HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Wurundjeri people are an
Australian Aboriginal 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 Islands ...
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 ( Melbourne). They continue to live in this area and throughout Australia. They were called the Yarra tribe by early European colonists. The
Wurundjeri Tribe Land and Compensation Cultural Heritage Council The Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation, previously the Wurundjeri Tribe Land and Compensation Cultural Heritage Council, is a Registered Aboriginal Party representing the Wurundjeri people, an Aboriginal Australian ...
was established in 1985 by Wurundjeri people.


Ethnonym

According to the early Australian ethnographer
Alfred William Howitt Alfred William Howitt , (17 April 1830 – 7 March 1908), also known by author abbreviation A.W. Howitt, was an Australian anthropologist, explorer and naturalist. He was known for leading the Victorian Relief Expedition, which set out to es ...
, the name Wurundjeri, in his transcription ''Urunjeri'', refers to a species of eucalypt, ''
Eucalyptus viminalis ''Eucalyptus viminalis'', commonly known as the manna gum, white gum or ribbon gum, is a species of small to very tall tree that is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has smooth bark, sometimes with rough bark near the base, lance-shaped to c ...
'', otherwise known as the manna or white gum, which is common along Birrarung. Some modern reports of Wurundjeri traditional lore state that their ethnonym combines a word, ''wurun'', meaning ''Manna Gum'' and ''djeri'', a species of grub found in the tree, and take the word therefore to mean " Witchetty Grub People".


Language

Wurundjeri people speak
Woiwurrung The Woiwurrung, also spelt Woi Wurrung, Woiwurrong, Woiworung, Wuywurung, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Woiwurrung language group, in the Kulin people, Kulin alliance. The Woiwurrung people's territory in Central Victoria (Austral ...
, a dialect of Kulin. Kulin is spoken by the five groups in the Kulin nation.


Clans

There are several distinct clans of Wurundjeri people with different territories: Wurundjeri balluk: Their territory covers the area from Mount Baw Baw to Healesville and the northern tributaries of the Birrarung (Yarra River), to the eastern side of the Mirrangbamurn ( Maribyrnong River) and up to Gisborne. Wurundjeri Willum: Their territory includes the site of Narrm (Melbourne), up to the east side of the Maribyrnong River and its western branch and along to Geboor (
Mount Macedon Mount Macedon ( Aboriginal Woiwurrung language: ''Geboor'' or ''Geburrh'') is a dormant volcano that is part of the Macedon Ranges of the Great Dividing Range, located in the Central Highlands region of Victoria, Australia. The mountain has ...
). It also includes the western half of country from the Kurrum (Plenty River) to the Maribrynong River. Their name comes from ''wilam'' meaning 'camp/shelter'. Marin balluk: From the western side of the Maribyrnong River, centred around Koorakoorakup ( Sunbury) and the watersheds of Geboor (Mount Macedon). Their name means 'Maribrynong River'. Gunung Willum balluk: from the adjoining Wurundjeri country on the west side of Geboor (Mount Macedon) through to Balitgurrk ( Bullengarook) and Munal ( Daylesford). Their name means 'river shelter swamp' Balluk Willum: from the Cranbourne area. Their name means 'swamp shelters' and refers to the swamp that occupied the area before it was drained by colonists. Ngaruk Willum: from the south side of Corhanwarrabul (the Dandenong Ranges). Kurung Jang baluk: from the Melton area. Their name comes from ''gurrong'' (canoe) and ''baluk'' (swamp).


