Aboriginal History of the early Illawarra

Archaeological evidence indicates that Aboriginal people lived in the Illawarra for at least 30,000 years before the arrival of the Europeans. The number of Aborigines living in the local area at the time of European occupation is not known. The region was rich in natural resources, and able to sustain a relatively large population, thought to have been between 2,000 and 3,000 [History of Wollongong,1997].

TRIBES AND LANGUAGES

Modern-day tribal groupings of the Illawarra Aboriginal people are based on information compiled by white anthropologists of the 19th century. Two local tribes were identified using geographical location and language:

Dharawal [also spelt as Tarawal or Thuruwal] was the name given to the Aboriginal people who lived on the coastal areas of Sydney between Broken Bay /Pittwater, west to about Berowra Waters, south to Parramatta and Liverpool and extending from there [and along the south-east coastline], into the Illawarra and Shoalhaven districts.

The traditional language of this tribe was also known as Dharawal and this was spoken from Sydney in the north to as far south as Bega.

Another tribe, the Wodi Wodi, a sub-group of the Dharawal, includes the Aboriginal people of the coast from Wollongong to Shoalhaven. In 1875, Lizzy Malone, daughter of a woman of the Shoalhaven tribe, identified "Wodi Wodi"as the name given to the language spoken by this group of natives. The term "Wodi Wodi" became accepted as the name of the Aboriginal people of Illawarra, and the name of their language. [Organ,1990].

Following are some words from the Dharawal language:

FAMILY LIFE

Groups of Aboriginals living at a camping ground were made up exclusively of family members who formed a clan. Clan boundaries were well defined and each clan was responsible for ensuring the well-being of the land. [History of Wollongong, 1997]

Tasks were divided according to age and gender. Men hunted with spears and fished from canoes. They hunted animals such as kangaroos, wallabies, echidnas and possums, reptiles [snakes and lizards] and birds such as ducks, swans and parrots. They used spears and boomerangs to hit, catch and kill - but also climbed trees to get their food. Sometimes they hunted in parties or groups and each person shared the catch. On these occasions some of the men acted as 'beaters' driving animals towards another group of men who were armed and waiting to spear the animals that were driven towards them. Sometimes they used fire to drive the animals forward.Older boys went with their father to learn how to hunt and make and use tools and weapons.

Women were important in the day-to-day survival of the clan. They gathered the bulk of the food including vegetables, shell fish and fish and were responsible for gathering medicinal requirements. Women were also responsible for the education of younger children. Dreaming stories were used to teach children about Aboriginal values such as respecting elders and other social responsibilities. Older children were responsible for caring for younger children and the elderly. They also collected firewood. Girls went with their mother to learn about bush food and bush medicine.

When children reached puberty they went through the initiation process. By the time the boys were 10 they had been admitted into the first class of initiation. A second class of ceremonies were conducted at puberty. Secrecy was rigidly observed whenever an initiation ceremony was conducted into the third class. This involved a youth being 'earmarked' for a special role in the tribe. Young girls were decorated with coloured ochre and secluded from the family group for a period of time. When they were led back to the camp it was considered that they had gone out as girls and returned as women, ready for marriage and motherhood. During this time they were instructed in aspects of tribal lore, received advice on marital matters and participated in purification ceremonies. [History of Wollongong, 1997]

Traditional Aboriginal people had great respect for older people such as Grandfathers and Grandmothers. However, old age, seniority or maturity were not sufficient for a person to be considered an Elder. Each family group had a head man or Elder who was the leader of the unit. He decided when to move camp and settled disputes. Elders [usually males] were people who were considered to be wise in tribal knowledge and worldly matters. They were leaders of family or kinship groups who made decisions about moving camp, when boys would be initiated, when girls would be married and settled disputes among other members of the social unit.

Senior females were not considered to be Elders in traditional Aboriginal society. However they did play important roles in tribal matters. For example they decided when girls would undergo rituals in preparation for marriage and conducted or organized ceremonies that males and children also participated in [but not initiation ceremonies]. They also acted as midwives and story-tellers.

