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{{Short description|Aboriginal Australian people}}
The '''Wiradjuri''', or '''Wiradhuri''', are an [[Australian Aborigine|indigenous people of Australia]], who speak the [[Australian Aboriginal languages|Aboriginal language]] of that name. They occupied a large area of central [[New South Wales]], from the [[Blue Mountains]] in the east, to [[Hay]] in the west, north to [[Nyngan]] and south to [[Albury]].
{{About|the Indigenous Australian people|the place|Wiradjuri, New South Wales}}
{{distinguish|text=the [[Wurundjeri]] people of the Yarra River Valley}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Use Australian English|date=May 2012}}
{{Infobox
| above = Wiradjuri
| abovestyle = background-color: #FFFF99
| image1 =
| caption1 =
| headerstyle = background-color: #FFFF99
| header1 = [[Hierarchy]]
| label2 = Language family:
| data2 = [[Pama–Nyungan languages|Pama–Nyungan]]
| label3 = Language branch:
| data3 = [[Yuin–Kuric languages|Yuin–Kuric]]
| label4 = Language group:
| data4 = [[Wiradhuric languages|Wiradhuric]]
| label5 = Group dialects:
| data5 = [[Wiradjuri language|Wiradjuri]]
| label6 = Group estate:
| header20 = Area (approx. {{convert|97100|km2|mi2}})
| label22 = Bioregion:
| data22 = Central New South Wales
| label23 = Location:
| data23 = Central [[New South Wales]]
| label24 = Coordinates:
| data24 = {{coord|33|50|S|147|30|E|region:AU-NSW|display=inline, title}}{{sfn|Tindale|1974|p=201}}
| label25 = Mountains:
| data25 =
| label26 = Rivers
| data26 = Galari ([[Lachlan River|Lachlan]]), [[Wambuul Macquarie River|Wambuul Macquarie]], Marrambidya ([[Murrumbidgee River|Murrumbidgee]]), Milawa ([[Murray River|Murray]])
| label27 = Other geological:
| data27 =
| label28 = Urban areas:<ref name="DUBR" />
| header30 = Notable individuals
| data31 = [[Windradyne]], [[Linda Burney]], [[Tai Tuivasa]]
}}


The '''Wiradjuri people''' ({{IPA|wrh|wiraːjd̪uːraj|label=[[Wiradjuri language|Wiradjuri]] northern dialect pronunciation}}; {{IPA|wrh|wiraːjɟuːraj|label=Wiradjuri southern dialect pronunciation}}) are a group of [[Aboriginal Australians|Aboriginal Australian]] people from central [[New South Wales]], united by common descent through kinship and shared traditions. They survived as skilled hunter-fisher-gatherers, in family groups or clans, and many still use knowledge of hunting and gathering techniques as part of their customary life.
==Notable Wiradjuri people==


In the 21st century, major Wiradjuri groups live in [[Condobolin]], [[Peak Hill, New South Wales|Peak Hill]], [[Narrandera]] and [[Griffith, New South Wales|Griffith]]. There are significant populations at [[Wagga Wagga]] and [[Leeton, New South Wales|Leeton]] and smaller groups at [[West Wyalong]], [[Parkes, New South Wales|Parkes]], [[Dubbo]], [[Forbes, New South Wales|Forbes]], [[Cootamundra]], [[Darlington Point]], [[Cowra]] and [[Young, New South Wales|Young]].
Wiradjuri elders [[Isabell Coe]] and Neville "Uncle Chappy" Williams are leading land rights activits and proponents in the [[Lake Cowal Campaign]].


==Name==
==Wiradjuri Language==
[[File:Windradyne, Aust. Aboriginal warrior from the Wiradjuri.jpg|thumb|right|A Wiradjuri warrior, thought to be [[Windradyne]]{{sfn|Langton|2010|p=33}}]]
The Wiradjuri language had effectively died out of everyday spoken use, but has recently been reconstructed from early European [[Anthropology|anthropologist's]] records by [[Stan Grant]], a member of the Wiradjuri Elder's Council, and [[John Rudder]] Ph.D., who has previously studied [[Australian Aboriginal languages]] in [[Arnhem Land]]. It is a member of the small Wiradhuric branch of the [[Pama-Nyungan languages|Pama-Nyngan family]].
* [http://rosella.apana.org.au/~jtr/wirad.html Wiradjuri language materials]
* [http://rosella.apana.org.au/~jtr/profile.html profiles of Grant and Rudder]


The Wiradjuri [[exonym and endonym|autonym]] is derived from {{Lang|wrh|wiray}}, meaning "no" or "not", with the [[comitative]] suffix {{Lang|wrh|-dhuray}} or {{Lang|wrh|-dyuray}} meaning "having".{{sfn|Donaldson|1984|p=26}} That the Wiradjuri said {{Lang|wrh|wiray}}, as opposed to some other word for "no", was seen as a distinctive feature of their speech, and several other tribes in New South Wales, to the west of the [[Great Dividing Range]], are similarly named after their own words for "no".{{sfn|Thieberger|McGregor|1994|pp=79–80}} A similar distinction was made between [[Romance languages]] in [[France in the Middle Ages|medieval France]], with the ''[[Occitan language|langues d'oc]]'' and the ''[[langues d'oïl]]'' distinguished by their word for "yes".
==External link==


In his book ''Aboriginal Tribes of Australia'' (1974), [[Norman Tindale]] wrote that ''Wiradjuri'' was one of several terms coined later, after the 1890s had seen a "rash of such terms", following the publication of a work by ethnologist [[John Fraser (ethnologist)|John Fraser]]. In 1892, Fraser had published a revised and expanded edition{{sfn|Ridley|Livingstone|Günther|Broughton|1892|pp=ix–x,+}} of [[Lancelot Threlkeld]]'s 1834 work on the Awabakal language, ''[[An Australian Grammar]]'',{{sfn|Threlkeld|Fraser|Livingstone|Taplin|2008}} in which he created his own names for groupings, such as Yunggai, Wachigari and Yakkajari.{{sfn|Ridley|Livingstone|Günther|Broughton|1892|pp=ix–x, +}}
*[http://www.samuseum.sa.gov.au/tindale/HDMS/tindaletribes/wiradjuri.htm from the N. B. Tindale's Aboriginal Tribes of Australia (1974)]


Tindale says that some of the later terms had entered the literature, although not based on fieldwork and lacking Aboriginal support, as artificial, collective names for his "Great Tribes" of New South Wales. He writes that there was such a "literary need for major groupings that [Fraser] set out to provide them for New South Wales, coining entirely artificial terms for his 'Great tribes'. These were not based on field research and lacked aboriginal support. His names such as Yunggai, Wachigari and Yakkajari can be ignored as artifacts...During the 1890s the idea spread and soon there was a rash of such terms...Some of these have entered, unfortunately, into popular literature, despite their dubious origins."{{sfn|Tindale|Jones|1974|pp=156, 191, 200}}
{{Australia-stub}}


