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The Wathaurong nation, also called the Wathaurung, Wadawurrung and Wadda Wurrung, are an
Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait I ...
people living in the area near
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...
,
Geelong Geelong ( ) ( Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the south eastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon ...
and the
Bellarine Peninsula The Bellarine Peninsula ( Wathawurrung: ''Balla-wein'' or ''Biteyong'') is a peninsula located south-west of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, surrounded by Port Phillip, Corio Bay and Bass Strait. The peninsula, together with the Mornington ...
in the state of
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
. They are part of the Kulin alliance. The Wathaurong language was spoken by 25 clans south of the
Werribee River The Werribee River is a perennial river of the Port Phillip catchment that is located on the expansive lowland plain southwest of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The headwaters of a tributary, the Lerderderg River, are north of Ballan near ...
and the
Bellarine Peninsula The Bellarine Peninsula ( Wathawurrung: ''Balla-wein'' or ''Biteyong'') is a peninsula located south-west of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, surrounded by Port Phillip, Corio Bay and Bass Strait. The peninsula, together with the Mornington ...
to
Streatham Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. Streatham was in Surrey ...
. The area they inhabit has been occupied for at least the last 25,000 years.


Language

Wathaurong is a Pama-Nyungan language, belonging to the Kulin sub-branch of the Kulinic language family.


Country

Wathaurong territory extended some . To the east of Geelong their land ran up to Queenscliff, and from the south of Geelong around the
Bellarine Peninsula The Bellarine Peninsula ( Wathawurrung: ''Balla-wein'' or ''Biteyong'') is a peninsula located south-west of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, surrounded by Port Phillip, Corio Bay and Bass Strait. The peninsula, together with the Mornington ...
, towards the Otway forests. Its northwestern boundaries lay at Mount Emu and Mount Misery, and extended to Lake Burrumbeet
Beaufort Beaufort may refer to: People and titles * Beaufort (surname) * House of Beaufort, English nobility * Duke of Beaufort (England), a title in the peerage of England * Duke of Beaufort (France), a title in the French nobility Places Polar regions * ...
and the
Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. Within months of Vi ...
goldfields. The area they inhabit has been occupied for at least the last 25,000 years, with 140 archaeological sites having been found in the region, indicating significant activity over that period.


Contemporary representation

The Wathaurung Aboriginal Corporation, a
Registered Aboriginal Party A Registered Aboriginal Party (RAP) is a recognised representative body of an Aboriginal Australian people per the '' Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006'' (Vic.), whose function is to protect and manage the Aboriginal cultural heritage in the state ...
since 21 May 2009, represents the
traditional owners Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have right ...
for the
Geelong Geelong ( ) ( Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the south eastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon ...
and
Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. Within months of Vi ...
areas, 2] though there is considerable internal disagreement between the two regional groupings, which regard themselves as heirs to culturally and linguistic distinct groups. The
Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative The Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative is a community organisation based in Geelong, Australia that supports the social, economic, and cultural development of Aboriginal people within the Geelong and surrounding areas. It was formed in 1978 and ...
, based in Geelong, also has a role in managing Wathaurong Cultural Heritage, for example through its ownership of the
Wurdi Youang Wurdi Youang is the name attributed to an Aboriginal stone arrangement located off the Little River – Ripley Road at Mount Rothwell, near Little River, Victoria in Australia. The site was acquired by the Indigenous Land Corporation on 14 Janua ...
Aboriginal stone arrangement at
Mount Rothwell Mount Rothwell is a locality in Victoria, Australia, located to the north east of the You Yangs hills, between Bacchus Marsh and Werribee. It is the location of the Mount Rothwell wildlife sanctuary and the historic Mount Rothwell homestead, bu ...
.