CORROBOREE

There were two main types of corroborees: those that were secretive and were only enacted during initiation ceremonies, while others [the majority] were secular.

Corroborees involved movement [which often imitated that of animals or other fauna and the actions of other characters eg., a hunter or hunters or combatants], and featured musical accompaniment while some had audience participation. All coroborees told a story and new coroborees were developed as new events unfolded in the history of a tribe.

Reverend W.B.Clark's journal includes his observations of a corroboree he attended in the Illawarra district in January 1840 which was called by the Sydney Aborigines and was attended by people from Kiama, Wollongong, Liverpool, Brisbane Waters and Newcastle. Clark described the ceremony:

"About five minutes after we had assembled we heard from a dark corner a low melancholy sort of chant, and a beating of a waddy against a shield; the shout grew louder, at first it was sung by two voices, then by several - voice chiming in till it burst out in a most unearthly howl - the noise increasing. O-Roa seemed to be frequently repeated. After the first chant, the singers came out into the night and we then saw one man with a reddish cotton pocket handkerchief on his shoulders beating the waddy against the shield, the chief musician who sang with another beside him. The sound appeared to be emitted from the chest with a great straining of muscles, as if it caused pain. The dancers, 8 in number then came out, each having in his hand a bunch of fresh leaves...and when the chant [O-Roa] began again, in which all seemed to join, they commenced the dance."

On enquiry, Clarke found the meaning of the song to be "that the white man came to Sydney in ships and landed the horses in the saltwater." With a great lack of perception, Clarke noted in his diary "It is of such ridiculous subjects that the Blacks...make their songs - and any trifling event is celebrated by a song". [Clarke,1840 IN ORGAN, 1990].

FOOD

As hunter-gatherers living on the coast, the Illawarra Aboriginals' diet was rich in seafood. They also ate local animals such as kangaroo, wallaby and possum and local plants. Groups would move camp in response to the availability of seasonal food.

In the Illawarra district the Aborigines were observed barricading [blocking] rivers with tree branches and logs. As fish swam down the river towards the sea they were trapped behind the dam where they were scooped up and thrown onto the shore. The Aborigines also fished from rocks and beaches using hand lines made from plants and hooks made from shells. Stones were used as sinkers.

Today middens are found along the coastline or on river banks and they represent campsites where food remains such as shells and bones have accumulated.

CLOTHING

The Aboriginal people of the Sydney, Illawarra and Shoalhaven district [and most, if not in all parts of Australia], were often observed by early settlers to be naked. The men and women of some tribes are known to have worn a belt around their middle made of hair, animal fur, skin or fiber which they used to carry tools and weapons. These belts often had a flap at the front. This appears to have been a modification that was added during European colonization when the British colonists and authorities were concerned about modesty and imposed their standards on the Aborigines - who were unashamed of their nakedness.

Aboriginal people needed to be warm in winter months and made cloaks and rugs from possum and other animal skins. Cloaks were worn during the day and used as blankets during the night. A number of skins were needed to make the garment through a process of being cleaned, dried and sewn together.

During colonization individual settlers gave the Aborigines their old clothes [known as slops]. The people were often recorded as wearing a variety of clothes such as army or navy jackets, trousers, petticoats and blouses.

For decoration, feathers, kangaroo teeth and beads formed from short pieces of reed or teeth were worn. In the Sydney, Illawarra and Shoalhaven district the men wore a bone or piece of wood through their nose. A hole was cut through their nose during initiation and this distinguished them from other tribes who did not use this particular tradition.

[History of Wollongong, 1997]

TOOLS, WEAPONS AND IMPLEMENTS

Aborigines used tools and weapons for obtaining food and other tools to maintain these.

Materials used were stone, shell, bone and local vegetable materials like wood, vine, hair and bark.

Tools for obtaining food included spears, hatchets, shields, spear throwers, boomerangs, digging sticks, bark canoes, fishing lines, shell hooks, baskets and water containers. Choppers, scrapers and files were all used as maintenance tools. Some tools were also used for making and decorating other tools and weapons

Women's implements included dilly bags, digging sticks and fishing hooks.

