Waranga Dreaming
Earlier stories have talked about the effects of smallpox epidemics and colonisation on the local Aboriginal people. In her 1999 thesis1, Margaret Taylor discussed the responses of Aboriginal people to these historical events. One of the possibilities was an increase in warfare between different groups. The sudden deaths of a
Waranga Dreaming
There is evidence to suggest that by the time European colonisers arrived in the Waranga area, the population of Ngurai-illum Wurrung people had already been dramatically impacted by smallpox epidemics. Around Sydney, where smallpox had a devastating effect on the local Aboriginal people in the first few years after the
Waranga Dreaming
A “large” meeting of Aboriginal people was reported near Elmore in 1865.1 The meeting took place nearly 30 years after squatters began to move into this part of Victoria. By then, the vast majority of Aboriginal people who had been the original custodians of the Country had either been
Waranga Dreaming
On Ngurai-illum Wurrung country, there would have been various types of gatherings. Quite often, just a family group consisting of the father, mother(s) and children would camp together. On other occasions, a clan may get together, which consisted of a number of these family groupings, linked through kinship. Also
Waranga Dreaming
As noted in the previous story, the complexity of structures at Ngurai-illum Wurrung campsites depended on a range of factors, including available resources, length of stay and prevailing weather conditions. Stone may have been used on occasions where it was available, but most shelters in this area were made from
Waranga Dreaming
When you think about Aboriginal structures in pre-colonial times, the first thought tends to be of what is commonly referred to as mia-mias – generally defined as “a temporary shelter of the Aborigines (sic), usually a simple frame of branches covered with bark, leaves, or grass”.1 These days, there is
Waranga Dreaming
Earlier stories in Waranga Dreaming talked about the epic journeys taken by Ngurai-illum Wurrung people to attend gatherings in what is now Melbourne. One of the events that was attended on an annual basis was the eel harvest that took place on creeks leading into the Yarra River. It was
Waranga Dreaming
When the squatter Edward Curr was recording Ngurai-illum Wurrung words, one of the obvious categories of words he chose was that of tools and weapons. These were important assets, on which life depended. Much time was spent preparing tools and weapons for use, then maintaining them in good condition. As
Waranga Dreaming
Continuing from the previous story, there were other categories of words that the squatter Edward Curr1 sought out when compiling his lists of Aboriginal words. Body parts were things that all languages would assign words to. Starting at the top, the Ngurai-illum Wurrung word for head, according to Curr, was
Waranga Dreaming
It would be amazing to be able to retrieve the language that was developed and spoken in the Waranga area over tens of thousands of years. By the time of European colonisation from the late 1830s, the Ngurai-illum Wurrung language was a separate language, one of around forty that existed
Waranga Dreaming
“Wurrung” means language, so the term Ngurai-illum Wurrung relates to the language of the Ngurai-illum people, who were custodians of the Waranga area for tens of thousands of years. Language groups were usually made up of a number of smaller clans, whose members all spoke that language, with some regional
Waranga Dreaming
It would be interesting to take a tour through the Waranga area prior to European colonisation, seeing it through the eyes of the Ngurai-illum Wurrung people who had been the custodians for tens of thousands of years. In the early years of squatting, from the late 1830s, it is unlikely