The Waljen are an

indigenous people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

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 ...

, in the Goldfields-Esperance area.

Country

The Waljen lands in

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 ...

's estimation covered roughly , taking in the area of Lake Raeside, and extending from

Malcolm Malcolm, Malcom, Máel Coluim, or Maol Choluim may refer to: People * Malcolm (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters * Malcom (footballer) (born 1997), Brazilian football forward * Clan Malcolm * Maol Choluim de Innerp ...

, Morgans, Laverton, and Burtville. Their southeastern boundary was around Edjudina Soaks. They were also present around Lake Lightfoot and at

Lake Carey Lake Carey is a salt lake located in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia. It was named in 1869 by surveyor John Forrest in company with Tommy Windich, after Thomas Campbell Carey, the government surveyor to whom Forrest had ...

. Their eastern extension lay beyond Lake Minigwal. In the latter context, their traditional lore also speaks of an important site, not identified, called ''Winbalj''.

History

The Waljen seemed to have shifted southwestward towards the end of the 19th century, and by the 1890s they had reached the area south of

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie-Boulder (or just Kalgoorlie) is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder as the surroundi ...

Alternative name

* ''Koara'' * ''Wonggai-juŋara'' ('aggressive men/usurpers'), an

exonym An endonym (also known as autonym ) is a common, name for a group of people, individual person, geographical place, language, or dialect, meaning that it is used inside a particular group or linguistic community to identify or designate them ...

used of them by the

Maduwongga The Maduwongga are a purported Aboriginal Australian people of the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia. '' Martu Wangka'' has been used as an alternative name but this is now understood to have been incorrect. Language As there is ...

and

Kalamaia The Kalamaia are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Wheatbelt and Goldfields-Esperance regions of Western Australia. Country According to Norman Tindale, Kalamaia lands stretched over some . Their eastward extension ran to Bullabulling, ...

Notes

Citations

Sources

* * * {{authority control Aboriginal peoples of Western Australia Goldfields–Esperance