He lists Wiradjuri (NSW) as one of these artificial names, along with Bangarang{{efn|R. H. Mathews' spelling}} ([[Pangerang]]) (Vic.); [[Booandik]] (Vic. & SA); Barkunjee ([[Barkindji]]) (NSW), [[Kurnai]] (Vic.), Thurrawal ([[Dharawal]]) (NSW), and Malegoondeet (?) (Vic.).{{sfn|Tindale|Jones|1974|pp=156, 191, 200}}{{sfn|Tindale|1974}} He also mentions [[Robert Hamilton Mathews|R. H. Mathews]], [[Alfred William Howitt|A. W. Howitt]] and [[John Mathew]] as promulgators of the "nations" concept. However, Tindale refers to Wiradjuri in his own work (p.&nbsp;200): "Wiradjuri 'Wiradjuri (Wi'raduri)".{{sfn|Tindale|Jones|1974|pp=156, 191, 200}}{{sfn|Tindale|1974}}
[[Category:Australian Aboriginal languages]]

[[Category:Indigenous peoples of Australia]]
==Wiradjuri language==
{{main|Wiradjuri language}}
[[Wiradjuri language|Wiradjuri]] is a [[Pama–Nyungan languages|Pama–Nyungan family]] and classified as a member of the small [[Wiradhuric languages|Wiradhuric branch of Australian languages]] of Central New South Wales.{{sfn|Dixon|2002|p=xxxiv}}

The Wiradjuri language is effectively extinct, but attempts are underway to revive it, with a reconstructed grammar, based on earlier ethnographic materials and wordlists and the memories of Wiradjuri families, which is now used to teach the language in schools.{{sfn|McNaboe|Poetsch|2010|pp=216–224}} This reclamation work was originally propelled by elder [[Stan Grant (Wiradjuri elder)|Stan Grant]] and [[John Rudder]] who had previously studied [[Australian Aboriginal languages]] in [[Arnhem Land]].{{sfn|Rudder|Grant|2005}}{{sfn|Rudder|Grant|2010}}

==Country==
The Wiradjuri are the largest Aboriginal group in New South Wales. They once occupied a vast area in central New South Wales, on the plains running north and south to the west of the [[Blue Mountains (Australia)|Blue Mountains]]. The area was known as "the land of the three rivers",{{sfn|Langton|2010|p=32}} the [[Wambuul Macquarie River|''Wambuul'' (Macquarie)]], the ''Kalare'' later known as the [[Lachlan River|Lachlan]] and the [[Murrumbidgee River|Murrumbidgee]], or ''Murrumbidjeri''.{{sfn|Bamblett|2013|p=40}}

[[Norman Tindale]] estimated the territorial range of the Wiradjuri tribal lands at {{cvt|127000|km2}}. Their eastern borders ran from north to south from above [[Mudgee]], down to the foothills of the Blue Mountains east of [[Lithgow, New South Wales|Lithgow]] and [[Oberon, New South Wales|Oberon]], and east of [[Cowra]], [[Young, New South Wales|Young]] and [[Tumut]] and south to the [[Murray River|upper Murray]] at [[Albury]] and east to about [[Tumbarumba]]. The southern border ran to [[Howlong]]. Its western reaches went along [[Billabong Creek]] to beyond [[Mossgiel, New South Wales|Mossgiel]]. They extended southwest to the vicinity of [[Hay, New South Wales|Hay]] and [[Narrandera]]. [[Condobolin]] southwards to [[Booligal]], [[Carrathool]], [[Wagga Wagga]], [[Cootamundra]], [[Parkes, New South Wales|Parkes]], [[Trundle, New South Wales|Trundle]]; [[Gundagai]], [[Boorowa]], and [[Rylstone, New South Wales|Rylstone]], [[Wellington, New South Wales|Wellington]], and [[Carcoar, New South Wales|Carcoar]] all lay within Wiradjuri territory.{{sfn|Tindale|1974|p=201}}

The [[Murray River]] forms the Wiradjuri's southern boundary and the change from woodland to open grassland marks their eastern boundary.{{citation needed|date=October 2017}}

==Social organisation==
The Wiradjuri were organised into bands. [[Norman Tindale]] quotes [[Alfred William Howitt]] as mentioning several of these local groups of the tribe:
* ''Narrandera'' (prickly lizard)
* ''Cootamundra'' ({{Lang|wrh|kuta-mundra}}, kutamun turtle)
* ''Murranbulla'' ({{Lang|wrh|maring-bula}}, two bark canoes).{{sfn|Tindale|1974|p=201}}

===Burial rite===
The Wiradjuri, together with the [[Gamilaraay]] (who however used them in [[Bora (Australian)|bora ceremonies]]), were particularly known for their use of carved trees which functioned as [[List of types of funerary monument|taphoglyphs]],{{sfn|McCarthy|1940|pp=161–166}} marking the burial site of a notable medicine-man, ceremonial leader, warrior or orator of a tribe. On the death of a distinguished Wiradjuri, initiated men would strip the bark off a tree to allow them to incise symbols on the side of the trunk which faced the [[tumulus|burial mound]]. The craftsmanship on remaining examples of this funeral artwork displays notable artistic power. Four still stand near [[Molong]] at the [[Grave of Yuranigh]].

They are generally to be found near rivers where the softer earth allowed easier burial.{{sfn|McCarthy|1940|p=161}} [[Alfred William Howitt]] remarked that these trees incised with taphoglyphs served both as transit points to allow [[Culture hero|mythological cultural heroes]] to ascend to, and descend from, the firmament as well as a means for the deceased to return to the sky.{{sfn|McCarthy|1940|pp=161–166}}

==Lifestyle==
The Wiradjuri diet included [[Freshwater yabby|yabbies]] and fish such as [[Murray cod]] from the rivers. In dry seasons, they ate kangaroos, emus and food gathered from the land, including fruit, nuts, yam daisies (''[[Microseris lanceolata]]''), wattle seeds, and orchid tubers. The Wiradjuri travelled into [[Australian Alps|Alpine areas]] in the summer to feast on [[Bogong moth]]s.{{sfn|Warrant|Frost|Green|Mouritsen|2016|p=77}}

The Wiradjuri were also known for their handsome [[possum-skin cloak]]s stitched together from several possum furs. [[Lachlan Macquarie|Governor Macquarie]] was presented with one of these cloaks by a Wiradjuri man when he visited Bathurst in 1815.{{sfn|Langton|2010|p=33}}

==British penetration==
Wiradjuri territory was first penetrated by [[British Empire|British]] colonists in 1813.{{sfn|Langton|2010|p=32}} In 1822 [[George Suttor]] took up an extensive lot of land, later known as Brucedale Station, after Wiradjuri guides showed him an area with ample water sources. Suttor learnt their language, and befriended [[Windradyne|Windradyne, nicknamed "Saturday"]], and attributed conflict to the harshness of his own people's behaviour, since the Wiradjuri were in his view, fond of white people, as they would call them.{{sfn|Langton|2010|pp=35–36}} Clashes between the British settlers and the Wiradjuri however multiplied as the influx of colonist increased, and became known as the [[Bathurst War]]s. The occupation of their lands and their cultivation began to cause famine among the Wiradjuri, who had a different notion of what constituted property.{{efn|Suttor wrote: "These natives have some imperfect ideas of property, and the right of possession. They say all wild animals are theirs - the tame or cultivated ones are ours. Whatever springs spontaneously from the earth or without labour is theirs also. Things produced by art and labour, are the white fellows' as they call us." {{harv|Langton|2010|p=37}}}} In the 1850s there were still [[corroboree]]s around [[Mudgee]], but there were fewer clashes.

