The Kungarakany people, also spelt Koongurrukuñ, Kungarrakany, Kungarakan and other variants, 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
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...
. They were called the "Paperbark People" by European settlers.
Country
Norman Tindale
Norman Barnett Tindale AO (12 October 1900 – 19 November 1993) was an Australian anthropologist, archaeologist, entomologist and ethnologist.
Life
Tindale was born in Perth, Western Australia in 1900. His family moved to Tokyo and lived ther ...
estimated their tribal lands covered approximately . They included the inland area north-east of
Mount Litchfield, around the mid-waters of the
Reynolds River and the headwaters of the
Adelaide River
The Adelaide River is a river in the Northern Territory of Australia.
Course and features
The river rises in the Litchfield National Park and flows generally northwards to Clarence Strait, joined by eight tributaries including the west branch ...
. Their north-eastern limits were close to
Rum Jungle and
Batchelor. Kungarakan traditional land encompasses Adelaide River, Batchelor, Rum Jungle,
Finniss River, Litchfield Park, and Berry Springs, including the Territory Wildlife Park.
Language
Alternative names
They were known to European settlers as the "Paperbark People".
Alternative names and spellings include:
* ''Gunerakan''
* ''Kangarraga''
* ''Kangarranga''
* ''Warnunger''
* ''Ungnakan''
Notable people
*
Kathy Mills, first woman on the
Northern Land Council
The Northern Land Council (NLC) is a land council representing the Aboriginal peoples of the Top End of the Northern Territory of Australia, with its head office in Darwin.
While the NLC was established in 1974, its origins began in the strugg ...
*
Marlon Motlop
Marlon Motlop is an Indigenous Australian former Australian rules footballer who played with the Port Adelaide Football Club in the AFL. His final season was with Glenelg Football Club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) i ...
, footballer and musician
(on his mother's side
)
*
Tom Calma
Thomas Edwin Calma, (born 1953), is an Aboriginal Australian human rights and social justice campaigner. He is the sixth chancellor of the University of Canberra, a post held since January 2014, after two years as deputy chancellor. Calma is th ...
, Chancellor of the
University of Canberra
The University of Canberra (UC) is a public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is within walking distance of Westfield Belconnen, and from Canberra's Civic Centre. UC ...
Notes
Citations
Sources
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{{Authority control
Aboriginal peoples of the Northern Territory