Boonwurrung (Bunurong)

The Boonwurrung are Aboriginal Australians who have lived in the Port Phillip Bay area near Melbourne for at least fifty thousand years. They are also known by various spellings of “Boonwurrung,” including Boon Wurrung, Bunwurung, Bunwurru, Bunurong, Boonurrong, Boonoorong, Boon-oor-rong, or Boongerong.

The Boonwurrung are one of the five language groups that make up the Kulin Nation. The Boonwurrung were once hunters and gatherers and are considered to be the traditional owners of the land. The word Boonwurrung, or one of its alternatives, can also refer to the language spoken by the Boonwurrung.

Background

Archaeologists have determined that people first came to Australia about fifty thousand years ago, but some evidence indicates that they may have come been earlier. At the time, the sea levels were lower, and some areas that are now separated by deep sea waters were connected by land bridges. People who originally lived in present-day Africa used these land bridges to migrate to Asia and then to the area that is the contemporary continent of Australia. They moved down the coastline from north to south and settled close to the sea.

The Dutch and other Europeans exploring the Pacific came to the continent in the 1700s. They soon encountered Aboriginal peoples, often to the detriment of the latter. Aboriginal peoples had no immunity to European diseases, and many died after being exposed to them. In addition, the Europeans often viewed Aboriginal peoples as a resource. Europeans enslaved some Aboriginal peoples and made efforts to “Europeanize” others. Some children were removed from their families and resettled with White Europeans to try to erase their culture and “savage ways.” Aboriginal Australians were also harmed during wars. These changes decimated their population.

In the twenty-first century, Australia remains home to more than five hundred Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations. The Kulin Nation, to which the Boonwurrung belong, includes four other groups that are differentiated by their ancestral languages. They are the Dja Dja Wrung, Taungurung, Woiwurrung, and Wathaurong. The five groups of the Kulin Nation are each subdivided into clans that share a language and also traditions, customs, and cultural ceremonies. While the clans historically interacted with each other for the purposes of trade and marriage, each functioned as a self-contained community.

Overview

Before Europeans arrived in Australia, the Boonwurrung lived as hunters and gatherers. Like the other members of the Kulin Nation, they gathered wild plants such as potatoes, tender shoots, and small leafed plants such as watercress. Yams were a staple of their diet as well. They also ate the wild fish and game that was common in the area.

The Boonwurrung created tools out of stone and wood, sharpening the stones by chipping off pieces to create a thin edge. Some of these would be attached to sticks with animal sinew, or tendons, and tree sap to create spears and other tools and weapons. Weapons and tools such as smaller blades and hooks for fishing were also made by shaping and sharpening seashells and bones from birds.

Although hunter-gatherers are often nomadic, the Boonwurrung did not migrate far from their ancestral lands and used the same village sites for many years. They lived in houses made of tree saplings and bark combined with mud and stone, and cooked in stone hearths. Like their Kulin Nation neighbors, they often cooked in communal hearths, bundling mixtures of vegetables and meat into large leaves and cooking them slowly under hot coals. After the meal was eaten, all the scraps and inedible parts were tossed into nearby pits. Archaeologists call these pits middens, and the scraps of bone, shells, and other material they contained are one of the primary sources of information about how ancient people lived and what they ate.

The Boonwurrung honor a god called Bundjil, who they believe is the creator of all things. The Boonwurrung say that they have lived in Biik Bundjil, the Land of Budjil, since Bundjil created them. They believe this was much earlier than scientists say that they migrated to the area. According to the Boonwurrung, Bundjil sometimes flying overhead as a wedge-tailed eagle to survey his creations. Waa, a deity who appears as a crow, protects Biik Bundjil.

The Boonwurrung believe that Bundjil welcomes guests who obey his laws and do not harm the people or land that he created. Guests to the area who agree to abide by these rules are asked to dip a small branch in water, which is a sign of their promise to honor Bundjil’s requirements.

The first Europeans to reach what is now known as the South Victoria area of Australia’s southeastern coast called the Boonwurrung the Port Phillip tribe, after the name that the Europeans gave to the area. Boonwurrung ancestral lands covered an area between the Port Phillip Bay, Westernport Bay, and the Werribee River and also from Wilsons Promontory to Phillip Island. They continue to see themselves as protectors and caretakers of this land.

Most twenty-first century Boonwurrung live contemporary lifestyles. Their homes, clothing, jobs, and lifestyles are similar to those of other Australians. They have become a part of the modern-day city of Melbourne that their ancestors helped create on their ancestral lands.

Bibliography

“Aboriginal Cultural Heritage.” Southern Peninsula Indigenous Flora & Fauna Association, www.spiffa.org.au/peninsula-cultural-sites.html. Accessed 15 Oct. 2024.

“Aboriginal Culture.” Phillip Island, www.visitphillipisland.com.au/see-do/culture-history/aboriginal-culture. Accessed 15 Oct. 2024.

Agius, Matthew Ward. "The Quest to Understand When Ancient Migration to Australia Began." Cosmos, 3 July 2023, cosmosmagazine.com/history/the-quest-to-understand-when-ancient-migration-to-australia-began/. Accessed 15 Oct. 2024.

“A Brief Aboriginal History.” Aboriginal Heritage Office, www.aboriginalheritage.org/history/history/. Accessed 15 Oct. 2024.

“The Bunurong.” Nepean Historical Society, nepeanhistoricalsociety.asn.au/history/pre-history/. Accessed 15 Oct. 2024.

"Heritage: Boonwurrung." Boonwurrung Culture, Our Story, 2024, biikbundjil.com/heritage. Accessed 15 Oct. 2024.

“The Island's Ancient History.” Phillip Island & San Remo Advertiser, 26 July 2021, www.pisra.com.au/island-history/the-islands-ancient-history. Accessed 15 Oct. 2024.