==Notable people==
===Historical===
* [[Turandurey]], explorer, guide and interpreter
* [[William Punch]], massacre survivor and World War One serviceman
* [[Windradyne]], important Aboriginal leader during the [[Bathurst War]]
* [[Yuranigh]], a much prized guide for the explorer [[Sir Thomas Mitchell|Thomas Mitchell]], especially during his expedition to the Gulf of Carpentaria in 1845–1846. On hearing of Yuranigh's death in 1852, Mitchell put up £200 to have [[Grave of Yuranigh|his gravesite]] marked with a tombstone.{{sfn|Pearce|2016}}
* [[Diana Mudgee]], massacre survivor and early Aboriginal land owner

===Modern===
* [[Kirsten Banks]], astronomer
* [[Tony Briggs]], actor, writer and producer
* [[Linda Burney]], member of the Australian House of Representatives
* [[Evonne Goolagong Cawley]], tennis great
* [[Jimmy Clements]], present at the opening of [[Old Parliament House, Canberra|Provisional Parliament House]] in 1927
* [[Faye McMillan]], academic
* [[Kevin Gilbert (author)|Kevin Gilbert]], 20th century author
* [[Stan Grant (journalist)|Stan Grant]], journalist, son of Stan Grant Sr
* [[Stan Grant (Wiradjuri elder)|Stan Grant Sr]], a Wiradjuri elder and linguist{{sfn|Innes|2016}}
* [[Anita Heiss]] contemporary novelist
* [[Brendan "Boon" Oldfield]] Former Boomanulla Raiders coach
* [[Kate Howarth (writer)|Kate Howarth]] author
* [[Faye McMillan]], academic
* [[Adam Shipp]], bushman, elder
* [[Kerry Reed-Gilbert]], poet, author and elder
* Aunty Isabel Reid (born 1932), elder and advocate for the [[Stolen Generation]]; NSW State Recipient of Senior [[Australian of the Year]] 2021; oldest living survivor of those forcibly removed under the ''[[Aborigines Protection Act 1909]]'' (NSW), having been sent to the [[Cootamundra Domestic Training Home for Aboriginal Girls]]{{sfn|AoY}}
* [[Jessa Rogers]], founding principal of the Cape York Girl Academy
* [[Joseph Kapeen]] Elder
* [[Mum (Shirl) Smith]] MBE OAM, community activist
* [[Sean Charles|Malcolm Towney]] aka MFC, Mayor's Office Queanbeyan NSW
* [[Dale Ella]] community member
* [[Margaret Tucker]], co-founder of the [[Australian Aborigines League]]
* [[Joy Williams (Australian writer)|Joyce Williams]], Wiradjuri elder, health campaigner, native title activist
* [[Michael "Gee Wizz" Weir]] miniature rapper
* [[Neville Williams|Neville "Uncle Chappy" Williams]], land activist and proponent in the [[Lake Cowal Campaign]]
* [[Tara June Winch]], author
* [[Jack Charles]] (1943-2022), actor, Elder, activist
* [[Jeanine Leane]], poet and academic

===Music/the arts===
* [[Brook Andrew]], contemporary artist
* [[Bianca Beetson]], contemporary artist
* [[Luke Carroll]], actor, presenter
* [[Alan Dargin]], [[didgeridoo]] player
* [[Ella Havelka]], dancer, first Indigenous person to join [[The Australian Ballet]]
* [[Melanie Horsnell]], singer-songwriter
* [[Mo'Ju]], musician
* [[Lin Onus]], artist
* [[Harry Wedge]], artist

===Sporting===
====Rugby League====
* [[Josh Addo-Carr]], rugby league footballer<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nrl.com/addo-carr-on-track-for-nrl-debut/tabid/10874/newsid/92955/default.aspx|title=Addo-Carr on track for NRL debut|date=19 February 2016|publisher=NRL.com|access-date=17 April 2016}}</ref>
* [[Braidon Burns]], rugby league footballer<ref name="2020 map">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nrl.com/siteassets/2020/round-13/nrl-tp20-ir-player-map-2.pdf|title=NRL 2020 Indigenous Player map}}</ref>
* [[Laurie Daley]], rugby league footballer<ref>[https://www.codesports.com.au/nrl/indigenous-sport-month-time-for-footy-codes-to-create-opportunity-for-indigenous-coaches/news-story/19b8252848a6c8b232b53225576ad909 Indigenous Sport Month: Time for footy codes to create opportunity for Indigenous coaches] by Jamie Pandaram and Lauren Wood for CodeSports 22 May 2023</ref>
* [[Scott Drinkwater]], rugby league footballer<ref name="2020 map" />
* [[Adam Elliott]], rugby league footballer<ref name="2020 map" />
* [[Robbie Fibes]], rugby league footballer<ref name="2020 map" />
* [[Blake Ferguson (rugby league)|Blake Ferguson]], rugby league footballer<ref name="2020 map" />
* [[Jai Field]], rugby league footballer<ref name="2020 map" />
* [[Andrew Fifita]], rugby league footballer<ref name="2020 map" />
* [[Tyrell Fuimaono]], rugby league footballer<ref name="2020 map" />
* [[David Grant (rugby league)|David Grant]], rugby league footballer{{fact|date=May 2023}}
* [[Nicho Hynes]], rugby league footballer<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-07-30|title=Addo-Carr, Hynes and Lee on Indigenous Round|url=https://www.melbournestorm.com.au/news/2020/07/31/addo-carr-hynes-and-lee-on-indigenous-round/|access-date=2021-08-13|website=Melbourne Storm|language=en}}</ref>
* [[Ben Jones (Australian rugby league, born 1990)|Ben Jones]], rugby league footballer{{fact|date=May 2023}}
* [[Latrell Mitchell]], rugby league footballer<ref>{{cite news| last=Bruce | first=Jasper | title=Latrell 'a leader in fight against racism' | website=The Australian | date=23 April 2021 | url=https://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/nrl-rabbitohs-release-statement-regarding-alleged-racial-abuse-of-latrell-mitchell/news-story/cdb8d7a540a7513d9bc4eb772ca7d204 | access-date=6 May 2023}}</ref>
* [[Brent Naden]], rugby league footballer<ref name="2020 map" />
* [[Kelvin "Poppy Foot" Wighton]], rugby league footballer<ref name="2020 map" />
* [[David Peachey]], rugby league footballer<ref name="2020 map" />
* [[Tyrone Peachey]], rugby league footballer{{fact|date=May 2023}}
* [[Jesse Ramien]], rugby league footballer<ref name="2020 map" />
* [[Will Robinson (rugby league)|Will Robinson]], rugby league footballer{{fact|date=May 2023}}
* [[George Rose (rugby league)|George Rose]], rugby league footballer{{fact|date=May 2023}}
* [[Ron Saddler]], rugby league footballer<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-05-18 |title=Remembering Ron Saddler: New South Wales' First Indigenous Captain |url=https://www.roosters.com.au/news/2023/05/18/remembering-ron-saddler-new-south-wales-first-indigenous-captain/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230725122750/https://www.roosters.com.au/news/2023/05/18/remembering-ron-saddler-new-south-wales-first-indigenous-captain/ |archive-date=2023-07-25 |access-date=2023-07-25 |website=Sydney Roosters |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Reimis Smith]], rugby league footballer<ref name="2020 map" />
* [[Kotoni Staggs]], rugby league footballer<ref name=CM2018a>{{cite web |url=https://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/nrl/broncos-young-gun-kotoni-staggs-to-make-nrl-debut-against-sydney-roosters/news-story/55ba65ca91b4c33247eb6728e21c74ec |title=Broncos young gun Kotoni Staggs to make NRL debut against Sydney Roosters |publisher=The Courier Mail |author=Rikki-Lee Arnold |date=18 May 2018 |access-date=28 December 2021}}</ref>
* [[Robbie Simpson (rugby league)|Robbie Simpson]], rugby league footballer{{fact|date=May 2023}}
* [[Joel Thompson (rugby league)|Joel Thompson]], rugby league footballer{{fact|date=May 2023}}
* [[Brad Tighe]], rugby league footballer{{fact|date=May 2023}}
* [[Esikeli Tonga]], rugby league footballer{{fact|date=May 2023}}
* [[Willie Tonga]], rugby league footballer<ref>https://deadlychoices.com.au/ambassadors/willies-deadly-choice-is-to-drink-plenty-of-water-and-stay-hydrated/ Willie Tonga: Former rugby league player. Retrieved: 2 Feb 2024</ref>
* [[Connor Watson]], rugby league footballer{{fact|date=May 2023}}
* [[Jack Wighton]], rugby league footballer<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6036744/canberra-raiders-prop-junior-paulo-suspended-from-round-one-of-the-nrl-season/|title=Canberra Raiders prop Junior Paulo suspended from round one of the NRL season|first=Caden|last=Helmers|date=7 February 2017|website=The Canberra Times}}</ref>
* [[Joe Williams (rugby league)|Joe Williams]], rugby league footballer{{fact|date=May 2023}}
* [[Jonathan Wright (rugby league)|Jonathan Wright]], rugby league footballer{{fact|date=May 2023}}

