Wurundjeri

Wurundjeri are a tribe of native Australians, also known as Aborigines or First Australians. They are descended from people who came to Australia centuries ago and settled in the area near present-day Melbourne. These indigenous people are part of the Kulin Nation, an alliance of five groups with different but related languages and some similarities in lifestyles, beliefs, and community organization. Like the other members of the Kulin Nation, the Wurundjeri believe that they are the keepers and protectors of the land.

Background

The First Australians are one of the world’s oldest continuous existing communities. The original inhabitants of Australia migrated from Africa at least forty thousand years ago. At that time, sea levels were lower and land bridges connected areas that are now separate continents. People from Africa used these bridges to migrate to Asia. From there, they moved into the land now known as Australia, where they mostly settled along the eastern coastline.

These people began as hunter-gatherers but eventually settled into the area in and around Melbourne. They believe that their creator god, Bunjil, formed them from mud and breathed life into them, and then gave them the task of caring for the land. Over time, differences in their language and practices developed. This led to the creation of more than five hundred clans consisting of relatives. Each clan included about fifty relatives of all ages.

Eventually, five of these clans banded together in an alliance known as the Kulin Nation. These clans include the Boonwurrung, Dja Dja Wurrung, Taungurung, Wathaurung, and Woiwurrung, more commonly known as the Wurundjeri. Although clans’ languages were not exactly the same and some of their customs and traditions differed, the members of the Kulin Nation gathered regularly for trade and rituals. Clan members were not allowed to marry one another, so members of different clans arranged marriages, which were approved by representatives from both clans. Many of the most significant events occurred in the fall, when the work of preparing food for the winter was completed and the worst of the winter weather had not yet begun.

Overview

The name “Wurundjeri” comes from the Aboriginal words “wurun” and “jeri.” A wurun is the river white gum tree, also known as the witchetty tree. A jeri is a type of grub that lives in the tree. Because of this, the Wurundjeri are also known as the “witchetty grub people.”

Traditionally, the Wurundjeri inhabited an area near Port Phillip that includes the Yarra Valley and the Mornington Peninsula. Because they were familiar with the land in this area, they were able to accurately predict when they needed to move from one part of the land to another. This allowed them to avoid winter flooding in the lower lands. It also enabled them to harvest bountiful crops of wildly grown daisy yams and know when the animal populations were at their peak for hunting and fishing. Although they lived off the land, the Wurundjeri believed that they were able to thrive for so many years because they respected the land and took only what they needed to survive. They left the surplus for animals to eat or to regrow for another season.

The earliest aborigines were hunter-gatherers, while later people moved less and lived from the bounty of more concentrated areas. Yams were a staple food for all members of the Kulin Nation, along with a number of other roots and tubers. Wurundjeri women used a stout fire-hardened stick called a kannan to dig for these crops, which constituted about 90 percent of the Wurundjeri’s diet.

The creeks and seas that surrounded their coastal homes also provided food. The women waded in the water wearing net bags on their necks to gather shellfish. Eels and other marine life were a significant part of the diet, as were animals such as the emu, kangaroo, and possum. Little was wasted. For example, possum pelts were used to make warm and waterproof cloaks that covered the wearer from the neck to the knees. The pelts were decorated with inked markings on the skin side and worn with the fur inside for warmth and to show off the decorated skin.

All aboriginal people used trade to supplement what was available in their own area, and the meetings of the Kulin Nation were a prime trading time. The Wurundjeri had access to large quantities of greenstone, which they mined and traded. It was highly prized for axe heads and other cutting tools. Most of the Wurundjeri’s tools were hand-fashioned from stones, wood, and bone. They also used slabs of tree bark to make canoes and other items.

Life began to change for the First Australians, including the Wurundjeri, with the arrival of European explorers and colonists in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Their natural tools were replaced with those made of metal and glass, and firearms began to be used as well. However, most of the Wurundjeri continued to follow their ancestral ways into the twentieth century.

The Wurundjeri hosted a number of key meetings in the course of aboriginal history. One was an important treaty meeting between one of the first white native Australians, John Batman (1801–1839) and the Wurundjeri elders. Among these elders was the highly respected native songwriter Billibellary (1799–1846). This treaty was completed in May 1835 along what is now called the Merri Creek. The creek also gave its name to one of the earliest schools for aborigines, the Merri Creek School. Run by Baptist missionaries, the school gained acceptance from the local native population because it was built on Wurundjeri land.

The Wurundjeri also hosted several important meetings of the Kulin Nation in 1843 and 1844. The 1844 meeting was the largest such meeting ever recorded. Hundreds of members of the alliance traveled for miles to reach a meeting where legal matters were settled according to the ancient traditions of the country’s native people.

In the present day, most members of the Wurundjeri live like most people in modern times. They live in Western-style homes and have jobs like most other Australians. However, they have a deep pride in their culture and heritage. For example, the Wurundjeri were outraged when an illustration of a tribal meeting painted in 1897 by Wurundjeri elder William Barak was sold at an auction to a non-Wurundjeri.

Bibliography

“Australia’s History.” Tourism Australia, www.australia.com/en-us/facts-and-planning/history.html. Accessed 30 April 2019.

“Cultural Heritage.” Wurundjeri, www.wurundjeri.com.au/services/cultural-heritage/. Accessed 30 April 2019.

“Kulin Nation.” Victoria University, www.vu.edu.au/about-vu/university-profile/moondani-balluk/acknowledging-country/the-kulin-people-our-campuses. Accessed 30 April 2019.

Nimmo, Julie. “Wurundjeri People ‘Shattered’ After Artwork They Describe as Their ‘Bible’ Sells at Auction.” National Indigenous Television, 9 June 2016, www.sbs.com.au/nitv/nitv-news/article/2016/06/09/wurundjeri-people-shattered-after-artwork-they-describe-their-bible-sells-auction. Accessed 30 April 2019.

“Wurundjeri.” Aboriginal History of Yarra, aboriginalhistoryofyarra.com.au. Accessed 30 April 2019.

“Wurundjeri.” Nillumbik Reconciliation Group, Inc., nrg.org.au. Accessed 30 April 2019.

“Wurundjeri Tribe.” Monument Australia, monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/culture/indigenous/display/31622-wurundjeri-tribe. Accessed 30 April 2019.

“Wurundjeri-willam: Aboriginal Heritage of Merri Creek.” Merri Creek Management Committee, 17 Jan. 2018, www.mcmc.org.au/mobile/index.php?option=com‗content&view=article&id=31&Itemid=216. Accessed 30 April 2019.