The Wunambal (Unambal), also known as Wunambal Gaambera, Uunguu (referring to their lands), and other names, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the northern Kimberley region of Western Australia.
The Wunambal (Unambal), also known as Wunambal Gaambera, Uunguu (referring to their lands), and other names, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the northern Kimberley region of Western Australia.
The Wunambal were, according to Norman Tindale, "perhaps among the most venturesome of Australian aborigines". They learnt part of the craft of building rafts that could withstand the high rips and tides of the sea, the latter rising as much as 12 metres (39 ft), from Makassan visitors to make sailing forays out to reefs (warar) and islets in the Cassini and Montalivet archipelagoes, and as far as the northerly Long Reef. The Wunambal bands who excelled in this were the Laiau and the Wardana. [1]
The Wunambal, Worrorra, and Ngarinyin peoples form a cultural bloc known as Wanjina Wunggurr. [2] The shared culture is based on the dreamtime mythology and law whose creators are the Wanjina and Wunggurr spirits, ancestors of these peoples. The Wunambal Gaambera Aboriginal Corporation represents the Wunambal Gaambera people; Uunguu refers to their "home", or country. [3]
The Wunambal were organised into groups:
A people with an ethnonym identical to that of the Carson River Wilawila, known also as the Tjawurungari/Tawandjangango, inhabited the Osborne Islands. They spoke a dialect variety of the language spoken by the Kambure. [4]
The traditional lands of the Wunambal are around York Sound. Norman Tindale estimated their tribal domains to encompass roughly 9,800 km2 (3,800 sq mi), running north from Brunswick Bay, as far as the Admiralty Gulf and the Osborne Islands. Their inland extension reached about 40 km (25 mi)–48 km (30 mi), as far as the divide of the King Edward River. They were at Cape Wellington peninsula, Port Warrender, and somewhat further east. The Worrorra lay to the south; the Ngarinjin to their west, while on their north-western frontier were the Kambure. [5]
As part of the same native title claim lodged in 1998 by Wanjina Wunggurr RNTBC known as the Dambimangari claim, which included claims for the three peoples in the Wanjina Wunggurr cultural bloc, referred to as Dambimangari, Uunguu and Wilinggin (see above), the "Uunguu and Uunguu B" parts of the claims were determined on 23 May 2011. This gave native title to the Wunambal people over 25,909 km2 (10,004 sq mi), most of which was determined as exclusive possession. [2] [6] The Unguu land stretches along the coastal waters from the Anjo Peninsula in the north, includes the waters of Admiralty Gulf and York Sound, down to Coronation Island. Inland, it includes parts of the Mitchell River National Park and the Prince Regent National Park. [3]
A native title claim filed on 21 October 1999 (Uunguu Part A) over an area of 44,768 km2 (17,285 sq mi) in the Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley was discontinued, [7] while a second one for the same area (Uunguu Part B) was determined on 27 November 2012, giving native title rights over part of the area claimed. In both of these the people were represented by the Kimberley Land Council. [8]
The Wanjina Wunggurr RNTBC acts on behalf of the Ngarinyin/Wilinggin, Worrora/Dambimangari, and Wunambal Gaambera native title holders with regard to their rights and interests. [2]
In September 1820, on Phillip Parker King's third voyage of exploration around Australia, he ordered the crew of his ship HMS Mermaid to beach the ship for repairs sustained earlier in the voyage at a spot 600 km (370 mi) north-east of present-day Broome, now known as Careening Bay, on Coronation Island. The crew did not meet any of the local Wunambal people while they were stranded there for 18 days doing the repairs, [9] but made observations in his journal on the other signs of life that they observed. He described not only bark shelters on the beach, but more larger and more substantial buildings on top of the hill. He also observed the remnants of sago palm nuts, which were commonly eaten along the coast. [10]
Under orders from King, the ship's carpenter was instructed to inscribe "Mermaid 1820" on an ancient boab tree, which still stands today. [9] The Wunambal Gaambera people administer permits for visitors to the area in which the tree is located, and the Uunguu Rangers, a team of Indigenous rangers, build and maintain facilities such as a boardwalk to help protect the environment. [9]
The Wandjina, also written Wanjina and Wondjina and also known as Gulingi, are cloud and rain spirits from the Wanjina Wunggurr cultural bloc of Aboriginal Australians, depicted prominently in rock art in northwestern Australia. Some of the artwork in the Kimberley region of Western Australia dates back to approximately 4,000 years ago. Another closely related spirit entity is the creator being Wunngurr, a being analogous to the Rainbow Serpent in other Aboriginal peoples' belief systems, but with a different interpretation.
