Jumbun is an Aboriginal community located in Murray Upper,

Cassowary Coast Region The Cassowary Coast Region is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the Far North Queensland region of Queensland, Australia, south of Cairns, Queensland, Cairns and centred on the towns of Innisfail, Queensland, Innisfail, ...

which is south-west of Tully in

Far North Queensland Far North Queensland (FNQ) is the northernmost part of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland. Its largest city is Cairns, Queensland, Cairns and it is dominated geographically by Cape York Peninsula, which stret ...

, Australia. The word "jumbun" means "wood-grub" in Girrimay. The residents of Jumbun are predominantly from the Girrimay and Dyirbal Aboriginal nations. In the , Jumbun had a population of 93 Indigenous Australian people.

History

Dyirbal (also known as Djirbal) is a language of

, particularly the area around Tully and

Tully River The Tully River is a river in Far North Queensland, Australia. Course and features The Tully River rises in the Cardwell Range, part of the Great Dividing Range on the northern boundary of the Kirrama State Forest. The river flows generally n ...

Catchment extending to the Atherton Tablelands. The Dyirbal language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of

Cassowary Coast Regional Council The Cassowary Coast Region is a local government area in the Far North Queensland region of Queensland, Australia, south of Cairns and centred on the towns of Innisfail, Cardwell and Tully. It was created in 2008 from a merger of the Shire ...

and Tablelands Regional Council.

Demographics

In the , Jumbun had a population of 104 Indigenous Australian people. In the , Jumbun had a population of 93 Indigenous Australian people.

Culture

The Jumbun Aboriginal community is known for its basket weavers who have retained the cultural knowledge for making the distinctive lawyercane bicornal basket styles including burrajingal, gundala and mindi. In recent times, these baskets were used for both everyday and ceremonial uses including carrying bush foods, babies, message sticks and ceremonial objects. The jawun style of bicornal basket is unique to the rainforest Aboriginal peoples of North Queensland. Other unique lawyercane artefacts include the wungarr, which was used in freshwater creeks to catch eels. Examples of the jawun and other

basket weaving Basket weaving (also basketry or basket making) is the process of weaving or sewing pliable materials into three-dimensional artifacts, such as baskets, mats, mesh bags or even furniture. Craftspeople and artists specialized in making baskets ...

styles are regularly shown in national exhibitions and older examples are kept in special "keeping places" which house important cultural artefacts. A "keeping place" has been built at Jumbun while the Girringun Aboriginal Corporation in Cardwell also has another (Davey "Buckeroo" Lawrence Education, Training and Cultural Centre on the Bruce Highway, 235 Victoria St Cardwell).

Tours

Jumbun has recently relaunched its cultural tours. These tours include an inspection of the Keeping Place before a cultural walk into the rainforest is undertaken to showcase the practical knowledge of plants and animals in the forest. Opportunities for basket weaving and traditional jewellery making with women from the community is a highlight of the tour, as well as the serenity of the Moombay campsite where the tour takes place, with the gentle sounds of birdsong and the Murray River making for a stunning backdrop for a unique cultural experience.Jumbun Aboriginal Community Tourism Website
Accessed 2 March 2008

References

{{authority control Towns in Queensland Aboriginal communities in Queensland Populated places in Far North Queensland Cassowary Coast Region

History

Demographics

Culture

Tours

See also

References