that are of great importance to the Wathaurong.
Clans on the Wada Wurrung coast had contact with John Murray when he came to Indented Head and named Swan Bay . Likewise met Matthew Flinders Wada Wurrung when he at Indented Head camped and the You Yangs climbed in May 1802nd
massacre
When Lieutenant David Collins , the colony on Sullivan Bay, Victoria founded in October 1803, he sent Lieutenant J. Tuckey to explore Corio Bay , where he shot and wounded some Aborigines. William Buckley , a convict, escaped from the unsuccessful Sullivan Bay settlement in December 1803 and was adopted by Wada wurrung balug because they believed he was the resurrected Murrangurk , a major past leader. Buckley lived in this community for 32 years between 1803 and 1835 before making contact with the John Batman expedition on July 6, 1835.
The European settlement of the Wada wurrung area began in the early 1835s, which was carried out by the occupiers around the Geelong area and further west. The settlement was perceived as an invasion by the Aborigines and generated resistance, sheep were stolen from the Aborigines, leading to conflict and sometimes massacre of them.
Only a few massacres brought the settlers to justice. This has happened on a few occasions, such as the murders of Woolmdugin on October 7, 1836, when John Whitehead was brought to trial in Sydney. This case was put down for lack of evidence. Since then, the Aborigines had lost confidence in the courts. The incident was well documented, unlike other incidents that were never officially documented. Neil Black, a land squat in Western Victoria, wrote on December 9, 1838 of the prevailing mindset of many settlers:
- " The best way [to procure a run] is to go outside and take up a new run, provided the conscience of the party is sufficiently seared to enable him without remorse to slaughter natives right and left. It is universally and distinctly understood that the chances are very small indeed of a person taking up a new run being able to maintain possession of his place and property without having recourse to such means - sometimes by wholesale ... "
Table: Massacre in the Wada wurrung area up to 1859
| date | area | Aboriginal | Europeans | Aboriginal dead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 1803 | Corio Bay | Wada wurrung, possibly Yaawangi or Wada wurrung balug | Lieutenant J. Tuckey and others | Two people |
| October 17, 1836 | Barwon River , Barrabool Hills | Wada worrung balug clan | John Whitehood, encouraged by Frederick Taylor | Woolmudgin aka Curacoine |
| Summer 1837-1838 | Golf Hill Station, Yarrowee River, north of Inverleigh | Wada worrung clan unknown | A shepherd and a cabin owner employed by the Clyde company | Two people |
| June 1839-1840 | unknown | Wada worrung balug clan | soldiers | Three persons |
| November 25, 1847 | Anderson and Mills Public House, Buninyong | Wada worrung clan unknown | unknown | Two people |
Communities and life
The communities owned land, were linguistically related, and linked by cultural and mutual interests, totems , trade initiatives, and marriage rules.
Access to the land and resources of other clans was sometimes prohibited by the state. For example, if a body of water was fished out of season because fish stocks were running out, the fishing either had to be limited or stopped so that the fish stocks could recover. During this time, other resources were used as a source of food. This ensured the sustainable use of the resources while they were available. Like most other areas of the kulins, violations of traditional rules were punished with javelin throwing at those passing through. Today traditional areas, language groups and their borders are no longer in use and the descendants of the Wathaurong live in modern forms of society, although they try to preserve much of their culture.
Clans
The Wathaurong language was spoken by 25 clans south of the Werribee River and the Bellarine Peninsula to Streatham . They were sometimes referred to as Barrabool people by the Europeans and before the European settlement there existed 25 clans, each with an arweet or tribal leader.
| No. | Clan name | Approximate location |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barere barere balug | 'Colac' and 'Mt Bute' stations |
| 2 | Beerekwart balug | Mt. Emu |
| 3 | Bengalat balug | Indented head |
| 4th | Berrejin balug | Unknown |
| 5 | Boro gundidj | Yarrowee River |
| 6th | Burrumbeet gundidj | Lakes Burrumbeet and Learmonth |
| 6a | Keyeet balug | Mt Buninyong |
| 7th | Carringum balug | Carngham |
| 8th | Carininje balug | 'Emu Hill' Station, Linton Creek |
| 9 | Corac balug | 'Commeralghip' station and Kuruc-a-ruc Creek |
| 10 | Corrin corrinjer balug | Carranballac |
| 11 | Gerarlture balug | West of Lake Hodgepodge |
| 12 | Marpeang balug | Blackwood, Myrniong, and Baccus Marsh |
| 13 | Mear balug | Unknown |
| 14th | Moijerre balug | Mt. Emu Creek |
| 15th | Moner balug | 'Trawalla' station, Mt. Emu Creek |
| 16 | Monmart | Unknown |
| 17th | Neerer balug | Between Geelong and the You Yangs (Hovells Ck?) |
| 18th | Pakeheneek balug | Mt. Aries |
| 19th | Peerickelmoon balug | Near Mt. Misery |
| 20th | Tooloora balug | Mt Warrenheip , Lal-lal Creek, west of Moorabool R. |
| 21st | Woodealloke gundidj | Wardy Yalloak River, south of Kuruc-a-ruc Creek |
| 22nd | Wada worrung balug | Barrabool Hills |
| 23 | Wongerrer balug | End of the Wardy Yalloak River |
| 24 | Worinyaloke balug | West side of the Little River |
| 25th | Yaawangi | You Yang Hills |
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Tardis Enterprises Pty Ltd, cultural heritage advisors: Stockyard Hill Wind Farm - Desktop Cultural Heritage Assessment. ( Memento of July 6, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Retrieved November 9, 2008
- ^ Wathaurong People. Geelong City Council website. Retrieved November 9, 2008.
- ^ Ian D. Clark: Scars on the Landscape. A Register of Massacre sites in Western Victoria 1803-1859. P. 169, Aboriginal Studies Press, 1995, ISBN 0-85575-281-5 .
- ^ A b Ian D. Clark: Scars on the Landscape. A Register of Massacre sites in Western Victoria 1803-1859. Pp. 169-175, Aboriginal Studies Press, 1995, ISBN 0-85575-281-5 .
- ^ Ian D. Clark: Scars on the Landscape. A Register of Massacre sites in Western Victoria 1803-1859. P. 1, Aboriginal Studies Press, 1995, ISBN 0-85575-281-5 .
- ^ Ian D. Clark: Aboriginal Languages and Clans: An historical atlas of western and central Victoria. 1990 as referenced in: Aboriginal Heritage Wada wurrung Culture and History. ( Memento of November 2, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Our Precious Heritage website. Accessed November 2008.