Darumbal

The Darumbal (occasionally Dharumbal) are the Indigenous Australians that have traditionally occupied Central Queensland, speaking dialects of the Darumbal language. Darumbal people of the Keppel Islands and surrounding regions are sometimes also known as Woppaburra or Ganumi,[1] [2] and the terms are sometimes used interchangeably.[3] Darumbal people in the Shoalwater Bay area are known as Yetimarla.[4]

Ecology

Traditional Darumbal land is considered to encompass most of coastal Central Queensland, including Shoalwater Bay, the Keppel Islands, and the cities of Rockhampton and Yeppoon.[5]

Language

Ethnologue classifies the Darumbal language (sometimes known as Bayali) as "extinct".[6] Technically, Bayali was quite distinct from Darumbal, sharinmg, according to Dixon's analysis, no more than 21% of its basic word stock with Darumbal.[7]

History

With the arrival of European settlers in the region, some Darumbal were tolerated as fringe communities of the new settlements, but most were systematically removed to make way for pastoral development.[8] According to some estimates, "between 1865 and 1902 the population of the Keppel Islands suffered a substantial reduction of 75 to 80 per cent".[1] In one incident alone on July 1865 alone, native troopers ambushed a Darumbal ceremonial gathering outside Rockhampton, near Samuel Birkbeck's Glenmore Station and shot dead 18 Aborigines, after nearby settlers expressed worries about the presence of natives in their area. After the massacre, they then set fire to the corpses.[9][10]

Native Title

Darumbal Native Title claims and land use issues have become prominent in recent years. In 2001, a claim was made to the National Native Title Tribunal,[11] and in 2007 137 hectares at Mount Wheeler were handed over to the tribe.[12] There have been several controversies regarding fisheries licensing and conservation.[13][14] Darumbal people have been granted limited access to the Shoalwater Bay Military Training Area.[15]

Although the language is extinct, some Darumbal words live on in place names in Central Queensland. The town of Coowonga is named after a Darumbal man famous for saving the life of politician King O'Malley in the late 19th century.[16] The Rockhampton suburb of Nerimbera is named for a Darumbal word meaning 'where the mountains meet the river'.[17]

Some Darumbal Words

Notes and references

Notes

    1. 1 2 Rowland 2004, p. ?.
    2. ↑ AIATSIS 2005.
    3. ↑ CQU 2006.
    4. ↑ Bauman 2011.
    5. ↑ Map (Aboriginal Australia) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Data Archive
      Gumoo Woojabuddee Section Fact Sheets Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
      Our Region Rockhampton Regional Council Archived March 5, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
    6. ↑ 'Bayali' Ethnologue
    7. ↑ Terrill 2002, p. 15.
    8. ↑ Gumoo Woojabuddee Section Fact Sheets Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
    9. ↑ Kiernan 2007, p. 307.
    10. ↑ Evans 2004, p. 156.
    11. ↑ Deadline Approaches on Darumbal Native Title Claim National Native Title Tribunal
    12. ↑ Mt Wheeler handed over to traditional Darumbal owners in historic ceremony Queensland Cabinet Office
    13. ↑ Wratten, Adam Darumbal Man Appeals $2000 fine The Morning Bulletin, 12 February 2010
    14. ↑ Wratten, Adam Hunter Rejects Dugong Ban Call The Morning Bulletin, 16 September 2011
    15. ↑ Indigenous Control of Indigenous Heritage Australian Department of the Environment and Heritage
    16. ↑ Elder Adoption Ceremony Coowonga State School
    17. ↑ Nerimbera Football Club
    18. ↑ Conway-Dodd 2015.

    References

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