History of contact

Coastal
clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, mea ...
s of the Wathaurong may have had contact with Lieutenant John Murray when he charted
Indented Head Indented Head is a small coastal township located on the Bellarine Peninsula, east of Geelong, in the Australian state of Victoria. The town lies on the coast of the Port Phillip bay between the towns of Portarlington and St Leonards. Indent ...
and named
Swan Bay Swans are birds of the family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometim ...
.
Matthew Flinders Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British navigator and cartographer who led the first inshore circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then called New Holland. He is also credited as being the first person to ut ...
met several Wathaurong when he camped at Indented Head and climbed the
You Yangs The You Yangs are a series of granite ridges that rise up to above the flat and low-lying Werribee Plain in southern Victoria, Australia, approximately due west of the rural town of Little River, southwest of Melbourne CBD and north of Ge ...
in May 1802. When Lieutenant
David Collins David Collins may refer to: Persons * David Collins (Hampshire cricketer), 18th-century cricketer * David Collins (New Zealand cricketer) (1887–1967) * David Collins (Scottish footballer) (1912–?) * David Collins (Australian footballer) ...
founded the colony at
Sullivan Bay, Victoria Sullivan Bay lies due south of Melbourne on Port Phillip, east of Sorrento, Victoria. It was established as a short-lived convict settlement in 1803 by Lieutenant-Colonel David Collins, who named the bay after the Under-Secretary of State ...
in October 1803, he sent Lieutenant J. Tuckey to survey and explore Corio Bay which resulted in several Aboriginal people being shot and wounded. William Buckley, a convict who had escaped from the abortive Sullivan Bay settlement in December 1803, lived with a Victorian Aboriginal group, commonly identified with the Wathaurong. In his reminiscences, Buckley tells of his first meeting with native women. Buckley had taken a spear used to mark a grave for use as a walking stick. The women befriended him after recognising the spear as belonging to a relative who had recently died and invited him back to their camp. The tribe thought he was the resurrected ''Murrangurk'', an important former leader. He was adopted into the horde and lived among them for 32 years, being treated with great affection and respect. Buckley states he was appointed a headman and had often witnessed wars, raids, and blood-feuds. He adds that he frequently settled disputes and disarmed warring groups on the eve of some fight. As a revered spirit, he was banned from participating in tribal wars. According to Buckley, warfare was a central part of life among Aboriginal people in the area. The European settlement of Wathaurong territory began in earnest from 1835, with a rapid arrival of squatters around the Geelong area and westwards. This European settlement was marked by Aboriginal resistance to the invasion, often by driving off or stealing sheep, which then resulted in conflict and sometimes a massacre of Aboriginal people. Very few of the reports of the killing of Aboriginal people were acted upon. On the few occasions the matter did reach court, such as the killing of Woolmudgin on 7 October 1836, following which John Whitehead was sent to
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...
for trial, the case was dropped for lack of evidence and the absconding of key witness Frederick Taylor. At the time Aboriginal people were denied the right to give evidence in courts of law. The incidents listed below are just those cases that have been reported; it is likely other incidents occurred that were never documented officially. Writing on 9 December 1839,
Niel Black Niel may refer to: *Niel, Belgium, town and municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp **Niel Jaarmarkt Cyclo-cross, cyclo-cross race held in Niel, Belgium, and part of the Cyclo-cross Gazet van Antwerpen *Prix Niel, Group 2 flat hors ...
, a squatter in western Victoria, describes the prevailing attitude of many settlers:
The best way o procure a runis 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....
In 1841, Wathaurong man Bonjon (or "Bon Jon") was charged with murder for killing Yammowing of the
Gulidjan The Gulidjan people (perhaps originally Kolidjon,), also known as the Kolakngat, or Colac tribe, are an Aboriginal Australian tribe whose traditional lands cover the Lake Colac region of the state of Victoria, Australia. They occupied the grassla ...
people whose territory bordered that of the Wathaurong. According to the
Wesleyan Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan– Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charle ...
missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
Francis Tuckfield, Bonjon had been in contact with Europeans more than any other member of the Wathaurong, having been attached to the
Border Police A border guard of a country is a national security agency that performs border security. Some of the national border guard agencies also perform coast guard (as in Germany, Italy or Ukraine) and rescue service duties. Name and uniform In diff ...
for some time. According to the local head of that force, Captain
Foster Fyans Foster Fyans (September 1790 – 23 May 1870) was an Irish military officer, penal colony administrator and public servant. He was acting commandant of the second convict settlement at Norfolk Island, the commandant of the Moreton Bay penal set ...
, Bonjon was with him and his troopers for 4 years, tracking down and assisting in armed confrontations with Aboriginal insurgents in the districts to the west. The prosecution alleged that on or about 14 July 1841, Bonjon shot Yammowing in the head with a
carbine A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges. The smaller size and lighte ...
at
Geelong Geelong ( ) ( Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the south eastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon ...
, killing him. The prosecution ultimately abandoned the case and Bonjon was eventually discharged. The case in the
Supreme Court of New South Wales for the District of Port Phillip The Supreme Court of New South Wales for the District of Port Phillip was an historical division of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, exercising the jurisdiction of that court within the Port Phillip District of New South Wales. It consisted ...
, '' R v Bonjon'', later become notable for the legal question of whether the colonial courts had
jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. J ...
over offences committed by Aboriginal people '' inter se'', that is, by one Aboriginal person against another, and the legal situation as to the British acquisition of sovereignty over Australia, and its consequences for the Aboriginal people. The events of the 1854
Eureka Rebellion The Eureka Rebellion was a series of events involving gold miners who revolted against the British administration of the colony of Victoria, Australia during the Victorian gold rush. It culminated in the Battle of the Eureka Stockade, which ...
took place on Wathaurong land. Three Wathaurong clans lived in the vicinity of the Eureka diggings: the Burrumbeet baluk at Lakes Burrumbeet and Learmonth, Keyeet baluk, a sub-group of the Burrumbeet baluk, at Mt Buninyong, and the Tooloora baluk, at Mt Warranheip and Lal Lal Creek. The early policing of the
Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. Within months of Vi ...
Goldfields was done by the Native Police Corps, who enforced the collection of the gold miners licence fee resulting in confrontations between diggers and the Gold Commissioner, considered by some historians, such as Michael Cannon and
Weston Bate Weston Arthur Bate (24 September 1924 – 31 October 2017) was an Australian historian. Bate served in the Royal Australian Air Force during the Second World War. He studied at the University of Melbourne under Manning Clark, Max Crawford, K ...
, as preludes to the
Eureka Rebellion The Eureka Rebellion was a series of events involving gold miners who revolted against the British administration of the colony of Victoria, Australia during the Victorian gold rush. It culminated in the Battle of the Eureka Stockade, which ...
. There is
oral history Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people wh ...
that local Aboriginal people may have looked after some of the children of the Eureka miners after the military storming of the Eureka Stockade and subsequent massacre of miners. Although not corroborated by any written sources, the account has been deemed plausible by historian Ian D. Clark. Some further credence, although circumstantial, may be provided to the above information. George Yuille, older brother of
William Cross Yuille William Cross Yuille (28 March 1819 – 19 July 1894) was a Scottish Australian pastoralist notable as, after immigrating to Australia, as a founder of Ballarat as well as for his role in the establishment of the Victorian horse racing. Life Yu ...
, was not only liked and trusted by the local Aboriginal people, but had also formed a relationship with one of their women. Together they had at least one child, also named George Yuille. George Yuille senior died on 26 March 1854. He was at the time of his death a storekeeper on Specimen Hill and hence he was among the miners. Whether his wife was with him is unknown, but it is a fair assumption that the local Aboriginal people would have been very familiar with the miners, especially if they were in constant contact with George Yuille. One Learmonth brother in particular was implicitly aware his shepherds were using skulls of Wadawurrung people on stakes to ward people off his property. Willem Baa Nip was the last surviving member of the Wathaurong to witness colonisation. A number of prominent Wathaurong people from the early colonial period, including Baa Nip, are buried in the north-west corner of the Western Cemetery in Geelong.


