The Gunaikurnai or Gunai/Kurnai (/ˈɡʌnaɪkɜːrnaɪ/GUN-eye-kur-nye) people, also referred to as the Gunnai or Kurnai, are an Aboriginal Australian nation of south-east Australia. They are the Traditional Custodians of most of present-day Gippsland and much of the southern slopes of the Victorian Alps. The Gunaikurnai nation is composed of five major clans. Many of the Gunaikurnai people resisted early European squatting and subsequent settlement during the nineteenth century, resulting in a number of deadly confrontations between Europeans and the Gunaikurnai. There are about 3,000 Gunaikurnai people alive today, predominantly living in Gippsland. The Gunaikurnai dialects are the traditional language of the Gunaikurnai people, although there are very few fluent speakers today.
It is told that the first Kurnai came down from the north west mountains, with his canoe on his head. He was known as Borun, the pelican. He crossed the Tribal River (where Sale now stands) and walked on into the west to Tarra Warackel (Port Albert). He heard a constant tapping sound, as he walked, but could not identify it. At the deep water of the inlets Borun put down his canoe and discovered, much to his surprise, there was a woman in it. She was Tuk, the musk duck. He was very happy to see her and she became his wife and the mother of the Gunaikurnai people.
In scientific terms, evidence of human occupation at Cloggs Cave near Buchan, has been dated at up to 17,000 years, while occupation at New Guinea Cave in the same area has been dated to over 20,000 years.[1]
Clan names
The name of this Aboriginal nation has been alternatively written in such forms as Gunai, Kurnai, Gunnai, and Ganai. As a compromise, the group is now often referred to as the Gunaikurnai or Gunai/Kurnai. The names of clans or tribes have also attracted a number of alternative spellings. Alternative names arose as Aboriginal languages had no written form before European settlement. Thus Aboriginal words and tribal names can have many alternative spellings, as the oral transmission from the Indigenous people may have been heard or recorded differently by various early European sources. It is also possible that the European sources correctly recorded alternative pronunciations and dialects of the indigenous people.[2]
The Kurnai nation is made up of five major clans or tribes. Various closely related dialects were spoken among the people of the region in pre-European times, although these have now been largely lost.[3] Each clan spoke a different dialect with its own name, though these different names may largely reflect recording differences of early Europeans as discussed above. The clans are summarised in the table below:
The Ninety Mile Beach from Lakes Entrance south-west to the mouth of Merriman Creek near Seaspray. Around Lake Victoria and Lake Wellington in the Gippsland Lakes, as well as Raymond Island in Lake King.
East along the coast as far as Point Hicks, and west to Lake Tyers Mission and Lakes Entrance. It included the Cann, Bemm, Brodribb, and Buchan Rivers, and inland to the mountains as far north as about Black Mountain near Wulgulmerang. Their inclusion as one of the Gunaikurnai is contested by Norman Tindale
Neighbouring nations
The Kurnai nation was bordered to the west of the Brataualung and Braiakalung by the lands of the Kulin nation centred on present day Melbourne, specifically the Wurundjeri and Boonwurrung clans. To the east, bordering the Krauatungalung from around Cann River and out to Mallacoota, were the Bidawal people. To the north, in the Australian Alps and around the upper Murray River, were a number of clans, including the Jaitmathang whose lands bordered the Brabawooloong south of Omeo.
According to European accounts, the Gunaikurnai nation were actively fighting with the Boonwurrung at the time of European invasion. There are records of a "Warrowen massacre" in present-day Brighton which saw invading Gunaikurnai warriors of the Borro Borro willun clan wipe out around 60 Boonwurrung Yowenjerre clan members, effectively eliminating the clan and allowing the Gunaikurnai to occupy Boonwurrung lands near Wilsons Promontory. However, there is little record of the Borro Borro willun clan outside of this incident.
The Kurnai people resisted the European invasion of their land. It is extremely difficult to ascertain the numbers killed in the guerilla warfare undertaken, or the numbers who died in the massacres that were inflicted upon the Gunaikurnai by the superior weaponry of the Europeans. A partial list from letters and diaries for an exhibition called Koorie, mounted by the Museum of Victoria in 1991, included:
1840 – Nuntin- unknown number killed by Angus McMillan's men
1840 – Boney Point – "Angus McMillan and his men took a heavy toll of Aboriginal lives"
1841 – Butchers Creek – 30-35 shot by Angus McMillan's men
1841 – Maffra – unknown number shot by Angus McMillan's men
1842 – Skull Creek – unknown number killed
1842 – Bruthen Creek – "hundreds killed"
1843 – Warrigal Creek – between 60 and 180 shot by Angus McMillan and his men
1844 – Maffra – unknown number killed
1846 – South Gippsland – 14 killed
1846 – Snowy River – 8 killed by Captain Dana and the Aboriginal Police
In 1846 Gippsland squatter Henry Meyrick wrote in a letter home to his relatives in England:
The blacks are very quiet here now, poor wretches. No wild beast of the forest was ever hunted down with such unsparing perseverance as they are. Men, women and children are shot whenever they can be met with … I have protested against it at every station I have been in Gippsland, in the strongest language, but these things are kept very secret as the penalty would certainly be hanging … For myself, if I caught a black actually killing my sheep, I would shoot him with as little remorse as I would a wild dog, but no consideration on earth would induce me to ride into a camp and fire on them indiscriminately, as is the custom whenever the smoke is seen. They [the Aborigines] will very shortly be extinct. It is impossible to say how many have been shot, but I am convinced that not less than 500 have been murdered altogether.[citation needed]
In 1863 Rev Friedrich Hagenauer established Rahahyuck Mission on the banks of the Avon River near Lake Wellington to house the Gunaikurnai survivors from west and central Gippsland. The mission sought to discourage all tribal ritual and culture.[citation needed] The Mission closed in 1908 and the few remaining residents were moved to the Lake Tyers Mission.