===Australian rules football===
* [[Jarrod Atkinson]], Australian rules footballer{{fact|date=May 2023}}
* [[Sean Charles]], Australian rules footballer{{fact|date=May 2023}}
* [[Aidyn Johnson]], Australian rules footballer<ref name="Player map 2017">{{Cite web|url=https://nacchocommunique.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/aflpa-indigenous-player-map-2017.pdf|title=AFLPA indigenous player map 2017}}</ref>
* [[David Wirrpanda]], Australian rules footballer{{fact|date=May 2023}}
* [[Zac Williams (Australian footballer)|Zac Williams]], Australian Rules footballer<ref name="Player map 2017"/>

====Other sports====
* [[Wally Carr]], Australian Commonwealth Boxing Champion<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.wellingtontimes.com.au/story/6053606/one-of-the-best-wellington-boxing-royalty-wally-carr-passes-away/|title='One of the best': Wellington boxing royalty Wally Carr passes away|last=Shirkie|first=Daniel|date=16 April 2019|website=Wellington Times|language=en|access-date=18 April 2019}}</ref>
* [[Daniel Christian]], member of the [[Australian cricket team]]<ref name="The man from Narrandera">{{cite web|url=http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/457821.html|title=The man from Narrandera|last=English|first=Peter|date=30 April 2010|publisher=CricInfo|access-date=30 April 2010}}</ref>
* [[Brendon Cook]], international racing driver{{fact|date=May 2023}}
* [[Evonne Goolagong]], champion tennis player<ref>{{cite news|author1=Dee Jefferson|title=Tennis champion Evonne Goolagong Cawley celebrated in new Australian play|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-03/evonne-goolagong-cawley-new-play-melbourne-theatre-company/11470946|work=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]]|date=4 September 2019}}</ref>
* [[John Kinsela]], first Aboriginal Olympic wrestler<ref name="Skene">{{cite news|last1=Skene|first1=Patrick|title=The forgotten story of ... John Kinsela, the first Aboriginal Olympic wrestler|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/jul/15/the-forgotten-story-of-john-kinsela-the-first-aboriginal-olympic-wrestler|accessdate=15 July 2016|work=The Guardian (Australia)|date=14 July 2016}}</ref>
* [[Joel Swift]], Australian and Olympic [[water polo]] player{{fact|date=May 2023}}
* [[Tai Tuivasa]], [[mixed martial arts]] and [[Ultimate Fighting Championship|UFC Fighter]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-03/tai-tuivasa-tattoo-journey-ufc-209-paris/101395772|title=UFC 209: Tai Tuivasa's Samoan tattoo journey one of worst, and best, experiences of his life|date=3 September 2022|author=Ali Almond|work=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]]}}</ref>
* [[Mariah Williams]] Australian Olympic hockey player{{fact|date=May 2023}}

==Places of significance==
* [[Koonadan Historic Site]], located 9 km north-west of [[Leeton, New South Wales|Leeton]]{{sfn|GoNSW|1996a}}{{sfn|Office of Environment and Heritage}}
* The [[Wellington Convict and Mission Site]] in [[Wellington, New South Wales|Wellington]], a former convict settlement and Aboriginal [[Mission (station)|mission]].
* 56 historical sites were found during survey work at [[Yathong Nature Reserve]], including [[Scarred tree|scar trees]], camp sites and [[Cave painting|cave art]].{{sfn|GoNSW|1996b}}
* A historical site, consisting of an open campsite, was found during survey work at [[Nombinnie Nature Reserve]].{{sfn|GoNSW|1996b}}

==Wiradjuri culture in fiction==
The short story ''Death in the Dawntime'', originally published in ''The Mammoth Book of Historical Detectives'' (Mike Ashley, editor; 1995), is a [[murder mystery]] that takes place entirely among the Wiradjuri people before the arrival of Europeans in Australia.{{sfn|MacIntyre|2001|p=139}}

In [[Bryce Courtenay]]'s novel ''[[Jessica (novel)|Jessica]]'', the plot is centred in Wiradjuri region. Jessica's best friend (Mary Simpson) was from Wiradjuri.{{sfn|Courtenay|2000}}

Noel Beddoe's novel ''The Yalda Crossing''{{sfn|Beddoe|2012}} also explores Wiradjuri history from an early settler perspective, bringing to life a little-known massacre that occurred in the 1830s.{{sfn|Wilson|2012}} Andy Kissane's poem, "The Station Owner's Daughter, Narrandera" tells a story about the aftermath of that same massacre,{{sfn|Kissane|1999|pp=42–43}} and was the inspiration for Alex Ryan's short film, ''Ngurrumbang''.{{sfn|Ngurrumbang|2013}}

