Torres Strait Islanders are the Indigenous Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal peoples of the rest of Australia, they are often grouped with them as Indigenous Australians. Today, many more Torres Strait Islander people live in mainland Australia than on the Islands.
The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), established as the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies (AIAS) in 1964, is an independent Australian Government statutory authority. It is a collecting, publishing, and research institute and is considered to be Australia's premier resource for information about the cultures and societies of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The Western Desert language, or Wati, is a dialect cluster of Australian Aboriginal languages in the Pama–Nyungan family.
The Ngiyampaa language, also spelt Ngiyambaa, Ngempa, Ngemba and other variants, is a Pama–Nyungan language of the Wiradhuric subgroup. It was the traditional language of the Wangaaypuwan and Wayilwan peoples of New South Wales.
Tharawal, also spelt Thurawal and Dharawal, is a small family of mostly extinct Australian Aboriginal languages once spoken along the South Coast of New South Wales.
Pitta Pitta is an extinct Australian Aboriginal language. It was spoken around Boulia, Queensland.
Wambaya is a Non-Pama-Nyungan West Barkly Australian language of the Mirndi language group that is spoken in the Barkly Tableland of the Northern Territory, Australia. Wambaya and the other members of the West Barkly languages are somewhat unusual in that they are suffixing languages, unlike most Non-Pama-Nyungan languages which are prefixing.
The Tharawal people and other variants, are an Aboriginal Australian people, identified by the Yuin language. Traditionally, they lived as hunter–fisher–gatherers in family groups or clans with ties of kinship, scattered along the coastal area of what is now the Sydney basin in New South Wales.
Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, and/or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of present day Australia prior to British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups, which include many ethnic groups: the Aboriginal Australians of the mainland and many islands, including Tasmania, and the Torres Strait Islanders of the seas between Queensland and Papua New Guinea, located in Melanesia.
The Thaua people, also spelt Thawa and Dhawa, and also referred to as Yuin (Djuin), are an Aboriginal Australian people living around the Twofold Bay area of the South Coast of New South Wales.
Gumbaynggir is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken by the Gumbaynggirr people, who are native to the Mid North Coast of New South Wales.
Bidjara, also spelt Bidyara or Pitjara, is an Australian Aboriginal language. In 1980, it was spoken by 20 elders in Queensland between the towns of Tambo and Augathella, or the Warrego and Langlo Rivers. There are many dialects of the language, including Gayiri and Gunggari. Some of them are being revitalised and are being taught in local schools in the region. The various dialects are not all confirmed or agreed by linguists.
Dhauwurd Wurrung is a term used for a group of languages spoken by various groups of the Gunditjmara people of the Western District of Victoria, Australia. Keerray Woorroong is regarded by some as a separate language, by others as a dialect. The dialect continuum consisted of various lects such as Kuurn Kopan Noot, Big Wurrung, Gai Wurrung, and others. There was no traditional name for the entire dialect continuum and it has been classified and labelled differently by different linguists and researchers. The group of languages is also referred to as Gunditjmara language and the Warrnambool language.
Yaygir, also spelt Yaygirr or Yegir, is an Australian Aboriginal language. It was spoken by the Yaygir people in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales.
Barababaraba (Baraba-Baraba), or Baraparapa, is an extinct Indigenous Australian language once spoken along the southern tributaries of the Murrumbidgee River, Victoria and New South Wales. It was a dialect of Wemba–Wemba.
The Wemba Wemba language is an extinct Aboriginal Australian language once spoken along the Murray River and its tributaries in North Western Victoria and South Central New South Wales.
The Dhurga language, also written Thurga, is an Australian Aboriginal language of New South Wales. It is a language of the Yuin people, specifically the Wandandian and Walbunja groups, but there have been no fluent speakers officially recorded for decades, so it has been functionally extinct for some time. Efforts have been made to revive the language since the 2010s.
Anaiwan (Anēwan) is an extinct Australian Aboriginal language of New South Wales. Since 2017, there has been a revival program underway to bring the language back.
The Wodiwodi or Wodi Wodi, also pronounced Whardi Whardi, are a sub-group of the Dharawal people, an Indigenous Australian people of the east coast of the continent.
Janet Elizabeth Mathews, née Russell, was an Australian pianist, music teacher, and documenter of Aboriginal music, language and culture in New South Wales, who added greatly to the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies archives. She collaborated with linguist Luise Hercus. In addition to several books on Aboriginal culture, she also authored three children's books.
