The Olkolo or Koko-olkola' are an
Indigenous Australian people
Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...
of central and eastern
Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupació ...
in northern
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
, establishe ...
. 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 ...
, they are to be distinguished from the
Kokangol
The Kokangol (Koko-Gol), or Yuwula, are said to have been an Indigenous Australian people of Queensland. Some dispute this, suggesting the name may be a synonym for Aghu Tharnggala, or may simply be the name of a language consultant.
Country
The ...
, higher up on the
Alice River watershed.
Language
Olkola belongs to the
Kunjen branch of the
Southwestern Paman languages
The Southwestern Paman languages are a family of the Paman languages spoken on the western part of the Cape York Peninsula of Queensland, Australia.
Alpher (1972) accepts Southwestern Pama as a valid node; the classification below is his. R. ...
, as is mutually intelligible with Uw Oykangand, one of the other dialects of that group.
Country
The Olkolo are the traditional owners of some extending from the
Middle Coleman River, as far south as Crosbie River., and including the western margins of the
Quinkan region.
Lifestyle and ecology
The Olkolo are one of the Kawadji, or sandbeach people, who harvested the maritime resources available to them as coastal dwellers opposite the
Coral Sea. Traditionally, the rhythm of their foraging depended on the climatic changes over two seasons, the dry season that arrived with the south-east trade winds, blowing from April through to November, followed by the northwest monsoon season, beginning in late November/early December. During the dry season they would on occasion move inland to cull vegetables and timber, but otherwise spent the major part of the year camped on the shores.
History
By 1889 Olkolo people could be found in camps south of their traditional grounds, in the
Coen area. One descendant, Willy Long of
Laura recalled several decades later a massacre, from which his parents survived, which took place by 40 troopers under Sub-Inspector Urquhart from the Musgrave police station. The ambushed Olkolo fled and sought refuge in swamps, where they were gunned down, in one of 5 such massacres that took place in 1889.
Alternative names
* ''Koko Olkol, Koko Olkolo, Koko-olkol.''
* ''Ol'kol.'', Olkulo
* ''Koka-ollugul.''
* ''Ulkulu.''
* ''Wulgulu.''
* ''Olgolo.''
* ''Olcoola.''
Notes
Citations
Sources
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Aboriginal peoples of Queensland