Waranga Dreaming
When a major new project is in the planning stages, one of the requirements may be to have a Cultural Heritage Management Report (CMHR) prepared. In the case of projects that might impact on Aboriginal cultural heritage, this would normally be done by suitably qualified experts e.g. an archaeologist,
Waranga Dreaming
When European colonisation began in northern Victoria, hot on the hells of the Major Mitchell expedition, Aboriginal people quickly lost access to their ancestral Country. With that loss of access came an inability to harvest the land to produce the varied diet that had kept them healthy for millennia. They
Waranga Dreaming
Oral history brings us plenty of interesting material about the Aboriginal people who lived in the Waranga area prior to and just after the start of colonisation. One snippet that has been handed down in the Ryan family relates to a corroboree in the Corop lakes area, witnessed by Matthew
Waranga Dreaming
It seems that there were still Aboriginal people moving through the Waranga area just over a century ago. Whether they were descendants of the traditional Ngurai-illum Wurrung custodians following old songlines is not clear. Perhaps they were people just looking for itinerant work. In 1912, seven-year-old Charlie Furphy of “Sand
Waranga Dreaming
In the Kulin Nation, a loose confederation of half a dozen groups of Aboriginal people who spoke similar languages, it was standard practice for women to marry into a clan outside of their own. People in the Kulin Nation also belonged to one of two moieties – Bunjil (the wedge-tailed eagle)
Waranga Dreaming
We do not know very much about the early ancestors of the man known to the colonists as “King Charles” Tattambo. One of his probable relatives was a man called Chimbri, who died at the Goulburn River Aboriginal Protectorate station in 1842 from “bilious fever.” He was one of sixteen
Waranga Dreaming
Elizabeth Charlotte “Lizzie” Hylett, the granddaughter of Tattambo and “Mary” was living with her mother Jenny at Avenel when she sought refuge with the Kelly family, of Ned fame/infamy. Ned’s father John “Red” Kelly died at Avenel in 1866 and is buried in the town cemetery. “Red” was
Waranga Dreaming
There are very few photographs of Ngurai-illum Wurrung people taken during the colonial period. Of these, only a handful appear to have been taken on Ngurai-illum Wurrung country. Fortunately, there are some photos of Jenny and Lizzie Hylett (mentioned in the previous story) and Jenny’s parents, “King Charles” Tattambo
Waranga Dreaming
The best known Ngurai-illum Wurrung person from the colonial era was the man known as “King Charles” Tattambo, who was buried in the Murchison cemetery in early 1868. At the time, Aboriginal people were forced to use European names, which accounts for the fact that Tattambo’s son from his
Waranga Dreaming
During the period of colonisation, Aboriginal people in the Waranga area went through profound social changes. This was caused by a combination of factors, including demographic changes (i.e. a severe decline in population), lack of access to Country/home and a rapidly changing economy. Many of the social changes
Waranga Dreaming
Aboriginal communities in the Waranga area were massively impacted by colonisation. In the face of invasion of their Country, the traditional custodians had a number of options open to them.1 As noted in the previous story, some bands may have been forced to retreat over traditional boundaries, effectively trespassing
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