Country

Norman Tindale Norman Barnett Tindale AO (12 October 1900 – 19 November 1993) was an Australian anthropologist, archaeologist, entomologist and ethnologist. Life Tindale was born in Perth, Western Australia in 1900. His family moved to Tokyo and lived the ...
estimated Wurundjeri lands as extending over approximately . These took in the areas of the Yarra and Saltwater rivers around Melbourne, and ran north as far as Mount Disappointment, northwest to Macedon, Woodend, and
Lancefield Lancefield is a town in the Shire of Macedon Ranges local government area in Victoria, Australia north of the state capital, Melbourne and had a population of 2,743 at the 2021 census. History The area was used by the indigenous aborigina ...
. Their eastern borders went as far as Mount Baw Baw and
Healesville Healesville is a town in Victoria, Australia, 52 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district, located within the Shire of Yarra Ranges local government area. Healesville recorded a population of 7,589 in the 2021 census. ...
. Their southern confines approached Mordialloc, Warragul, and Moe. The Wurundjeri-balluk and Wurundjeri-willam people occupied the area from the Yarra Valley/Yarra River catchment area to Heidelberg. In June 2021, the boundaries between the land of two of the traditional owner groups in greater Melbourne, the Wurundjeri and Boonwurrung, were agreed between the two groups, after being drawn up by the
Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council The ''Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006'' (AHA) of the state of Victoria, Australia Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) wi ...
. The new borderline runs across the city from west to east, with the CBD, Richmond and
Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...
included in Wurundjeri land, and Albert Park, St Kilda and Caulfield on Bunurong land. It was agreed that Mount Cottrell, the site of a massacre in 1836 with at least 10 Wathaurong victims, would be jointly managed above the line. The two Registered Aboriginal Parties representing the two groups were the
Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation The Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation is a Registered Aboriginal Party and incorporated association representing the Bunurong (Boon wurrung) community in the state of Victoria, Australia, particularly in matters relating to the Victor ...
and the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation. However, these borders are still in dispute among several prominent figures and Wurundjeri territory has been claimed to spread much further west and south.


History

The earliest European settlers came across a park-like landscape extending inland from Melbourne, consisting of large areas of grassy plains to the north and southwest, with little forest cover, something thought to be testimony of indigenous sheet burning practices to expose the massive number of yam daisies (''murnong'') which proliferated in the area. These murnong roots and various tuber lilies formed a major source of starch and carbohydrates. Seasonal changes in the weather, availability of foods and other factors would determine where campsites were located, many near the Birrarung and its tributaries. The Wurundjeri and Gunung Willam Balug clans mined diorite at
Mount William stone axe quarry The Mount William stone axe quarry is an Aboriginal Australian archaeological site in Central Victoria, Australia. It is located northeast of Lancefield, off Powells Track, north of Romsey and from Melbourne. Known as ''Wil-im-ee Moor-ring ...
which was a source of the highly valued greenstone hatchet heads, which were traded across a wide area as far as New South Wales and Adelaide. The mine provided a complex network of trading for economic and social exchange among the different Aboriginal nations in Victoria. The quarry had been in use for more than 1,500 years and covered 18 hectares including underground pits of several metres. In February 2008 the site was placed on the
Australian National Heritage List The Australian National Heritage List or National Heritage List (NHL) is a heritage register, a list of National heritage site, national heritage places deemed to be of outstanding heritage significance to Australia, established in 2003. The li ...
for its cultural importance and archeological value. Settlement and dispossession of the Wurundjeri lands began soon after a
ceremony A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin '' caerimonia''. Church and civil (secula ...
in which Wurundjeri leaders conducted a ''tanderrum'' ceremony, whose function was to allow outsiders temporary access to the resources of clan lands. John Batman and other whites interpreted this symbolic act, recorded in treaty form, as equivalent to medieval enfeoffment of all Woiwurrong territory. Within a few years settlement began around Pound Bend with Major Charles Newman at
Mullum Mullum Creek Mullum Mullum Creek is a creek in the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is the main watercourse of the Mullum Mullum Valley, a tributary of the Yarra River and Yarra Valley. For tens of thousands of years it was used a ...
in 1838, and James Anderson on Beal Yallock, now known as Anderson's Creek a year later. Their measures to clear the area of aborigines was met with guerrilla skirmishing, led by Jaga Jaga, with the appropriation of cattle and the burning of fields. They were armed with rifles, and esteemed to be excellent marksmen, firing close to Anderson to drive him off as they helped themselves to his potato crop while en route to Yering in 1840. A trap set there by Captain Henry Gibson led to Jaga Jaga's capture and a battle as the Wurundjeri fought unsuccessfully to secure his release. Resistance was broken, and settlements throve. One elder, Derrimut, later stated:
You see…all this mine. All along here Derrimut's once. No matter now, me soon tumble down…Why me have no lubra? Why me have no piccaninny? You have all this place. No good have children, no good have lubra. Me tumble down and die very soon now.