Historical land use and customs

Communities consisted of 25 land-owning groups called ''clans'' that spoke a related language and were connected through cultural and mutual interests, totems, trading initiatives and marriage ties. Access to land and resources by other clans, was sometimes restricted depending on the state of the resource in question. For example; if a river or creek had been fished regularly throughout the fishing season and fish supplies were down, fishing was limited or stopped entirely by the clan who owned that resource until fish were given a chance to recover. During this time other resources were utilised for food. This ensured the sustained use of the resources available to them. As with most other Kulin territories, penalties such as spearings were enforced upon trespassers. Today, traditional clan locations, language groups and borders are no longer in use and descendants of Wathaurong people live within modern day society, although still preserving much of their culture. According to William Buckley, the Wathaurong practised ritual
cannibalism Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, b ...
, moderately compared to what he reported of the practices of a neighbouring tribe, the Pallidurgbarran, whose putative cannibalism is itself dubious. Buckley claimed enemies slain in combat were roasted and eaten.


Clans

Before European settlement, 25 separate clans existed, each with a clan headman, who was called an
arweet Arweet/Ngarweet is an important tribal position in the Boonwurrung and Wathaurong peoples of the Indigenous Australian Kulin alliance who live from Western Port, Port Phillip, Geelong to Ballarat.Carolyn Briggs, Boon wurrung Arweets Carolyn Brigg ...
among the coastal Wathaurong and a ''nourenit'' among the inland northern tribe. Arweet held the same tribal standing as a
ngurungaeta An Ngurungaeta is a Woiwurrung head man or tribal leader of clans of the Woiwurrung tribes and Taungurung Ngurai-illum Wurrung. Ngurungaeta held the same tribal standing as an Arweet of the Bunurong and Wathaurong people. The current Ngurungaeta i ...
of the
Wurundjeri The Wurundjeri people are an Australian Aboriginal people of the Woiwurrung language group, in the Kulin nation. They are the Traditional Owners of the Birrarung (Yarra River) Valley, covering much of the present location of Narrm ( Melbo ...
people.


Alternative names

* ''Bengali'' (horde near Geelong) * ''Borumbeet Bulluk'' (horde at Lake Burrambeet speaking a slight dialect) * ''Buninyong'' (place name, location of a northern horde) * ''Waddorow, Wadawio, Wadourer, Woddowrong, Wollowurong, Woddowro, Wudjawuru, Witowurrung, Wothowurong, Watorrong'' * ''Wadjawuru, Wuddyawurru, Wuddyawurra, Witouro, Wittyawhuurong'' * ''Wadthaurung, Waitowrung, Wudthaurung, Woddowrong'' * ''Warra, Wardy-yallock'' ( horde in the Pitfield area) * ''Witaoro'' * ''Witowro, Witoura'' * ''Wudja-wurung, Witowurung, Witowurong'' Source:


Notes


Citations


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{Authority control Aboriginal peoples of Victoria (Australia) Kulin nation People from Geelong Port Phillip