==Alternative names==
The variety of spellings for the name Wiradjuri is extensive, with over 60 ways of transcribing the word registered.{{sfn|Thieberger|McGregor|1994|p=80}}

==Some words==
* {{Lang|wrh|guwandhaang}} '[[Santalum acuminatum|native peach]]'. The English word for this in Australia, ''[[quandong]],'' is thought to derive from the Wirandjuri term.{{sfn|Clarke|2008|p=53}}
* {{Lang|wrh|wagga}} 'crow'. The Wiradjeri term perhaps lies behind the toponym for the town of [[Wagga Wagga]]. The reduplication may be a pluralizer suggesting the idea of "(place of) many crows". This has recently been questioned by Wiradjuri elder Stan Grant Sr and Tim Wess, an academic. The word behind the [[toponym]] is, they claim, {{Lang|wrh|waga}}, meaning "dance", and the reduplicative would mean "many dances/much dancing".{{sfn|Owen|2016}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist|20em}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin|30em}}
*{{cite web| title = Aunty Isabel Reid
| publisher = [[Australian of the Year]]
| url = https://www.australianoftheyear.org.au/recipients/aunty%20isabel-reid/2353/
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210117185324/https://www.australianoftheyear.org.au/recipients/aunty%20isabel-reid/2353/
| url-status = dead
| archive-date = 17 January 2021
| access-date = 17 May 2021
| ref = {{harvid|AoY}}
}}
*{{cite book| title = Our Stories are Our Survival
| last = Bamblett | first = Lawrence | year = 2013
| publisher = [[Aboriginal Studies Press]]
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=MuHLAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA40
| isbn = 978-1-922-05922-2
}}
*{{cite book| title = The Yalda Crossing
| last = Beddoe | first = Noel | year = 2012
| publisher = [[University of Queensland Press]]
| isbn = 978-0-702-24939-6
}}
*{{cite book| title = Carved Trees: Aboriginal cultures of western NSW, Wiradjuri Country
| last = Briggs | first = Ronald | year = 2011
| editor-last = Cumming | editor-first = Helen
| publisher = [[State Library of New South Wales]]
| url = https://www.anbg.gov.au/aboriginal-resources/Carved-Trees-Guide-State-Library-NSW-3449.pdf
| isbn = 978-0-7313-7206-5
}}
*{{Cite book| title = Aboriginal Plant Collectors: Botanists and Australian Aboriginal People in the Nineteenth Century
| last = Clarke | first = Philip A. | year = 2008
| publisher = Rosenberg Publishers
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Usav1CwZaXEC&pg=PA52
| isbn = 978-1-877-05868-4
}}
*{{cite book| title = Jessica
| last = Courtenay | first = Bryce | year = 2000
| author-link = Bryce Courtenay
| publisher = [[Penguin Books]]
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=3AQbffhDT0gC&pg=PT29
| isbn = 978-0-141-94220-9
}}
*{{Cite book| title = The Australian race: its origin, languages, customs, place of landing in Australia and the routes by which it spread itself over the continent
| editor-last = Curr | editor-first = Edward Micklethwaite | editor-link = Edward Micklethwaite Curr
| year = 1887
| publisher = J. Ferres | location = Melbourne
| volume = 3 | pages = 420–423
| url = https://archive.org/download/australianracei02currgoog/australianracei02currgoog.pdf
| via = [[Internet Archive]]
}}
*{{cite book| title = Australian Languages: Their Nature and Development
| last = Dixon | first = R. M. W. | year = 2002
| author-link = Robert M. W. Dixon
| publisher = [[Cambridge University Press]]
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=MSqIBNJtG0AC&pg=PR34
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}}
*{{Cite journal | title = What's in a name? An etymological view of land, language and social identification from central western New South Wales
| last = Donaldson | first = Tamsin
| journal = [[Aboriginal History]]
| year = 1984 | volume = 8 | issue = 1 | pages = 21–44
| url = http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/p71671/pdf/article032.pdf
}}
*{{Cite book| title = The native tribes of south-east Australia
| last = Howitt | first = Alfred William | year = 1904
| author-link = Alfred William Howitt
| publisher = [[Macmillan Publishers|Macmillan]]
| url = https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:319345/AU0094_NativeTribes_SE_Australia.pdf
}}
*{{cite news| title = An Heir to a Tribe's Culture Ensures Its Language Is Not Forgotten
| last = Innes | first = Michelle
| newspaper = [[The New York Times]]
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/09/world/asia/australia-aboriginal-tribe-wiradjuri.html
| date = 8 April 2016
}}
*{{cite journal | title = The station owner's daughter, Narrandera
| last = Kissane | first = Andy
| journal = [[Quadrant (magazine)|Quadrant]]
| date = June 1999 | volume = 43 | issue = 6 | pages = 42–43
}}
*{{cite web| title = Koonadan Historic Site management documents
| publisher = [[Office of Environment and Heritage (New South Wales)|Office of Environment and Heritage]]
| url = http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/topics/parks-reserves-and-protected-areas/park-management/documents/koonadan-historic-site
| access-date = 11 June 2018
| ref = {{harvid|Office of Environment and Heritage}}
}}
*{{cite book| title = Koonadan Historic Site: Plan of management
| publisher = [[National Parks and Wildlife Service (New South Wales)|NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service]]
| type = PDF
| url = http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/~/media/3CB9DEA7F42941CF8E233912AD1748D9.ashx
| date = September 1996a
| isbn = 0-7310-0855-3
| ref = {{harvid|GoNSW|1996a}}
}}
*{{cite book| chapter = They Made a Solitude and Called it Peace
| last = Langton | first = Marcia | year = 2010
| title = First Australians Unillustrated
| editor1-last = Perkins | editor1-first = Rachel
| editor2-last = Langton | editor2-first = Marcia
| publisher = [[Melbourne University Press|Miegunyah Press]]
| chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=5RGrxyhI5bYC&pg=PA32
| pages = 1–41
| isbn = 978-0-522-85954-6
}}
*{{cite book| title = Macintyre's Improbable Bestiary
| last = MacIntyre | first = F. Gwynplaine | year = 2001
| editor-last = Schweitzer | editor-first = Darrell
| publisher = Wildside Press
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=9JsXI3y1rssC&pg=PA139
| isbn = 978-1-587-15472-0
}}
*{{cite journal | title = The Bunan Ceremony of New South Wales
| last = Mathews | first = R. H.
| author-link = Robert Hamilton Mathews
| journal = [[American Anthropologist]]
| year = 1908 | volume = 9 | issue = 10 | pages = 327–344
| doi = 10.1525/aa.1896.9.10.02a00010 | jstor = 658900
}}
*{{cite magazine| title = The Carved Trees of New South Wales
| last = McCarthy | first = Frederick D.
| author-link = Fred McCarthy (archaeologist)
| magazine = [[Australian Museum|Australian Museum Magazine]]
| date = 1 June 1940 | pages = 161–166
| url = https://downloads.newcastle.edu.au/library/cultural%20collections/pdf/mccarthyjune1940.pdf
}}
*{{Cite book| chapter = Language revitalisation: community and school programs working together
| last1 = McNaboe | first1 = Diane
| last2 = Poetsch | first2 = Susan
| year = 2010
| title = Re-awakening Languages: Theory and Practice in the Revitalisation of Australia's Indigenous Languages
| editor-last = Hobson | editor-first = John Robert
