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 Isl ...

people of the South Coast of New South Wales with connections to the

Yuin The Yuin nation, also spelt Djuwin, is a group of Australian Aboriginal peoples from the South Coast of New South Wales. All Yuin people share ancestors who spoke, as their first language, one or more of the Yuin language dialects. Sub-group ...

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 to the Shoalhaven River 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 t ...

. 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 Dr ...

. The tribes to their west were the Ngunawal 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 e ...

, 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

and Wandandian man.

Some words

* ''barbatha'' or ''baiing'' (father) * ''meunda'' or ''mane'' (mother) * ''moomaga'' (white man) * ''tchingar'' ( 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

* * * * * * * {{authority control Aboriginal peoples of New South Wales South Coast (New South Wales)