Brisbane suburb names with Aboriginal names show that some Australian Aboriginal languages are still preserved today, in the form of placenames. Similarly, F. J. Watson explains the meanings of Queensland suburb names. [1]
The map demonstrates a non-exhaustive list of some of the names in the Brisbane area. Information on some suburbs has been shortened to fit onto the map. Not included examples are Murrarie, Moorooka, Tarragindi, Darra, Corinda and Jindalee.
There are many misconceptions about Indigenous languages, such as that there is only one indigenous language of all Australians; that the name of a group/ tribe has only one spelling; or that finding an indigenous word is easy.
Murri is a demonym for Aboriginal Australians of modern-day Queensland and north-western New South Wales. For some people and organisations, the use of Indigenous language regional terms is an expression of pride in their heritage. The term includes many ethno-linguistic groups within the area, such as the Kamilaroi (Gamilaraay) and Yuggera (Jagera) peoples.
The Gubbi Gubbi people also known as Kabi Kabi are an Aboriginal Australian people native to south-eastern Queensland. They are now classified as one of several Murri language groups in Queensland.
Yugambeh, also known as Tweed-Albert Bandjalang, is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken by the Yugambeh living in South-East Queensland between and within the Logan River basin and the Tweed River basin, bounded to the east by the Pacific Ocean and in the west by the Teviot Ranges and Teviot Brook basin.
Kalkatungu is an extinct Australian Aboriginal language formerly spoken around the area of Mount Isa and Cloncurry, Queensland.
Yugambeh–Bundjalung, also known as Bandjalangic, is a branch of the Pama–Nyungan language family, that is spoken in north-eastern New South Wales and South-East Queensland.
Willawong is an outer southern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Willawong had a population of 177 people.
The Gidabal, also known as Kitabal and Githabul, are an indigenous Australian tribe of southern Queensland, who inhabited an area in south-east Queensland and north-east New South Wales, now within the Southern Downs, Tenterfield and Kyogle Local Government regions.
The Turrbal are an Aboriginal Australian people from the region of Brisbane, Queensland. The name primarily refers to the dialect they speak, the tribe itself being alternatively called Mianjin/Meanjin. Mianjin is also the Turrbal word for the central Brisbane area. The traditional homelands of the Turrbal stretch from the North Pine River, south to the Logan River, and inland as far as Moggill, a range which includes the city of Brisbane.
The Bundjalung people, also spelled Bunjalung, Badjalang and Bandjalang, are Aboriginal Australians who are the original custodians of a region from around Grafton in northern coastal New South Wales to Beaudesert in south-east Queensland. The region is located approximately 550 kilometres (340 mi) northeast of Sydney and 100 kilometres (62 mi) south of Brisbane that now includes the Bundjalung National Park.
The Jagera people, also written Yagarr, Yaggera, Yuggera, and other variants, are the Australian First Nations people who speak the Yuggera language. The Yuggera language which encompasses a number of dialects was spoken by the traditional owners of the territories from Moreton Bay to the base of the Toowoomba ranges including the city of Brisbane.
Turrbal is an Aboriginal Australian language of the Turrbal people of the Brisbane area of Queensland.
Wanggamala, also spelt Wanggamanha, Wangkamahdla, Wangkamadla, Wangkamanha, Wangkamana, Wonkamala, Wongkamala, Wonkamudla, and other variants, is an extinct Australian Aboriginal language of the Pama–Nyungan family, previously spoken in the Northern Territory around Hay River and to the south of the Andegerebinha-speaking area.
The Yugambeh ( YOO-gum-BERR, also known as the Minyangbal ( MI-nyung-BUHL, or Nganduwal ( NGAHN-doo-WUL. are an Aboriginal Australian people of south-east Queensland and the Northern Rivers of New South Wales, their territory lies between the Logan and Tweed rivers. A term for an Aboriginal of the Yugambeh tribe is Mibunn, which is derived from the word for the Wedge-tailed Eagle. Historically, some anthropologists have erroneously referred to them as the Chepara, the term for a first-degree initiate. Archaeological evidence indicates Aboriginal people have occupied the area for tens of thousands of years. By the time European colonisation began, the Yugambeh had a complex network of groups, and kinship. The Yugambeh territory is subdivided among clan groups with each occupying a designated locality, each clan having certain rights and responsibilities in relation to their respective areas.
The Kombumerri clan are one of nine distinct named clan estate groups of the Yugambeh people and the name refers to the Indigenous people of the Nerang area on the Gold Coast, Queensland. Australia
The Dalla, also known as Jinibara, are an indigenous Australian people of southern Queensland whose tribal lands lay close to Brisbane.
The Undanbi are an Aboriginal Australian people of southern Queensland. Alternative or clan names include Inabara, Djindubari and Ningy Ningy.
The Geynyon, also written Keinjan, are an indigenous Australian people of southern Queensland. According to research done by Queensland South Native Title Services (QSNTS) entitled South East Regional Research Project (SERRP) 'Geynyan' are in all likelihood an dialect/estate group of the wider Githabul peoples. In May 2021 the Githabul peoples lodged a Native Title claim over much of the former Warwick Shire within the Southern Downs Regional Council area.
The Galali or Kalali were an indigenous Australian people of the state of Queensland.
The Yalarnnga, also known as the Jalanga, are an Indigenous Australian people of the state of Queensland.
Margaret Clare Sharpe is a linguist of Australian Aboriginal languages, specializing in Yugambeh-Bundjalung languages, with particular regard to Yugambir, She has also done important salvage fieldwork on the Northern Territory Alawa language.