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, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...
people of the state of
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
.
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 dialec ...
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.
It covers an area of , and has existe ...
. 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 poi ...
, 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, Australia.
The range runs parallel with the coast about west of Mackay and has an average elevation of . It is composed of a series of rugg ...
. 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 football. The rugby ground is the home of Gala RFC and was formerly used by the professional Border Reivers team. It host ...
.
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, 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
Indigenous land rights in Australia, also known as Aboriginal land rights in Australia, relate to the rights and interests in land of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia, and the term may also include the struggle for thos ...
.[
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 1 ...
'' starring Matt Oxley, John Jarratt
John Jarratt 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 Hanging Rock'' (1975), ' ...
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 Aboriginal 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 ...
, 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 is a Bidjara (Warrego River), Bidjara/Pitjara, Birri Gubba and Juru people ...
, activist and academic
*Boori Pryor
Boori Monty Pryor (born 1950) is an Aboriginal Australian author best known as a Storytelling, storyteller and as the inaugural Australian Children's Laureate (20122013).
Early life and family
Pryor is descended from the Birri Gubba nation of t ...
, 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 people, Biri descent.
Early life
Smallwood was born in 1951 in Townsville, Queensland, of Biri d ...
, midwife, academic, NAIDOC Person of the Year in 2014
*Samuel Wagan Watson
Samuel Wagan Watson is a contemporary Indigenous Australian poet.
Early life
Samuel Wagan Watson was born in Brisbane and is of Mununjali clan, Munanjali and Germanic descent. His father is the novelist and political activist, Sam Watson (act ...
, award-winning poet, narrator, and storyteller
* Sam Watson, activist, writer, lecturer, and storyteller
Notes
Citations
Sources
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Aboriginal peoples of Queensland