Indigenous Collection (Miles District Historical Village)

Last updated September 08, 2019

The Miles District supported the Barunggam clan of the Murri people and was a transition stop for other aboriginal tribes. The collection of Australian Aboriginal artifacts from the local area and western Queensland, some of which are extremely rare, has national historic significance by its association with Australia's indigenous peoples.

The Murri is a demonym for Indigenous Australians of modern-day Queensland and north-west 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.

Australian Aboriginal artifacts consist the boomerangs, spears, shields, dillybags and other things Aboriginals had to carry around. Broadly aboriginal artifacts can be catagorised as weapons, every day items and ritual or secret sacred objects. Many artifacts were devised to address the harsh living conditions in the Australian environment.

Background

The Barunggam clan lived in the area from Tchanning Creek near Yuleba on the west, to Myall Creek near Dalby on the east, north to the Great Dividing Range, and south to the Moonie and Condamine watersheds. There are no known descendants in the area today, as the Barunggam were moved to Taroom in 1916, and then eventually to Cherbourg or Woorabinda.

Dalby, Queensland Town in Queensland, Australia

Dalby is a town and locality in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia. Dalby is within and is the administrative centre of the Western Downs Region. At the 2016 census, Dalby had a population of 12,719.

The Great Dividing Range, or the Eastern Highlands, is Australia's most substantial mountain range and the third longest land-based range in the world. It stretches more than 3,500 kilometres (2,175 mi) from Dauan Island off the northeastern tip of Queensland, running the entire length of the eastern coastline through New South Wales, then into Victoria and turning west, before finally fading into the central plain at the Grampians in western Victoria. The width of the range varies from about 160 km (100 mi) to over 300 km (190 mi). The Greater Blue Mountains Area, Gondwana Rainforests, and Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Areas are located in the range.

Moonie is a town in the Western Downs Region and a locality split between the Western Downs Region and the Goondiwindi Region in Queensland, Australia.

On the sandstone slabs that abound on the banks of L Tree Creek north of Miles, grooves in the stone are clear evidence that they were popular spear sharpening spots. There were places on Dogwood Creek and Chinaman's Lagoon (about 1 km south of Miles) where the aboriginals stopped and ate, and there are old middens of mussel shells on the west bank of the river at Condamine, and at the Round Waterhole north of Dulacca.

Miles, Queensland Town in Queensland, Australia

Miles is a town and a locality in the Western Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Miles had a population of 1,746 people.

The region was also a transition stop for other aboriginal tribes as they travelled through every three years until 1876 on their way to the Bunya Mountains for the ripening of the bunya nuts. The Village collection includes the 'Ilbalunga Cave' as an example of a transition stop. Local aboriginal people were involved in its creation and decorated the cave with their hand prints.

Bunya Mountains mountain range in Queensland, Australia

The Bunya Mountains are a distinctive set of peaks forming an isolated section of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland. The mountain range forms the northern edge of the Darling Downs in the locality also called Bunya Mountains near Bell and Dalby. The mountains are south of Kingaroy and just to the south west of Nanango. The range is the remains of a shield volcano which was built from numerous basalt lava flows about 23-24 million years ago.

Araucaria bidwillii, the bunya pine, is a large evergreen coniferous tree in the plant family Araucariaceae. It is found naturally in south-east Queensland Australia and two small disjunct populations in north eastern Queensland's World Heritage listed Wet Tropics. There are many old planted specimens in New South Wales, and around the Perth, Western Australia metropolitan area. They can grow up to 30–45 m (98–148 ft). The tallest presently living is one in Bunya Mountains National Park, Queensland which was reported by Robert Van Pelt in January 2003 to be 169 feet (51.5 m) in height.

The collection also includes a map showing the tribal areas, an extensive assortment of rubbing stones, boomerangs, stone axes, grinding and milling stones and other tools, predominantly from two major donors – the Keenan and the Mayfield families as well as dilly bags and other handcrafted items. Of particular significance are a Koala skin rug, an original Notice regarding the Aboriginal Protection Act, and a chest plate which are detailed below.

Koala Skin rug

As few rugs of aboriginal origin are in existence today, this koala skin rug is rare and of great historical significance as a handcrafted aboriginal artefact. It may also be useful for researching sewing and rug construction techniques. The rug was found in a cave on Mt Moffatt Station, near Roma, by Mr Dayne Vincent. The twine is made of boodioorie bark and the stitching is particularly unusual. The rug would have provided warmth and comfort due to the thick and soft nature of the koala fur.

The koala is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the wombats, which comprise the family Vombatidae. The koala is found in coastal areas of the mainland's eastern and southern regions, inhabiting Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. It is easily recognisable by its stout, tailless body and large head with round, fluffy ears and large, spoon-shaped nose. The koala has a body length of 60–85 cm (24–33 in) and weighs 4–15 kg (9–33 lb). Pelage colour ranges from silver grey to chocolate brown. Koalas from the northern populations are typically smaller and lighter in colour than their counterparts further south. These populations possibly are separate subspecies, but this is disputed.

Roma is a town, locality and the administrative centre in the Maranoa Region, Queensland, Australia. The town was incorporated in 1867 and is named after Lady Diamantina Bowen, the wife of Sir George Bowen, the Governor of Queensland at the time. At the 2016 census, Roma had a population of 6,848..

Other koala skin rugs exist in Australian Museums, however they are not of aboriginal manufacture but made after British colonisation when native furs were used in Australia for clothing and other wares. Millions of koalas were killed for their pelts up until the 1930s when protective measures were implemented by State governments to rebuild their numbers and stop the fur trade. Today koala is protected by legislation in all States and Territories where they are found.

Notice regarding 'The Aboriginals Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act 1897'

The notice Notice re Sale of Opium Act 1897.jpg — The notice

This notice came from Taroom where it had been displayed in the old Police Station for over 50 years, probably since 1897. The Notice is written in English and Chinese, and could be very rare as there are no other known copies.

Eleven of the 32 sections dealt stringently with control of the supply of opium to Aboriginal people. However the Act had wider social significance as its practical outcome was oppressive and restricted the rights and freedoms of Aboriginal people.

The legislation established reserves – geographically isolated enclaves – to which Aboriginal people could be forcibly removed by designated 'Aboriginal Protectors' – civil servants, police and missionaries. People were restricted to these reserves ostensibly to protect them from the ravages of European immorality and disease. Furthermore, the legislation was used to control Aboriginal people at the workplace and to remove their basic civil rights, reducing them to the position of State wards. This Act was not overturned until the Community Services Act 1984.

King Dick of Boondie Plate

King plates were a form of regalia used in pre-Federation Australia by white colonial authorities to recognise local Aboriginal leaders. This chest plate belonged to a chief of the Palparara tribe of western Queensland in the Winton – Windorah area, near Julia Creek.

King plates were metallic crescent-shaped plaques worn around the neck which sat across the chest. This chest plate belonged to King Dick of Boondie. A 'boondie' is an Australian term for a sand cake that is carved from, or broken off, a larger, hardened pocket of sand and can be thrown like a snow ball. Boondies are common in Western Queensland.

Known 'Kings' of the Miles district were King Billy of Tiereyboo who came in to live at Chinaman's Lagoon (near Miles) in the early 1900s, and King Sandy of Moraby. Tiereyboo was one of the early holdings taken up in this area, and was situated between the Condamine River and Dogwood Creek, and Moraby was an adjoining early holding further west.^[1]

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References

↑ Significance Assessment of the Miles & District Historical Society Collections 2010

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[1] Significance Assessment of the Miles & District Historical Society Collections 2010