Darumbal

The Darumbal (occasionally Dharumbal) are the Indigenous Australians that have traditionally occupied modern-day Central Queensland, speaking dialects of the Darumbal language. Traditional Darumbal land is considered to encompass most of coastal Central Queensland, including Shoalwater Bay, the Keppel Islands, and the modern cities of Rockhampton and Yeppoon.^[1] Ethnologue classifies the Darumbal language (sometimes known as Bayali) as "extinct".^[2] Darumbal people of the Keppel Islands and surrounding regions are sometimes also known as Woppaburra or Ganumi,^[3][4] and the terms are sometimes used interchangeably.^[5] Darumbal people in the Shoalwater Bay area are known as Yetimarla.^[6]

With the arrival of European settlers in the region, some Darumbal were tolerated as fringe communities of the new settlements, but most were systematically removed to make way for pastoral development.^[7] According to some estimates, "between 1865 and 1902 the population of the Keppel Islands suffered a substantial reduction of 75 to 80 per cent". ^[8]

Darumbal Native Title claims and land use issues have become prominent in recent years. In 2001, a claim was made to the National Native Title Tribunal,^[9] and in 2007 137 hectares at Mount Wheeler were handed over to the tribe.^[10] There have been several controversies regarding fisheries licensing and conservation.^[11][12] Darumbal people have been granted limited access to the Shoalwater Bay Military Training Area.^[13]

Although the language is extinct, some Darumbal words live on in place names in Central Queensland. The town of Coowonga is named after a Darumbal man famous for saving the life of politician King O'Malley in the late 19th century.^[14] The Rockhampton suburb of Nerimbera is named for a Darumbal word meaning 'where the mountains meet the river'.^[15]

References

1. Map (Aboriginal Australia) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Data Archive
   Gumoo Woojabuddee Section Fact Sheets Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
   Our Region Rockhampton Regional Council Archived March 5, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
2. 'Bayali' Ethnologue
3. Rowland, Michael Myths and Non-Myths: Frontier 'Massacres' in Australian History — The Woppaburra of the Keppel Islands The Australian Public Intellectual Network (originally published in Colonial Post: Journal of Australian Studies no 81, 2004)
4. Agreement to Reserve 300ha Land, Native Title in the News, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, March 2005
5. CQU hosts successful Darumbal sites tour Central Queensland University
6. Call to Stop Dugong Hunting Coolum News, 17 October 2011
7. Gumoo Woojabuddee Section Fact Sheets Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
8. Rowland, Michael Myths and Non-Myths: Frontier 'Massacres' in Australian History — The Woppaburra of the Keppel Islands The Australian Public Intellectual Network (originally published in Colonial Post: Journal of Australian Studies no 81, 2004)
9. Deadline Approaches on Darumbal Native Title Claim National Native Title Tribunal
10. Mt Wheeler handed over to traditional Darumbal owners in historic ceremony Queensland Cabinet Office
11. Wratten, Adam Darumbal Man Appeals $2000 fine The Morning Bulletin, 12 February 2010
12. Wratten, Adam Hunter Rejects Dugong Ban Call The Morning Bulletin, 16 September 2011
13. Indigenous Control of Indigenous Heritage Australian Department of the Environment and Heritage
14. Elder Adoption Ceremony Coowonga State School
15. Nerimbera Football Club

External links

• Bibliography of Darumbal people and language resources, at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies