The Birri Gubba people, formerly known as Biria, are an

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia 50,000 to 65,000 year ...

people of the state of

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Language

The Birri Gubba people spoke a number of languages in the

Biri language Biri, also known as Biria, Birri Gubba, Birigaba, Wiri, Perembba and other variants, is an Australian Aboriginal language of the Mackay area of Queensland spoken by the Birri Gubba people. There are at least eight languages regarded as dial ...

group.

Country

The Biria held sway over some , from the Bowen River north to its junction with the

Burdekin The Shire of Burdekin is a local government area located in North Queensland, Australia in the Dry Tropics region. The district is located between Townsville and Bowen in the delta of the Burdekin River. The shire covers an area of . It has e ...

. On its eastern flank was the

Clarke Range The Clarke Range, part of the Great Dividing Range, is a rainforest-covered mountain range located in North Queensland, Australia. The range is located approximately from the Coral Sea and west of the coastal city of Mackay. The highest poin ...

, while its western borders reached the

Leichhardt Range The Leichhardt Range, part of the Great Dividing Range, is a mountain range located in North Queensland, North Queensland, Australia. The range runs parallel with the coast about west of Mackay, Queensland, Mackay and has an average elevation ...

. To the south, its territory extended down to

Netherdale Netherdale is a sports complex in Galashiels, Scottish Borders, consisting of two adjacent stadiums used for rugby union and Association football, football. The rugby ground is the home of Gala RFC and was formerly used by the professional Border ...

Alternative names

Alternative names for the Biria people include Biriaba, Birigaba, Breeaba, Perembba, Perenbba, and Birri Gubba.

European contact

In 1846, after their ship ''Peruvian'' was wrecked, a group of British crew members made it to shore on Birri Gubba land, and were helped to survive by Birri Gubba people. The castaways stayed with various groups for some time, with one,

James Morrill James Lewis Morrill (September 24, 1891 – July 1979) was a professor and academic administrator who served as the president of the University of Wyoming and the University of Minnesota. He attended Ohio State University for his undergradua ...

, living among the Aboriginal people for around 17 years. His memoir, ''Sketch of a Residence Among the Aboriginals of Northern Queensland for Seventeen Years'' tells of his efforts to leave his group of Birra Gubba people on their land, and to encourage harmonious living between the two groups. Today he is seen as an early pioneer of

Indigenous land rights in Australia In Australia, Indigenous land rights or Aboriginal land rights are the rights and interests in land of Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander people; the term may also include the struggle for those rights. Connection to the land and ...

. A forthcoming (2022) film, ''

The Wild One ''The Wild One'' is a 1953 American crime film directed by László Benedek and produced by Stanley Kramer. The picture is most noted for the character of Johnny Strabler, portrayed by Marlon Brando, whose persona became a cultural icon of the ...

'' starring Matt Oxley,

John Jarratt John Jarratt (born 5 August 1952) is an Australian television film actor, producer and director and TV presenter who rose to fame through his work in the Australian New Wave. He has appeared in a number of film roles including '' Picnic at Han ...

and Marlena Law, is based on the story of Morrill and the people who took him in, directed by Australian filmmaker Nathan Colquhoun.

Notable Biri people

Cathy Freeman Catherine Astrid Salome Freeman (born 16 February 1973) is an Australian former sprinter, who specialised in the 400 metres event. Her personal best of 48.63 seconds currently ranks her as the ninth-fastest woman of all time, set while fin ...

, Olympic-level athlete *

Jackie Huggins Jacqueline Gail "Jackie" Huggins (born 19 August 1956) is an Aboriginal Australian author, historian, academic, and advocate for the rights of Indigenous Australians. She has been active in the reconciliation movement, and was co-commissioner ...

, activist and academic * Boori Pryor, formerly the joint inaugural

Australian Children's Laureate The Australian Children's Laureate is a role appointed to an Australian children's author and/or illustrator with the purpose of promoting the power of reading to children. It is a two-year role and was inaugurated in 2011, for the 2012–2013 pe ...

and storyteller *

Gracelyn Smallwood Gracelyn Smallwood (born 1951) is a professor of nursing and midwifery at Central Queensland University. She is an Aboriginal Australian of Biri descent. Early life Smallwood was born in 1951 in Townsville, Queensland, of Biri descent. Nu ...

, midwife, academic, NAIDOC Person of the Year in 2014 *

Samuel Wagan Watson Samuel Wagan Watson is a contemporary Indigenous Australian poet. Early life and education Samuel Wagan Watson was born in Brisbane and is of Aboriginal ( Munanjali and Birri Gubba), Irish, German, and Dutch descent. His father is novelist an ...

, award-winning poet, narrator, and storyteller * Sam Watson, activist, writer, lecturer, and storyteller * Murrawah Johnson environmental activist * Gordon Bennett, prominent contemporary Indigenous artist

Notes

Citations

Sources

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