| publisher = [[Sydney University Press]]
| chapter-url = https://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/bitstream/2123/6941/1/RAL-chapter-19.pdf
| pages = 216–224
| isbn = 978-1-920-89955-4
}}
*{{Cite book| chapter = Comitative placenames in central NSW
| last = Nash | first = David | year = 2014
| author-link = David Nash (linguist)
| title = Indigenous and Minority Placenames: Australian and International Perspectives
| editor1-last = Clark | editor1-first = Ian D. | editor1-link = Ian D. Clark (historian)
| editor2-last = Hercus | editor2-first = Luise | editor2-link = Luise Hercus
| editor3-last = Kostanski | editor3-first = Laura
| publisher = [[Australian National University]]
| chapter-url = http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/p286811/pdf/book.pdf?referer=258
| pages = 11–37
| isbn = 978-1-925-02162-2
}}
*{{cite web| title = Ngurrumbang
| publisher = [[Adelaide Film Festival]]
| url = http://adelaidefilmfestival.org/archive/2013/adelaidefilmfestival.org/archives/2013/tix.adelaidefilmfestival.org/session2_aff.asp-sn%3DNgurrumbang%26s%3D.html
| date = 10–12 October 2013
| ref = {{harvid|Ngurrumbang|2013}}
}}
*{{cite news| title = Doubt cast on Wagga being the "place of many crows"
| last = Owen | first = Brodie
| newspaper = [[The Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga)|The Daily Advertiser]]
| url = http://www.dailyadvertiser.com.au/story/3725246/is-wagga-really-the-place-of-many-crows/
| date = 12 February 2016
}}
*{{cite news| title = Living history: Carved trees and a marble headstone connecting Aboriginal and European pasts
| last = Pearce | first = Melanie
| publisher = [[Australian Broadcasting Commission|ABC Central West]]
| url = http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-01/living-history-carved-trees-and-headstones-at-yuranighs-grave/7209574
| date = 29 January 2016
}}
*{{Cite book| title = An Australian language as spoken by the Awabakal, the people of Awaba or Lake Macquarie (near Newcastle, New South Wales): being an account of their language, traditions and customs
| last1 = Ridley | first1 = William
| last2 = Livingstone | first2 = H
| last3 = Günther | first3 = James
| last4 = Broughton | first4 = William Grant
| last5 = Threlkeld | first5 = Lancelot Edward
| last6 = Fraser | first6 = John
| last7 = Taplin | first7 = George
| year = 1892
| publisher = Charles Potter, Govt. Printer
| pages = ix–x,+
| url = https://archive.org/details/australianlangua00threrich/page/n12 | via = Internet Archive
| access-date = 23 November 2019
}}
*{{Cite book| title = A first Wiradjuri Dictionary: English to Wiradjuri and Categories
| last1 = Rudder | first1 = John
| last2 = Grant | first2 = Stan
| author2-link = Stan Grant (Wiradjuri elder)
| year = 2005
| publisher = Restoration House
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=hSzLAQAACAAJ&q=,+A+first+Wiradjuri+dictionary,
| isbn = 978-0-869-42131-4
}}
*{{Cite book| title = A New Wiradjuri Dictionary
| last1 = Rudder | first1 = John
| last2 = Grant | first2 = Stan
| author2-link = Stan Grant (Wiradjuri elder)
| year = 2010
| publisher = Restoration House
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=7VqzXwAACAAJ&q=,+A+first+Wiradjuri+dictionary,
| isbn = 978-0-869-42150-5
}}
*{{Cite book| title = Macquarie Aboriginal Words: A Dictionary of Words from Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Languages
| editor1-last = Thieberger | editor1-first = Nick
| editor2-last = McGregor | editor2-first = William
| year = 1994
| publisher = Macquarie Library
| url = https://archive.org/details/macquarieaborigi00thie | url-access = registration | via = [[Internet Archive]]
| isbn = 978-0-949-75779-1
}}
*{{Cite book| title = An Australian language as spoken by the Awabakal, the people of Awaba or Lake Macquarie (near Newcastle, New South Wales): being an account of their language, traditions and customs
| last1 = Threlkeld | first1 = Lancelot Edward
| last2 = Fraser | first2 = John
| last3 = Livingstone | first3 = H
| last4 = Taplin | first4 = George
| last5 = Günther | first5 = James
| last6 = Broughton | first6 = William Grant
| last7 = Ridley | first7 = William
| author1-link = Lancelot Threlkeld
| year = 2008
| publisher = Charles Potter, Govt. Printer
| url = https://archive.org/details/australianlangua00threrich/page/n12 | via = [[Internet Archive]]
}}
*{{Cite book| chapter = Wiradjuri (NSW)
| last = Tindale | first = Norman Barnett | year = 1974
| author-link = Norman Tindale
| title = Aboriginal Tribes of Australia: Their Terrain, Environmental Controls, Distribution, Limits, and Proper Names
| publisher = [[Australian National University]]
| chapter-url = http://archives.samuseum.sa.gov.au/tindaletribes/wiradjuri.htm
}}
*{{Cite book| title = Aboriginal tribes of Australia: their terrain, environmental controls, distribution, limits, and proper names
| last1 = Tindale | first1 = Norman Barnett
| last2 = Jones | first2 = Rhys
| author1-link = Norman Tindale
| year = 1974
| publisher = University of California Press
| url = https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/handle/1885/114913
| pages = 156, 191, 200
| isbn = 978-0-7081-0741-6
}}
*{{cite news| title = Mingaan's Aunty Helen Riley selected into highly regarded committee
| last = Tomazin | first = Alanna
| newspaper = [[Lithgow Mercury]]
| url = https://www.lithgowmercury.com.au/story/5787612/wiradjuri-elder-to-be-a-strong-voice-at-the-table/
| date = 4 December 2018 | access-date = 10 February 2020
}}
*{{cite web| title = University of Melbourne Find An Expert Assoc Professor Jeanine Leane
| publisher = [[University of Melbourne]]
| url = https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/782583-jeanine-leane
| date = 25 February 2021
| ref = {{harvid|UniMelb|2021}}
}}
*{{Cite journal | title = The Australian Bogong Moth ''Agrotis infusa'': A Long-Distance Nocturnal Navigator
| last1 = Warrant | first1 = Eric
| last2 = Frost | first2 = Barrie
| last3 = Green | first3 = Ken
| last4 = Mouritsen | first4 = Henrik
| last5 = Dreyer | first5 = David
| last6 = Adden | first6 = Andrea
| last7 = Brauburger | first7 = Kristina
| last8 = Heinze | first8 = Stanley
| author2-link = Barrie Frost
| journal = Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience
| year = 2016 | volume = 10 | page = 77
| doi = 10.3389/fnbeh.2016.00077 | issn = 1662-5153 | pmc = 4838632 | pmid = 27147998
| doi-access = free
}}
*{{cite news| title = Noel Beddoe makes a brave exploration of contested terrain
| last = Wilson | first = Rohan
| newspaper = [[The Australian]]
| url = http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/review/noel-beddoe-makes-a-brave-exploration-of-contested-terrain/news-story/deec823f8b8568048635137b7dd10ede
| date = 11 August 2012
}}
*{{cite book| title = Yathong Nature Reserve, Nombinnie Nature Reserve and Round Hill Nature Reserve: Plan of management
| publisher = [[National Parks and Wildlife Service (New South Wales)|NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service]]
| type = PDF
| url = http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/parks/pomFinalYathongNombinnieRoundhill.pdf
| date = November 1996b
| isbn = 0-7310-0845-6
| ref = {{harvid|GoNSW|1996b}}
}}
{{refend}}

