Yirrganydji
The Aborigines of yirrganydji people , especially as Irukandji written are the original inhabitants of a narrow coastal region in Djabugay Country . The Coastal People lived in the area north from the Barron River in ( Queensland ) to Port Douglas on the Mowbray River. The Yirrganydji lived from fishing in the sea until recently. Their language is called Yirrgay, it is a Djabugay dialect .
Way of life
The Yirrganydji lived in huts between the sand dunes on the beach, which were covered with palm leaves and tree bark against the rain. They made fires against the mosquitoes and ate fish, eels , turtles , oysters and crustaceans . It is documented that in 1876, during the time of European settlement, outrigger canoes that were made of red cedar wood moved on rivers and along the coasts. As a tribe of hunters and gatherers, they also hunted wallabies , bandicoots , pythons , lizards, fruit bats, cassowaries and other bird species on the rivers and in the coastal regions . The women gathered yams , figs, plums, nuts and berries.
At the end of the dry season, they burned off the native vegetation in a controlled manner in order to make the soil fertile again for the coming growth phase.
Barter
At "Palm Cove" they met with neighboring Aboriginal tribes to exchange, celebrate festivals and carry out their initiation ceremonies. Marriages were agreed, which also served to make covenants or to resolve disputes. They exchanged necklaces made from nautilus shells , coolamon (woven baskets), shields and weapons.
Billy Jagar
From the tribe of Aborigines of Yirriganydji is Billy Jagar ( King of Barron ), an Elder of Yirriganydji made famous, who died in 1930th He was pictured with his King plate in 1896 and became well known because 60 years after his death, two American siblings, Margaret and Laura Cuprak, brought the king plate back to Cairns , which hung in their family living room during their childhood . The father brought the King plate with him from his military service in Fiji during World War II .