The Wandandian 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
South Coast of New South Wales with connections to the
Yuin
The Yuin nation, also spelt Djuwin, is a group of Aboriginal Australians, Australian Aboriginal peoples from the South Coast (New South Wales), South Coast of New South Wales. All Yuin people share ancestors who spoke, as their first language, ...
and
Tharawal
The Dharawal people, also spelt Tharawal and other variants, are an Aboriginal Australian people, identified by the Dharawal language. Traditionally, they lived as hunter–fisher–gatherers in family groups or clans with ties of kinship, s ...
nations.
Country
The Wandandian lands extended over an estimated from
Ulladulla
Ulladulla is a coastal town in New South Wales, Australia in the City of Shoalhaven local government area. It is on the Princes Highway about south of Sydney, halfway between Batemans Bay to the south and Nowra to the north. Ulladulla has cl ...
to the
Shoalhaven River
The Shoalhaven River is a perennial river that rises from the Southern Tablelands and flows into an open mature wave dominated barrier estuary near Nowra on the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia.
Location and features
The Shoalhaven ...
and
Nowra
Nowra is a city in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located south-southwest of the state capital of Sydney (about as the crow flies). As of the 2021 census, Nowra has an estimated population of 22,584. Situated in th ...
. To their south were the
Walbanga
The Walbunja, also spelt Walbanga and Walbunga, are an Aboriginal Australian people of New South Wales, part of the Yuin nation.
Language
The Walbunja language may be a dialect of Dhurga.
Country
Walbunja Country covers a region from Cape Dro ...
. The tribes to their west were the
Ngunawal
The Ngunnawal people, also spelt Ngunawal, are an Aboriginal people of southern New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory in Australia.
Language
Ngunnawal and Gundungurra are Australian Aboriginal languages from the Pama-Nyungan ...
and
Walgalu
The Walgalu are an Aboriginal people of New South Wales, Australia. The Ngambri may belong to the Walgalu grouping, but are often treated separately.
Language
According to some scholars, the Walgalu language is a form of Ngarigo.
Country
Acc ...
.
People
Norman Tindale cites a report by a Richard Dawsey reprinted in one of the early volumes edited by
Edward Micklethwaite Curr
Edward Micklethwaite Curr (25 December 1820 – 3 August 1889) was an Australian pastoralist, author, advocate of Australian Aboriginal peoples, and squatter.
Biography
Curr was born in Hobart, Tasmania (then known as Van Diemen's Land), the ...
, regarding the tribes from Jervis Bay to Mount Dromedary, as referring to the Wandandian. According to this reference, the tribes divided themselves into two classes, the ''Piindri'' (tree climbers) and the ''Kathoongal'' (fishermen), and that according to their mythological lore the earth had been once devastated and had to be repopulated by people from the moon.
Aboriginal union organiser for the
Builders Labourers Federation
The Builders Labourers Federation (BLF) was an Australian trade union that existed from 1911 until 1972, and from 1976 until 1986, when it was permanently deregistered in various Australian states by the federal Hawke Labor government and some ...
Kevin "Cookie" Cook was a
Yuin
The Yuin nation, also spelt Djuwin, is a group of Aboriginal Australians, Australian Aboriginal peoples from the South Coast (New South Wales), South Coast of New South Wales. All Yuin people share ancestors who spoke, as their first language, ...
and Wandandian man.
Some words
* ''barbatha'' or ''baiing'' (father)
* ''meunda'' or ''mane'' (mother)
* ''moomaga'' (white man)
* ''tchingar'' (
starfish
Starfish or sea stars are star-shaped echinoderms belonging to the class Asteroidea (). Common usage frequently finds these names being also applied to ophiuroids, which are correctly referred to as brittle stars or basket stars. Starfish ...
, hence "policeman", since like the marine animal, the latter seize and detain
Alternative names
* ''Tharumba''
* ''Kurial-yuin'' (meaning "men of the north")
* ''Murraygaro''
* ''Jervis Bay tribe''
Notes
Citations
Sources
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{{authority control
Aboriginal peoples of New South Wales
South Coast (New South Wales)