{{Aboriginal peoples in New South Wales}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Wiradjuri| ]]
[[Category:Aboriginal peoples of New South Wales]]
[[Category:South Coast (New South Wales)]]

Revision as of 06:05, 3 July 2024

This article is about the Indigenous Australian people. For the place, see Wiradjuri, New South Wales.
Not to be confused with the Wurundjeri people of the Yarra River Valley.

Wiradjuri
Hierarchy
Language family:Pama–Nyungan
Language branch:Yuin–Kuric
Language group:Wiradhuric
Group dialects:Wiradjuri
Area (approx. 97,100 square kilometres (37,500 sq mi))
Bioregion:Central New South Wales
Location:Central New South Wales
Coordinates:33°50′S 147°30′E / 33.833°S 147.500°E / -33.833; 147.500[1]
RiversGalari (Lachlan), Wambuul Macquarie, Marrambidya (Murrumbidgee), Milawa (Murray)
Notable individuals
Windradyne, Linda Burney, Tai Tuivasa

The Wiradjuri people (Wiradjuri northern dialect pronunciation [wiraːjd̪uːraj]; Wiradjuri southern dialect pronunciation [wiraːjɟuːraj]) are a group of Aboriginal Australian people from central New South Wales, united by common descent through kinship and shared traditions. They survived as skilled hunter-fisher-gatherers, in family groups or clans, and many still use knowledge of hunting and gathering techniques as part of their customary life.

In the 21st century, major Wiradjuri groups live in Condobolin, Peak Hill, Narrandera and Griffith. There are significant populations at Wagga Wagga and Leeton and smaller groups at West Wyalong, Parkes, Dubbo, Forbes, Cootamundra, Darlington Point, Cowra and Young.

Name

A Wiradjuri warrior, thought to be Windradyne[2]

The Wiradjuri autonym is derived from wiray, meaning "no" or "not", with the comitative suffix -dhuray or -dyuray meaning "having".[3] That the Wiradjuri said wiray, as opposed to some other word for "no", was seen as a distinctive feature of their speech, and several other tribes in New South Wales, to the west of the Great Dividing Range, are similarly named after their own words for "no".[4] A similar distinction was made between Romance languages in medieval France, with the langues d'oc and the langues d'oïl distinguished by their word for "yes".

In his book Aboriginal Tribes of Australia (1974), Norman Tindale wrote that Wiradjuri was one of several terms coined later, after the 1890s had seen a "rash of such terms", following the publication of a work by ethnologist John Fraser. In 1892, Fraser had published a revised and expanded edition[5] of Lancelot Threlkeld's 1834 work on the Awabakal language, An Australian Grammar,[6] in which he created his own names for groupings, such as Yunggai, Wachigari and Yakkajari.[5]

Tindale says that some of the later terms had entered the literature, although not based on fieldwork and lacking Aboriginal support, as artificial, collective names for his "Great Tribes" of New South Wales. He writes that there was such a "literary need for major groupings that [Fraser] set out to provide them for New South Wales, coining entirely artificial terms for his 'Great tribes'. These were not based on field research and lacked aboriginal support. His names such as Yunggai, Wachigari and Yakkajari can be ignored as artifacts...During the 1890s the idea spread and soon there was a rash of such terms...Some of these have entered, unfortunately, into popular literature, despite their dubious origins."[7]

He lists Wiradjuri (NSW) as one of these artificial names, along with Bangarang[a] (Pangerang) (Vic.); Booandik (Vic. & SA); Barkunjee (Barkindji) (NSW), Kurnai (Vic.), Thurrawal (Dharawal) (NSW), and Malegoondeet (?) (Vic.).[7][8] He also mentions R. H. Mathews, A. W. Howitt and John Mathew as promulgators of the "nations" concept. However, Tindale refers to Wiradjuri in his own work (p. 200): "Wiradjuri 'Wiradjuri (Wi'raduri)".[7][8]

Wiradjuri language

Main article: Wiradjuri language

Wiradjuri is a Pama–Nyungan family and classified as a member of the small Wiradhuric branch of Australian languages of Central New South Wales.[9]

The Wiradjuri language is effectively extinct, but attempts are underway to revive it, with a reconstructed grammar, based on earlier ethnographic materials and wordlists and the memories of Wiradjuri families, which is now used to teach the language in schools.[10] This reclamation work was originally propelled by elder Stan Grant and John Rudder who had previously studied Australian Aboriginal languages in Arnhem Land.[11][12]

Land

The Wiradjuri are the largest Aboriginal group in New South Wales. They once occupied a vast area in central New South Wales, on the plains running north and south to the west of the Blue Mountains. The area was known as "the land of the three rivers",[13] the Wambuul (Macquarie), the Kalare later known as the Lachlan and the Murrumbidgee, or Murrumbidjeri.[14]

Norman Tindale estimated the territorial range of the Wiradjuri tribal lands at 127,000 km2 (49,000 sq mi). Their eastern borders ran from north to south from above Mudgee, down to the foothills of the Blue Mountains east of Lithgow and Oberon, and east of Cowra, Young and Tumut and south to the upper Murray at Albury and east to about Tumbarumba. The southern border ran to Howlong. Its western reaches went along Billabong Creek to beyond Mossgiel. They extended southwest to the vicinity of Hay and Narrandera. Condobolin southwards to Booligal, Carrathool, Wagga Wagga, Cootamundra, Parkes, Trundle; Gundagai, Boorowa, and Rylstone, Wellington, and Carcoar all lay within Wiradjuri territory.[1]

The Murray River forms the Wiradjuri's southern boundary and the change from woodland to open grassland marks their eastern boundary.[citation needed]

Social organisation

The Wiradjuri were organised into bands. Norman Tindale quotes Alfred William Howitt as mentioning several of these local groups of the tribe:

  • Narrandera (prickly lizard)
  • Cootamundra (kuta-mundra, kutamun turtle)
  • Murranbulla (maring-bula, two bark canoes).[1]

Burial rite

The Wiradjuri, together with the Gamilaraay (who however used them in bora ceremonies), were particularly known for their use of carved trees which functioned as taphoglyphs,[15] marking the burial site of a notable medicine-man, ceremonial leader, warrior or orator of a tribe. On the death of a distinguished Wiradjuri, initiated men would strip the bark off a tree to allow them to incise symbols on the side of the trunk which faced the burial mound. The craftsmanship on remaining examples of this funeral artwork displays notable artistic power. Four still stand near Molong at the Grave of Yuranigh.

