Kaurna People Essay

The Cammeraygal people stem from the larger Kurringai tribe that are associated with the Northern Sydney area, (North Sydney Council 2014) also known as Euro Country (Sydney history). Lissarrague in Austlang (2014), identifies that the name Kurringai/Karikal is not only the name of the people but also the name associated with their dialect Hunter River-Lake Macquarie language, which is derived from Guringi language. The Northern Sydney region felt a substantial blow from the severe effects of British settlers (Karskens, 2011). Consequently there are no known descendants of the Cammeraygal nation (Heritage 2012).

According to Beach Safe (2015) in 1836, when Colonel William Light’s ship, the Rapid, sailed into the Port Adelaide River inlet and anchored in the Gawler Reach, it entered the ecological and cultural landscape within the Tjilbruke Dreaming Track of the Kaurna Aboriginal people.

The Australian Indigenous community hold extremely significant corrections to the land of Australia, of which they refer to as ‘Country.’ Indigenous people acquire deep meaning from the land, sea and the countless resources derived from them. This special relationship has formed for many centuries. To them ‘Country’ is paramount for overall wellbeing; the strong, significant, spiritual bonds embody their entire existence. Knowledge is continually passed down to create an unbroken connection of past,

In 1788 when the European settlers “colonised” Australia, the Australian land was known as “terra nullius” which means “land belonging to no-one”. This decision set the stage for the problems and

On August the 16th, 1975, Gough Whitlam, the Prime Minister at the time, organised a ceremony so that he could give the land back to the Gurindji people. At the ceremony, Whitlam grabbed some soil from the ground and said “Vincent Lingiari, I solemnly hand to you these deeds as proof, in Australian law, that these lands belong to the Gurindji people and I put into your hands part of the earth itself as a sign that this land will be the possession of you and your children forever.” And although the land had been given back, the name was not open to change until 1986, 2 years before Lingiari’s death.

Aboriginal people seem to have lived a long time in the same environment as the now extinct Australian

Terra Nullius comes from the Latin word ‘no body’s land’ which is used to describe a piece of land that has not been subjected to the state of sovereignty and is the legal basis of the European settlement of Australia.

The City of Boroondara acknowledges the people of the Kulin Nation as Traditional Owners of the land of Boroondara. Today, two community organisations represent the interests of Indigenous people in Boroondara and the Eastern Metropolitan Region. They are the Wurundjeri Land Tribe and Compensation Cultural Heritage Council Inc. (Wurundjeri Council) and the Inner East Local Indigenous Network (LIN). The Wurundjeri people are recognised as the Traditional Owners of land in the northern area of Boroondara. The Wurundjeri Council represents the Wurundjeri people and is the key contact for activities occurring in the northern area that can only be performed by Traditional Owners. The Inner East LIN is an Indigenous community organisation representing the interests of Indigenous people in Boroondara and the Eastern Metropolitan Region.

When the people went home that day, the wind blew over a desolate plateau with only a Banyan Tree, a lotus urn, a scattering of Palmyra, and a vast expanse of eroded red laterite Earth scarred by canyons that run between the villages down to the Bay of Bengal. What was to be the Auroville city area was uninhabited and was used by the surrounding villages to graze cattle. According to the Mother, the ‘first’ Aurovilians were those 25,000 local people living around and within the larger Auroville area of 25 square kilometres. ( The Dawning of Auroville- B, pg 54)

An Italian community known as ‘New Italy’ was established in New South Wales by a group of migrants from northern Italy. This is now known as Woodburn.

The Guringai Area was split up into regions, where they spoke 3 languages Daruk, Darkinyung and Awabakal. The Guringai land stretches from modern day Newcastle to the most southern part of Sydney. The Guringai nation has developed diverse and complex connection to country, language customs, spirituality, customary law, kinship, farming and hunting techniques.

The final step in the narrative can be seen as these later generations attempt to rediscover their ethnic identity.

Researching place-names of Indigenous origin requires an understanding of Indigenous principles of naming places, of the application of names to geographic areas, and for each name the historical circumstances that have taken place there. Basso came to realize this can all become very challenging due to language barriers, he writes,

would call their land “Ta Seti”. This meant the land of the bow. It was given the name because it

Tasmania used to be called Van Diemen’s Land until 1855. For the first fifty years of British settlement, Tasmania plays a pivotal role as an open prison for criminals and convicts to live out their sentence. Its remoteness and dramatic scenery proposes that it is the type of place where genocide is likely to occur.