The Gibb River Road is a road in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.
The Worrorran (Wororan) languages are a small family of Australian Aboriginal languages spoken in northern Western Australia.
The Ngarinyin language, also known as Ungarinjin and Eastern Worrorran, is an endangered Australian Aboriginal language of the Kimberley region of Western Australia spoken by the Ngarinyin people.
Kimberley Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, known as Kimberley Land Council (KLC), is an association of Aboriginal people in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The land council was formed at a meeting at Noonkanbah Station in May 1978. The corporation is registered with the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations as ICN 21.
Mitchell River National Park is a national park in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, 2,140 kilometres (1,330 mi) northeast of Perth. The park adjoins the northern boundary of the Prince Regent National Park. The nearest towns are Derby, 350 kilometres (217 mi) to the southwest, as well as Wyndham, 270 km (168 mi) to the southeast. Created in 2000, the park covers an area of over 1,150 km2 (440 sq mi) on the Mitchell Plateau (Ngauwudu).
Camden Sound is a relatively wide body of water in the Indian Ocean located in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The Sound is bounded by the Bonaparte Archipelago to the north-east, the Buccaneer Archipelago to the south-west, and Montgomery Reef to the south.
Prince Regent National Park, formerly the Prince Regent Nature Reserve, is a protected area in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. In 1978 the area was nominated as a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve.
Worrorra, also written Worora and other variants, and also known as Western Worrorran, is a moribund Australian Aboriginal language of northern Western Australia. It encompasses a number of dialects, which are spoken by a group of people known as the Worrorra people.
The Islands of the Kimberley are a group of over 2,500 islands lying off the coast of the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The islands extend from the Western Australia–Northern Territory border in the east to just north of Broome in the west.
Coronation Island, also known as Garlinju, is located off the Kimberley coast of Western Australia. It encompasses an area of 3,817 hectares. It is located off Port Nelson in the Bonaparte Archipelago, as a part of the group of islands known as the Coronation Islands, which were named by Philip Parker King, the first European to visit the islands in 1820, after the anniversary of the coronation of George III, who had died in January of that year.
The Worrorra, also written Worora, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley area of north-western Australia.
The Ngurrara and Ngururrpa are overlapping groupings of Aboriginal Australian peoples of the Great Sandy Desert, in the central Pilbara and southern Kimberley regions of Western Australia. Both groups are represented by various Aboriginal corporations which look after their native title interests.
The Ngarinyin or Ngarinjin are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Their language, Ngarinyin, is also known as Ungarinyin. When referring to their traditional lands, they refer to themselves as Wilinggin people.
The Jawi people, also spelt Djaui, Djawi, and other alternative spellings, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley coast of Western Australia, who speak the Jawi dialect. They are sometimes grouped with the Bardi people and referred to as "Bardi Jawi", as the languages and culture are similar.
The Yawijibaya, also written Jaudjibaia, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley region of northern Western Australia. Along with the Unggarranggu people, they are the traditional owners of the Buccaneer Archipelago, off Derby, together known as the Mayala group for native title purposes. Yawijibaya country includes Yawajaba Island and the surrounding Montgomery Reef.
The Umiida, also written Umida and Umede, were an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley region of north Western Australia.
The Yeidji, also spelt Yiiji and other variants, commonly known as Gwini/ Kwini, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley area of Western Australia, who also self-identify as Balanggarra.
The Kambure, more commonly known now as Gamberre, were an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley region of Western Australia.
The Ngardi, also spelled Ngarti, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Northern Territory and Western Australia.
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