Men used leaves of the Sandpaper Fig for smoothing weapons and palm leaves for making shelters. Men made fire by rubbing two pieces of the trunk of the Xanthorrhoea[Grass Tree] together. [Sefton, IN Illawarra Heritage1983].

ART

Aboriginal people communicated with each other through their art.

Cave and rock paintings were often left as a message about food in the area. Apart from charcoal, local Aborigines used red and white ochre and clay mixed with water to make hand stencils and rock paintings.

Rock engravings are one of the major art treasures of the Sydney area and are known to extend as far south as Mt Keira. In the Illawarra, the engravings represent human figures, birds, fish, kangaroos and wallabies, and mythological figures. [Sefton, IN Illawarra Heritage1983].

SHELTER

Caves and rock overhangs were commonly used for shelter by the local Aboriginal people. On the floor of many of these shelters, discarded or lost stone aretefacts, food debris and charcoal have been found.

Gunyahs- sheets of bark propped up with branches - were another form of shelter used locally.

DREAMTIME STORIES

Each tribe had a number of Dreamtime creation stories which assisted Aboriginal people to make sense of the world and were essential to their survival. In some areas, two or more tribes had stories that named the same creator such as Biami, who was associated with the southeast coast of New South Wales as an all-father figure. A creator common to all tribes was the Rainbow Serpent who was associated with water and new life.

During the 1900s, R.H.Mathews recorded a story that he said told of the arrival of the Dharawalpeople in the Illawarra district. The characters include a whale, a starfish and other marine species. Barry Moore tells the story to a group of children and adults participating in one of his Bush Tours.

Other local Dreamtime stories are recorded in A documentary history of Illawarra and South Coast Aborigines 1770-1850 compiled by Michael Organ [1990]. Check the library catalogue for locations.

IMPACT OF EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT

Prior to colonization, which began in January 1788, the Australian Aborigines lived a lifestyle based on their Dreamtime beliefs. They had survived as a race for thousands of years and their lifestyle and cultural practices had remained virtually unchanged during that time. This is referred to by Aboriginal & Torres Straight Island [ATSI] people as the traditional period.

Colonization forced Aborigines off their land as towns and farms were developed. This period is identified by ATSI people as the historical period. The sort of changes that took place usually commenced with explorers entering the area of a tribe and being challenged by the people for trespassing on their land. The Europeans often responded by shooting at the tribe. Many were killed. When settlers followed the explorers and began felling trees and building farms, they restricted the ability of the Aborigines to move freely around their land and they destroyed traditional food sources.

These changes took place throughout the continent at different times. They began in the Sydney and Parramatta districts from 1788; in the Cowpastures [Campbelltown / Camden] area from the early 1800s and in the Illawarra district from 1815. Gradually - but with increasing speed, colonization spread throughout the entire continent.

After contact with Europeans, traditional tribal life was virtually destroyed. In 1820 there were an estimated 3,000 full-blooded Aborigines in the Illawarra. By 1899, the total living in Wollongong, Shoalhaven, Picton and Kiama was only 33.

In the region today, there are people descended from the traditional tribal Aborigines of the Illawarra as well as from other regions.

REFERENCES & FURTHER INFORMATION:

• Aboriginal Languages of Australia - links to resources for nearly 40 Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages.
• Dovers, S. ed .Illawarra Heritage: an introduction to the region. Wollongong, 1983.
• Hagan, J & A. Wells eds. A history of Wollongong,.. University of Wollongong, 1997.
• History of Lake Illawarra - Aboriginal History - brief local history
• Illawarra Image Library - search the Library's database of local photographs
• Lindsay, B. A story of early land settlement in Illawarra [1934].
• Organ, M A documentary history of the Illawarra and South Coast Aborigines 1770-1850. Aboriginal Education Unit, Wollongong University, 1990.
• Picture Australia - search the image collections of many significant cultural institutions. Search for Aborigines
• Stories of the Dreaming

Images & photographs

Images relating to local aboriginal groups and culture can be accessed from Illawarra Images on the Web. The search term "aborigines" gives the best result.