The Amangu are an indigenous
Yamatji
Yamatji (or Yamaji) is a Wajarri word that has at least two different meanings:
* a member of the Wajarri people
* any Aboriginal Australian from the Murchison region of Western Australia.
Yamatji peoples were involved in a large native tit ...
people of the
mid-western region of
Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
.
Language
Two early glossaries of some words from the Champion Bay Amangu were collected. One, by R. J. Foley, was published in a work by
Augustus Oldfield
Augustus Frederick Oldfield (1821–1887) was an English botanist and zoologist who made large collections of plant specimens in Australia.
Oldfield was born on 12 January 1821 in London, England. He made botanical collections in Tasmania, the co ...
in 1865, and the other was gathered by the
Colonial Secretary of Western Australia
The colonial secretary of Western Australia was one of the most important and powerful public offices in Western Australia, in the time when Western Australia was a British colony. The colonial secretary was the representative of the British Col ...
Roger Goldsworthy, and published by
E. M. Curr two decades later.
Country
The Amangu's territory stretched over some , centring on the area of
Champion Bay
Champion Bay is a coastal feature north of Geraldton, Western Australia, facing the port and city between Point Moore and Bluff Point.
Champion Bay was named by Lieutenant John Lort Stokes of , who surveyed the area in April 1840. He named i ...
, and the
Chapman River
The Chapman River is a river in the Mid West region of Western Australia.
Course
The river arises on the Victoria Plateau east of Northampton. It flows in a southerly direction, passing through the town of Nabawa in the Shire of Chapman Vall ...
. The northern boundary lay near
Geraldton
Geraldton (Wajarri language, Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu language, Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West (Western Australia), Mid West region of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth.
As of the , Geraldt ...
and the
Hill River. The inland extension was from the coast as far as the vicinity of
Mullewa,
Morawa and
Carnamah. The southern frontier is not clear, but is believed to have run down to the vicinity just north of
Moora.
History
Excavation at Yellabidde Cave near Leeman indicate that the Amangu territory was occupied as early as 23,000
BP, putting back the accepted date for habitation of the Perth-Geraldton coast by some 15,000 years.
Some words
* (mother)
* (father)
* , (emu)
* (white man)
* (emu)
Notes
Citations
Sources
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{{Aboriginal peoples of Western Australia
Aboriginal peoples of Western Australia
Mid West (Western Australia)