The Mutumui were an indigenous Australian people of northern Queensland.

Language

The name of the Mutumui language, now extinct, was Eibole, of which a dialect called Ongwara ('northern talk') was spoken to their north.

Country

The Mutumui's traditional territory spread out over an estimated , covering the area of Bathurst Bay and

Cape Melville Cape Melville is a headland on the eastern coast of the Cape York Peninsula in Australia. To its west lies Princess Charlotte Bay. It is part of the Cape Melville National Park. Cape Melville was named Stoney Cape in 1815 by Lieutenant Charles ...

southwards, at Barrow Point and the vicinity of the Starcke and Jeannie Rivers.

Social organization and people

The Mutumui were divided into several hordes/bands, each speaking a distinct dialect version of Mutumui, and of which the probable names of two are known:- * ''Karbungga.'' This was the band at the Jeannie River * ''Mbambylmu.'' at Jack River. * ''

Ithu The Ithu were an indigenous Australian people of the eastern coast of the Cape York Peninsula, northern Queensland. Country The Ithu's territory, including Noble Island, the adjacent reefs, and islands, such as Howick within the Howick island ...

''? Though tooth avulsion was practiced in the area, among the Mutumui is reported to have formed part of the initiatory ceremony itself. The Mutumui were essentially shore dwellers, mainly in the area around Murdoch Point and Bathurst Bay. They would make forays into the sandstone hinterland on occasion in pursuit of honey, and to hunt opossums and rock wallabies.

History

The

Palmer river goldrush Palmer may refer to: People and fictional characters * Palmer (pilgrim), a medieval European pilgrim to the Holy Land * Palmer (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Palmer (surname), including a list of people and f ...

following from its discovery in the area 1873 led to a large influx of people seeking to pan for quick riches during the decade of the 1870s, and this surge led to conflict and massacres during the subsequent occupation of the general region just south of the Mutumui. The Aboriginal sacred sites at

Clack Island Clack Island is part of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park at the tip of Cape Melville, Queensland in Bathurst Bay, Australia. It is north-east of Denham Island and Flinders Island Flinders Island, the largest island in the Furneaux ...

were ransacked for objects from the indigenous cultural patrimony, which included sacred bark paintings, when the physician and naturalist Richard Coppinger on board the British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular ...

, .

Punitive expedition A punitive expedition is a military journey undertaken to punish a political entity or any group of people outside the borders of the punishing state or union. It is usually undertaken in response to perceived disobedient or morally wrong beh ...

s in the area were carried out following the discovery of Mary Watson's remains in 1882. She had been on

Lizard Island Lizard Island is an island on the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland (Australia), northwest of Brisbane and part of the Lizard Island Group that also includes Palfrey Island. It is part of the Lizard Island National Park. Lizard Island is within t ...

and after clashes with local aborigines, which led to the spearing of speared her Chinese cook, led to punitive expeditions against the natives through this area in the early 1880s. Reports of this would have reached the Mutumui and

nearby.

Alternative names and spellings

* ''Mutumi.'' * ''Baulam.'' ( Bakanambia

exonym An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, o ...

) * ''Karbungga.'' * ''Eibole.'' * ''Ongwara.'' * ''Jugaiwatha.'' * ''Mbambylmu.''

Notes

Citations

Sources

* * * * * * {{authority control Aboriginal peoples of Queensland