The Walangama were an
indigenous Australian
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 ...
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
, establishe ...
.
Language
Walangama, now extinct, was one of the
Paman languages
The Paman languages are an Australian language family spoken on Cape York Peninsula, Queensland. First noted by Kenneth Hale, Paman is noteworthy for the profound phonological changes which have affected some of its descendants.
Classifica ...
. William Armit, a local police inspector writing in the 1880s, stated that Walangama differed markedly from all of the surrounding tribal languages, stating:
It is most unusual to find a language which differs so much from its neighbours and those of Australia generally as this.'
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 ...
says that an extensive vocabulary of Walangama was collected from informants in 1938.
Country
Tindale estimated their territory as comprising some , around
Carron River and Walker Creek. Their western borders lay around Maggieville and
Normanton, while to the east, their frontier was at
Croydon
Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...
. To their south, their confines were around the headwaters of
Belmore Creek, and their northern extension ran up to Stirling along the southern side of the
Gilbert River.
People
The district Police Inspector William Armit, writing in 1882, wrote that they were:
bold and hostile, fine athletic fellows, of a coppery color, with curly hair, who make frequent raids on their neighbours, and murder a White man now and then when opportunity offers.
Alternative names
* ''Karan'' (scrublanders)
* ''Wahlongman''
* ''Wallankammer''
* ''Wollangama''
* ''Wollangama''
* ''Wollongurmee''
Some words
* ('mother')
* ('tame dog')
* ('white man')
* ('father')
Source:
Notes
Citations
Sources
*
*
*
{{Authority control
Aboriginal peoples of Queensland