Coranderrk

In 1863 the surviving members of the Wurundjeri tribe were given "permissive occupancy" of
Coranderrk Coranderrk was an Aboriginal reserve run by the Victorian government between 1863 and 1924, located around north-east of Melbourne. The residents were mainly of the Woiwurrung, Bunurong and Taungurong peoples, and the first inhabitants chos ...
Station, near
Healesville Healesville is a town in Victoria, Australia, 52 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district, located within the Shire of Yarra Ranges local government area. Healesville recorded a population of 7,589 in the 2021 census. ...
and forcibly resettled. Despite numerous petitions, letters, and delegations to the Colonial and Federal Government, the grant of this land in compensation for the country lost was refused. Coranderrk was closed in 1924 and its occupants bar five refusing to leave Country were again moved to
Lake Tyers Lake Tyers Mission, also known as Bung Yarnda, was an Aboriginal mission established in 1863 on the shore of Lake Tyers in Victoria‘s Gippsland, region as a centralised location for Aboriginal people from around Victoria. History The Lake Ty ...
in Gippsland.


Wurundjeri today

All remaining Wurundjeri people are descendants of Bebejan, through his daughter Annie Borate (Boorat), and in turn, her son Robert Wandin (Wandoon). Bebejan was 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 people and was present at John Batman's "treaty" signing in 1835.
Joy Murphy Wandin Joy Murphy Wandin is an Indigenous Australian, Senior Wurundjeri elder of the Kulin alliance in Victoria, Australia. She has given the traditional ''welcome to country'' greeting at many Melbourne events and to many distinguished visitors wher ...
, a Wurundjeri elder, explains the importance of preserving Wurundjeri culture:
In the recent past, Wurundjeri culture was undermined by people being forbidden to "talk culture" and language. Another loss was the loss of children taken from families. Now, some knowledge of the past must be found and collected from documents. By finding and doing this, Wurundjeri will bring their past to the present and recreate a place of belonging. A "keeping place" should be to keep things for future generations of our people, not a showcase for all, not a resource to earn dollars. I work towards maintaining the Wurundjeri culture for Wurundjeri people into the future.
In 1985, the
Wurundjeri Tribe Land Compensation and Cultural Heritage Council The Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation, previously the Wurundjeri Tribe Land and Compensation Cultural Heritage Council, is a Registered Aboriginal Party representing the Wurundjeri people, an Aboriginal Australian ...
was established to fulfil statutory roles under Commonwealth and Victorian legislation and to assist in raising awareness of Wurundjeri culture and history within the wider community. Wurundjeri elders often attend events with visitors present where they give the traditional
welcome to country A Welcome to Country is a ritual or formal ceremony performed as a land acknowledgement at many events held in Australia. It is intended to highlight the cultural significance of the surrounding area to the descendants of a particular Aborigi ...
greeting in the Woiwurrung language: : ''Wominjeka yearmenn koondee-bik Wurundjeri-Ballak'', which simply means, ''Welcome to the land of the Wurundjeri people''


