The Ngurelban or Ngurai-illamwurrung 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 Victoria Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in Au ...

Language

The Ngurelban language was similar to that of the Taungurung, the neighbouring tribe to their east.

Country

Ngurelban tribal territory takes in an estimated 3,000 sq. miles of land. According to

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 ...

, it runs along the

Campaspe River The Campaspe River, an inland intermittent river of the northcentral catchment, part of the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the lower Riverina bioregion and Central Highlands and Wimmera regions of the Australian state of Victoria. The he ...

, has its northern boundary edging on

Echuca Echuca ( ) is a town on the banks of the Murray River and Campaspe River in Victoria, Australia. The border town of Moama is adjacent on the northern side of the Murray River in New South Wales. Echuca is the administrative centre and largest s ...

, its western frontier probably not beyond

Gunbower Gunbower is a town in northern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The town is located in the Shire of Campaspe, north of the state capital, Melbourne on the banks of Gunbower Creek. At the , Gunbower had a population of 551. Gunbower Po ...

. It extended south of

Tatura Tatura is a town in the Goulburn Valley region of Victoria, Australia, and is situated within the City of Greater Shepparton local government area, north of the state capital (Melbourne) and west of the regional centre of Shepparton. At the 2 ...

along the

Goulburn River The Goulburn River, a major inland perennial river of the Goulburn Broken catchment, part of the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the alpine, Northern Country/North Central, and Southern Riverina regions of the Australian state of Victoria. ...

to Old Crossing (Mitchellstown), and north of Seymour.

Social organisation

Ngurelban were organised according to three

groups A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

or clans: * Pimpandoor to the northwest, at

Colbinabbin Colbinabbin is a town in central Victoria, Australia. The name is derived from aboriginal meaning "the meeting of the black and red soils". At the , Colbinabbin and the surrounding area had a population of 297. History Located on the banks of C ...

, known for keeping their distance and for having a relationship of tense rivalry with other groups; *

Ngooraialum Ngooraialum were an indigenous Australian tribal subgroup, one of 3 comprising the '' Ngurai-illam Wurrung'', though Norman Tindale placed them among the Taungurung. They inhabited land along the Goulburn River in central Victoria, north of Mitch ...

, a northern clan; and * Paboinboolok, the group at Lake Cooper.

History of contact

By the late 1830s the pressure of the effects of grazing on their pastoral lands from livestock introduced by squatters had started to create serious problems for the Ngurelban. In 1839 one of them, Moonin Moonin, complained that:

''Jumbuck'' and ''Bulgana'' (sheep and cattle) were eating and destroying Aboriginal game pastures and staples like yams and ''mirr-n'yong'' roots.'

Alternative names

* ''Gunn-el-ban'' * ''Gnurellean.'' * ''Nouralung-bula,'' * ''Nguralung-bula.'' * ''Noorillim.'' * ''

'' * ''Ngurilim.'' * ''Ooraialum'' ( a mishearing that dropped the initial ng-).''Oorilim. Oorallim.'' * ''Woo-ral-lim.'' * ''Panyool.'' * ''Paboinboolok''. ''Panpandoor.''

Notes

Citations

References

* * * * {{authority control Aboriginal peoples of Victoria (state) History of Victoria (state)