The Darkinyung are an

indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

people of New South Wales.

Country

According to

R. H. Mathews Robert Hamilton Mathews (1841–1918) was an Australian surveyor and self-taught anthropologist who studied the Aboriginal cultures of Australia, especially those of Victoria, New South Wales and southern Queensland. He was a member of the R ...

, the Darkinyung's territory encompassed the lands to the south of the

Hunter River Hunter River may refer to: *Hunter River (New South Wales), Australia *Hunter River (Western Australia) *Hunter River, New Zealand *Hunter River (Prince Edward Island), Canada **Hunter River, Prince Edward Island, community on Hunter River, Canada ...

, from Jerry's Plains towards

Maitland Maitland may refer to: Places *Maitland, New South Wales, Australia **City of Maitland, a local government area * Maitland, South Australia, Australia * Maitland, Tasmania, Australia * Maitland, Hants County, Nova Scotia, Canada * Maitland, Ontari ...

, extending as far to the south as

Wollombi Brook Wollombi ( ) is a small village in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is within the Cessnock City Council LGA, situated southwest of Cessnock and north of Sydney. To the south is the village of Laguna, to the east, the villa ...

, Putty Creek, inclusive of the Macdonald, Colo, and

Hawkesbury Hawkesbury or Hawksbury may refer to: People *Baron Hawkesbury, or Charles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of Liverpool (1727-1808), English statesman Places Australia * Hawkesbury Island, Queensland, an island *Hawkesbury River, a river in New South Wal ...

rivers. Mathews description of the Darkinyung territory is in conflict with the claims of the Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council that the Central Coast NSW Region was Darkinyung land.

History of contact with white settlers

In 1789, Governor

Arthur Phillip Arthur Phillip (11 October 1738 – 31 August 1814) was a British Royal Navy officer who served as the first Governor of New South Wales, governor of the Colony of New South Wales. Phillip was educated at Royal Hospital School, Gree ...

conducted a boat expedition upstream to the branches of the

Hawkesbury River The Hawkesbury River, or Hawkesbury-Nepean River (Dharug language, Dharug: Dyarubbin) is a river located northwest of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Hawkesbury River and its associated main tributary, the Nepean River, almost encircle ...

, encountering the local inhabitants. He returned overland in 1791; members of his party who were natives of the

Cumberland Plain The Cumberland Plain, also known as Cumberland Basin, is a relatively flat region lying to the west of Sydney CBD in New South Wales, Australia. An IBRA biogeographic region, Cumberland Basin is the preferred physiographic and geological term ...

confirmed that the people there were of a distinct group that spoke a different language. Phillip wrote: "Two of those natives who have lived amongst us for some time were with us, which was from them that we understood, our new friends had a language different from theirs." The British referred to these inhabitants of the upper Hawkesbury,

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

Hill, Kurrajong and Springwood as "The Branch natives". Ford writes that, after settlement of the upper Hawkesbury, "'The Branch' natives were pacified in 1805 by a massacre led by Andrew Thompson towards Springwood." In 1824, John Blaxland, Jnr, learned that the mountain people south of the

referred to their land as ''Wallambine''. Later, Surveyor-General Thomas Mitchell instructed that a new town in the region be named

Wollombi Wollombi ( ) is a small village in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is within the Cessnock City Council LGA, situated southwest of Cessnock and north of Sydney. To the south is the village of Laguna, to the east, the villa ...

. The term "Wollombi Tribe" came to be used for that group. By the last years of the 19th century, only a remnant, mostly half-castes, of 60 Darkinyung had survived, concentrated on a government reserve set aside for aborigines on the Hawkesbury river, from Windsor. Of these, only two very old men had been initiated, Hoe Gooburra and Charley Clark. It was thanks to these elderly informants that much of what is known of Darkinung traditional ways was able to be recorded by Mathews.

Bora ceremony

The Bora Ceremony of the Darkinyung people is described in considerable detail in Matthews submission to the Royal Society of Victoria titles
The Burbung of the Darkinung Tribes
.

Name

The name has been variously spelled ''Darkinyung'' (AIATSIS), ''Darkinjung'' (Tindale), ''Darkiñung'' (Ford), ''Darkinung'', ''Darkin-yûng'', ''Darkinyoong'', ''Darkinjang'', etc.

Notes

Citations

Sources

* Ford also provides at the same page a selection of abstracts and ''précis'' on particular topics, including , , . * * 5pp. * * {{Authority control Aboriginal peoples of New South Wales