They are generally to be found near rivers where the softer earth allowed easier burial.[16] Alfred William Howitt remarked that these trees incised with taphoglyphs served both as transit points to allow mythological cultural heroes to ascend to, and descend from, the firmament as well as a means for the deceased to return to the sky.[15]

Lifestyle

The Wiradjuri diet included yabbies and fish such as Murray cod from the rivers. In dry seasons, they ate kangaroos, emus and food gathered from the land, including fruit, nuts, yam daisies (Microseris lanceolata), wattle seeds, and orchid tubers. The Wiradjuri travelled into Alpine areas in the summer to feast on Bogong moths.[17]

The Wiradjuri were also known for their handsome possum-skin cloaks stitched together from several possum furs. Governor Macquarie was presented with one of these cloaks by a Wiradjuri man when he visited Bathurst in 1815.[2]

British penetration

Wiradjuri territory was first penetrated by British colonists in 1813.[13] In 1822 George Suttor took up an extensive lot of land, later known as Brucedale Station, after Wiradjuri guides showed him an area with ample water sources. Suttor learnt their language, and befriended Windradyne, nicknamed "Saturday", and attributed conflict to the harshness of his own people's behaviour, since the Wiradjuri were in his view, fond of white people, as they would call them.[18] Clashes between the British settlers and the Wiradjuri however multiplied as the influx of colonist increased, and became known as the Bathurst Wars. The occupation of their lands and their cultivation began to cause famine among the Wiradjuri, who had a different notion of what constituted property.[b] In the 1850s there were still corroborees around Mudgee, but there were fewer clashes.

Notable people

Historical

  • Turandurey, explorer, guide and interpreter
  • William Punch, massacre survivor and World War One serviceman
  • Windradyne, important Aboriginal leader during the Bathurst War
  • Yuranigh, a much prized guide for the explorer Thomas Mitchell, especially during his expedition to the Gulf of Carpentaria in 1845–1846. On hearing of Yuranigh's death in 1852, Mitchell put up £200 to have his gravesite marked with a tombstone.[19]
  • Diana Mudgee, massacre survivor and early Aboriginal land owner

Modern

Music/the arts

Sporting

Rugby League

Australian rules football

Other sports

Places of significance

Wiradjuri culture in fiction

The short story Death in the Dawntime, originally published in The Mammoth Book of Historical Detectives (Mike Ashley, editor; 1995), is a murder mystery that takes place entirely among the Wiradjuri people before the arrival of Europeans in Australia.[40]

In Bryce Courtenay's novel Jessica, the plot is centred in Wiradjuri region. Jessica's best friend (Mary Simpson) was from Wiradjuri.[41]

Noel Beddoe's novel The Yalda Crossing[42] also explores Wiradjuri history from an early settler perspective, bringing to life a little-known massacre that occurred in the 1830s.[43] Andy Kissane's poem, "The Station Owner's Daughter, Narrandera" tells a story about the aftermath of that same massacre,[44] and was the inspiration for Alex Ryan's short film, Ngurrumbang.[45]

Alternative names

The variety of spellings for the name Wiradjuri is extensive, with over 60 ways of transcribing the word registered.[46]

Some words

  • guwandhaang 'native peach'. The English word for this in Australia, quandong, is thought to derive from the Wirandjuri term.[47]
  • wagga 'crow'. The Wiradjeri term perhaps lies behind the toponym for the town of Wagga Wagga. The reduplication may be a pluralizer suggesting the idea of "(place of) many crows". This has recently been questioned by Wiradjuri elder Stan Grant Sr and Tim Wess, an academic. The word behind the toponym is, they claim, waga, meaning "dance", and the reduplicative would mean "many dances/much dancing".[48]

Notes

  1. ^ R. H. Mathews' spelling
  2. ^ Suttor wrote: "These natives have some imperfect ideas of property, and the right of possession. They say all wild animals are theirs - the tame or cultivated ones are ours. Whatever springs spontaneously from the earth or without labour is theirs also. Things produced by art and labour, are the white fellows' as they call us." (Langton 2010, p. 37)

Citations

  1. ^ a b c Tindale 1974, p. 201.
  2. ^ a b Langton 2010, p. 33.
  3. ^ Donaldson 1984, p. 26.
  4. ^ Thieberger & McGregor 1994, pp. 79–80.
  5. ^ a b Ridley et al. 1892, pp. ix–x, +.
  6. ^ Threlkeld et al. 2008.
  7. ^ a b c Tindale & Jones 1974, pp. 156, 191, 200.
  8. ^ a b Tindale 1974.
  9. ^ Dixon 2002, p. xxxiv.
  10. ^ McNaboe & Poetsch 2010, pp. 216–224.
  11. ^ Rudder & Grant 2005.
  12. ^ Rudder & Grant 2010.
  13. ^ a b Langton 2010, p. 32.
  14. ^ Bamblett 2013, p. 40.
  15. ^ a b McCarthy 1940, pp. 161–166.
  16. ^ McCarthy 1940, p. 161.
  17. ^ Warrant et al. 2016, p. 77.
  18. ^ Langton 2010, pp. 35–36.
  19. ^ Pearce 2016.
  20. ^ Innes 2016.
  21. ^ AoY.
  22. ^ "Addo-Carr on track for NRL debut". NRL.com. 19 February 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  23. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "NRL 2020 Indigenous Player map" (PDF).
  24. ^ Indigenous Sport Month: Time for footy codes to create opportunity for Indigenous coaches by Jamie Pandaram and Lauren Wood for CodeSports 22 May 2023
  25. ^ "Addo-Carr, Hynes and Lee on Indigenous Round". Melbourne Storm. 30 July 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  26. ^ Bruce, Jasper (23 April 2021). "Latrell 'a leader in fight against racism'". The Australian. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
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  28. ^ Rikki-Lee Arnold (18 May 2018). "Broncos young gun Kotoni Staggs to make NRL debut against Sydney Roosters". The Courier Mail. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  29. ^ https://deadlychoices.com.au/ambassadors/willies-deadly-choice-is-to-drink-plenty-of-water-and-stay-hydrated/ Willie Tonga: Former rugby league player. Retrieved: 2 Feb 2024
  30. ^ Helmers, Caden (7 February 2017). "Canberra Raiders prop Junior Paulo suspended from round one of the NRL season". The Canberra Times.
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  32. ^ Shirkie, Daniel (16 April 2019). "'One of the best': Wellington boxing royalty Wally Carr passes away". Wellington Times. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  33. ^ English, Peter (30 April 2010). "The man from Narrandera". CricInfo. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
  34. ^ Dee Jefferson (4 September 2019). "Tennis champion Evonne Goolagong Cawley celebrated in new Australian play". ABC News.
  35. ^ Skene, Patrick (14 July 2016). "The forgotten story of ... John Kinsela, the first Aboriginal Olympic wrestler". The Guardian (Australia). Retrieved 15 July 2016.
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  48. ^ Owen 2016.

Sources

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