The Nggamadi were 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 the
Cape York Peninsula
The Cape York Peninsula is a peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth's last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación Sierra Madre, ...
of northern
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 ...
.
Name
They are often conflated with the
Ankamuti, but Tindale regarded them as a separate tribal reality. Terry Crowley writes:
In the region referred to locally as the "Seven Rivers" area (the seven rivers being the Jardine, MacDonald, Skardon, Doughboy, Ducie and Jackson Rivers, and Crystal Creek), which constitutes the very narrow coastal stretch from the northern side of Port Musgrave as far as the Doughboy River, and also the inland area of Crystal Creek and the middle Jardine River, were the ''aŋkamuṯi'' -speaking people. The non-coastal ''aŋkamuṯi'' of the Jardine River were alternatively called ''yampaɣuƫaŋu'' or ''utuðanamu'' (meaning "leaf people" and "scrub dwellers" respectively). The ''aŋkamuṯi'' have previously been referred to in the literature by the name ''ŋkamuṯi'' (''Gamiti'' in Roth 1910:96), ''Ngkamadyi'' in McConnel (1939-1940:60) and ''Nggammadi'' in Sharp (1939:257), which was used for the ''aŋkamuṯi'' by the CV-dropping groups to the south of Port Musgrave (Crowley 1981:146).
Country
Norman Tindale
Norman Barnett Tindale AO (12 October 1900 – 19 November 1993) was an Australian anthropologist, archaeologist, entomologist and ethnologist. He is best remembered for his work mapping the various tribal groupings of Aboriginal Australians ...
estimated that the Nggamadi had about of territory. They lay north of the Dulhunty River as far as around Vrilya Point (Cockatoo Creek), and were present also at the Jackson and Skardon rivers.
Alternative names
* ''Ngkamadyi''
* ''Ngammatti''
* ''Nggamiti''
* ''Ngamiti''
* ''Ngammatta''
* ''Gamete''
* ''Gamiti''
* ''Gametty''
* ''Gomokudin''
Notes
Citations
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{authority control
Aboriginal peoples of Queensland