Name
The term ''/'' derives from a verbal root meaning 'to speak'. The more formal and correct term is either ''Wangkatha'' or ''Wongatha''. Other spellings include ''Wongutha'' and ''Wangkatja''.Country
The Wongi or Wongatha/Wangkatha language peoples originate from the following areas; Coolgardie, Kalgoorlie, Leonora, Western Australia, Leonora, Menzies, Western Australia, Menzies and Laverton, Western Australia, Laverton. The Wongi group consists of eight peoples: Maduwongga, Waljen, Ngurlutjarra, Ngaanyatjarra, Pindiini, Bindinni, Madatjarra(?), Koara (Kuwarra) and Tjalkadjara, Tjalkatjarra. The Wongi Wongatha-Wonganarra Aboriginal Corporation was put into liquidation in 2010. Today, their native title in Australia, native title land rights interests are represented by the Goldfields Aboriginal Land and Sea Council Corporation.Language
Wangkatha language, Wangkatha is still spoken and has roughly 200–300 fluent speakers. Most speakers reside in their traditional country including Coolgardie, Kalgoorlie, Menzies, Leonora, Laverton, Cosmo Newberry and Mulga Queen. The eight tribes who speak Wongi as a collective, have also their own distinct dialects which are also their tribes.Notable people
* Mrs. Sadie Canning MBE OAM. Mrs. Canning was the first Aboriginal Nurse and Matron in Australia. Mrs. Canning was the head matron at Leonora Hospital in the 1950s. The book called ''Our Black Nurses: in their own right'' recognizes Mrs. Canning as the First Aboriginal Nurse and Matron in Australia. * Mrs. May Lorna O'Brien , May O'Brien BEM. Mrs. O'Brien was the first Aboriginal female teacher in the state of WA. * Mr. Ben Mason OBE. Mr. Mason was an Aboriginal evangelist and the only Aboriginal evangelist to have travelled with the late Billy Graham Ministries. * Mr. James Brennan OAM. Mr. Brennan was a local WW2 veteran and survivor. * Miss Gloria Brennan. Miss Brennan was the first Aboriginal person to graduate from the University of Western Australia (UWA), having completed her honors in a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in anthropology and linguistics. The Gloria Brennan scholarship is still vacant each year to aspiring Aboriginal university students at UWA. * Miss Geraldine Hogarth AM. Miss Hogarth was awarded the Member of the Order for Australia Medal due to her commitment to preserving the Koara dialect. * Miss Annette Stokes AM. Miss Stokes was awarded the Member of the Order for Australia Medal for her contribution to Aboriginal health research. * Mr. Daniel Wells (footballer), Daniel Wells. AFL footballer Daniel Wells was drafted to North Melbourne Football Club. * Delson Stokes of Yabu Band. Yabu Band is an Indigenous Australian rock, roots band formed in the mid-1990s in Kalgoorlie. The word is Wongutha – a western desert tribal language – for 'rock' or 'gold'. *Boyd Stokes of Yabu Band. Yabu Band is an Indigenous Australian rock, roots band formed in the mid-1990s in Kalgoorlie. The word is Wongutha – a western desert tribal language – for 'rock' or 'gold'. * Mr. Syd Jackson (footballer, born 1944), Syd Jackson - WAFL/VFL Champion player for East Perth and Carlton. Member of the Indigenous Team of the Century and East Perth team of the Century, Syd was taken from his family as a child and raised in Roelands Mission near Bunbury.See also
* Indigenous Australians * Aboriginal history of Western Australia * Australian outback literature of the 20th centuryNotes
Citations
Sources
* * * * * * * * {{authority control Aboriginal peoples of Western Australia Indigenous Australians from Western Australia Nullarbor Plain Goldfields–Esperance