Notable people

: *
Bebejan Bebejan (birth circa 1796, died August 1836) also known as Bebejern or Jerum Jerum, was a Ngurungaeta (Leader -pronounced ung-uh-rung-eye-tuh) of the Wurundjeri people of the Woiwurung language group in the present day Australian state of Victo ...
(?-1836): , and William Barak's father and Billibellary's brother *
Billibellary Billibellary (c. 1799–10 August 1846) was a song maker and influential ngurungaeta of the Wurundjeri-willam clan during the early years of European settlement of Melbourne. He was known by various names including Billi-billeri, Billibellary, Ji ...
(1799–1846): of the Wurundjeri-willam clan. *
Simon Wonga Simon Wonga (1824–1874), ngurungaeta and son of Billibellary, was an elder of the Wurundjeri people, who lived in the Melbourne area of Australia before European settlement. He was resolute that his people would survive the "onslaught" of w ...
(1824–1874): by 1851 until his death. Billibellary's son. *
William Barak William Barak, named Beruk by his parents, (1823 – 15 August 1903), the "last chief of the Yarra Yarra tribe", was the last traditional ngurungaeta (elder) of the Wurundjeri-willam clan, the pre-colonial inhabitants of present-day Melbourne, ...
(1824–1903): of the Wurundjeri-willam clan from 1874 until his death. *
James Wandin James Wandin (28 July 1933 – 20 February 2006), also known as Jim, Jimmy, or Juby, was the ngurungaeta of the Wurundjeri till his death in February 2006. He was the first Australian rules footballer of Aboriginal descent to play with St Kilda ...
(1933–2006): until his death, and an
Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...
er *
Murrundindi Murrundindi, also known as Gary Hunter, is the ngurungaeta of the Wurundjeri people and a descendant of William Barak. He succeeded James Wandin in this position in February 2006. Murrundindi and his brother Warendj regularly conduct cultural ed ...
: from 2006 until present Other notable Wurundjeri people include: * Tullamareena: present during the founding of Melbourne * Derrimut (1810–1864): a
Bunurong The Boonwurrung people are an Aboriginal people of the Kulin nation, who are the traditional owners of the land from the Werribee River to Wilsons Promontory in the Australian state of Victoria. Their territory includes part of what is now the ...
elder associated with the Woiwurrung, present during British invasion *
Diane Kerr Aunty Diane Kerr (born 1954) is an Indigenous Australian Wurundjeri Elder who identifies with the Ganun Willam Balak clan. She has contributed to Australian society through her work with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community and g ...
: elder * Winnie Quagliotti (1931–1988): elder *
Joy Murphy Wandin Joy Murphy Wandin is an Indigenous Australian, Senior Wurundjeri elder of the Kulin alliance in Victoria, Australia. She has given the traditional ''welcome to country'' greeting at many Melbourne events and to many distinguished visitors wher ...
: senior elder


Alternative names/spellings

* ''Coraloon'' (?) * ''Gungung-willam'' * ''Kukuruk'' (northern clan name) * ''Mort Noular'' (language name) * ''Ngarukwillam'' * ''N'uther Galla'' * ''Nuthergalla'' (''ngatha'' = ''juða'' "no" in the Melbourne dialect). * ''Oorongie'' * ''Urunjeri'' * ''Waarengbadawa'' * ''Wainworra'' * ''Wairwaioo'' * ''Warerong'' * ''Warorong'' * ''Warwaroo'' * ''Wavoorong'' * ''Wawoorong, Wawoorong'' * ''Wawurong'' * ''Wawurrong'' * ''Woeworung'' * ''Woiworung'' (name for the language they spoke, from ''woi'' + ''worung'' = speech) * ''Woiwurru'' (''woi'' = no + ''wur:u'' = lip) * ''Woiwurung, Woiwurong, Woiwurrong'' * ''Wooeewoorong'' * ''Wowerong'' * ''Wurrundyirra-baluk'' * ''Wurunjeri'' * ''Wurunjerri'' * ''Wurunjerri-baluk'' * ''Yarra Yarra'' * ''Yarra Yarra Coolies'' (''kulin'' = man)


See also

*
Wurundjeri Tribe Land Compensation and Cultural Heritage Council The Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation, previously the Wurundjeri Tribe Land and Compensation Cultural Heritage Council, is a Registered Aboriginal Party representing the Wurundjeri people, an Aboriginal Australian ...
*
Batman's Treaty Batman's Treaty was an agreement between John Batman, an Australian grazier, businessman and coloniser, and a group of Wurundjeri elders, for the purchase of land around Port Phillip, near the present site of Melbourne. The document came to b ...
* Indigenous Australians *
Australian Aboriginal enumeration The Australian Aboriginal counting system was used together with message sticks sent to neighbouring clans to alert them of, or invite them to, corroborees, set-fights, and ball games. Numbers could clarify the day the meeting was to be held (in a ...
* Battle of Yering *
Possum-skin cloak Possum-skin cloaks were a form of clothing worn by Aboriginal people in the south-east of Australia – present-day Victoria and New South Wales. The cloaks were made from numerous possum pelts sewn together with kangaroo sinew, and often de ...
*
Bunurong The Boonwurrung people are an Aboriginal people of the Kulin nation, who are the traditional owners of the land from the Werribee River to Wilsons Promontory in the Australian state of Victoria. Their territory includes part of what is now the ...
* Gunai people


Notes


Citations


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * cited in * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{Authority control Aboriginal peoples of Victoria (Australia) History of Melbourne