Native Title Agreement
The Kurnai launched a native title claim in 1997 following on from the successful Mabo native title case of 1992. On 22 October 2010 the case was settled in the Federal Court under the Native Title Act (1993). The Court recognised the Gunaikurnai as traditional owners, and found that they held native title over much of Gippsland. Based on these findings the Victorian Government entered into an agreement with the Gunaikurnai on the same day, the first agreement reached under the Traditional Owner Settlement Act (2010)[4][5]
Maps of the area covered under the agreement and the native title determination shows that it does not fully cover the entire area thought to comprise the traditional lands of the Gunaikurnai, however most of the original nation is covered. Notable exclusions are to the west, including Wilsons Promontory, to the east of the Snowy River, and exclusions in the north, particularly the northeast region.[5][6] Also included as part of the settlement is 200 metres (660 ft) offshore into the sea. Only Crown land within the area is affected by the determination and agreement, with all existing rights on Crown land being protected for their full term, and there being no impact in any way in relation to private land.[7]
the Gunaikurnai people have rights to access and use Crown land for traditional purposes within existing laws. These uses can include hunting, fishing, camping, and gathering.
funding to be provided to the Gunaikurnai for the purposes of managing their affairs, for investment in economic development and strengthening of their cultural identity, and to meet their obligations under the settlement. The total value of the funding is A$12 million, contributed to equally by the State and Federal Governments. $2 million was to be paid to Gunaikurnai at the time the settlement came into force, with the remaining $10 million invested through an independent trust to provide income for purposes outlined previously for a period of at least twenty years.[7][8][5]
Places named after the Gunaikurnai
Kurnai College is a Victorian state school in the Latrobe Valley of Gippsland, which is in the western part of the Gunaikurnai's traditional nation, in the lands of the Brayakooloong clan. It has campuses in the towns of Morwell and Churchill.[9]
Krowathunkooloong Keeping Place is an Aboriginal culture, history and heritage museum located in Bairnsdale in Brabawooloong country. It is named for the Krowathunkooloong clan that occupied the Orbost and Snowy River area. It houses displays related to Aboriginal culture, history, arts and crafts, with the aim of raising the profile, awareness, understanding and pride in the Gunaikurnai people's history in Gippsland. The museum was first named in 1991 and opened to the public in 1994.[10]
Notable Gunaikurnai people
John Gorrie (born 1950), Aboriginal liaison officer, child protection worker and elder
"Agreements with Traditional Owners: Gunaikurnai Settlement Agreement". Official site. Department of Sustainability and Environment. 1 October 2012. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
Clark, Ian D. (14 July 2006). (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2008.
"The five clans of the Kurnai". Bataluk Cultural Trail website. Gippsland and East Gippsland Aboriginal Co-operative. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
Flood, Josephine (2004). Archaeology of the Dreamtime. Marleston: J.B Publishing. p. 25. ISBN1-876622-50-4.
"Gunai and Kurnai, Koorie and Koori". Bataluk Cultural Trail website. Gippsland and East Gippsland Aboriginal Co-operative. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
"Gunaikurnai Native Title Agreement Fact Sheets and Related Material". Department of Justice. November 2010a. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
"Gunaikurnai Native Title Agreement FAQs". Department of Justice. 27 February 2013. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
"Gunaikurnai native title agreement; Determination Area Map" (PDF). Department of Justice. November 2010b. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
Morey, Stephen (2016). "Two traditional stories in the Ganai language of Gippsland". In Austin, Peter K.; Koch, Harold; Simpson, Jane (eds.). Language, land & song: Studies in honour of Luise Hercus(PDF). Aboriginal History. pp. 378–391. ISBN978-0-728-60406-3.
. Quadrant. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007.
Raue, Ben; agencies (18 November 2017). "Northcote byelection: Greens' Lidia Thorpe takes Melbourne seat from Labor". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
Bibliography
Gardiner, P.D. (1990). Our Founding Murdering Father: Angus McMillan and the Kurnai tribe. Ngarak Press. ISBN1-875254-01-3.
Gardiner, P.D. (1994). Through Foreign Eyes: European perceptions of the Kurnai Tribes of Gippsland. Ngarak Press. ISBN1-875254-13-7.
Gardiner, P.D. (1996). The language of the Kurnai Tribes of Gippsland. Ngarak Press. ISBN1-875254-19-6.
Gardiner, P.D. (2001). Gippsland Massacres: The Destruction of the Kurnai tribes 1800-1860. Ngarak Press. ISBN1-875254-11-0.
External links
January 06, 2023
gunaikurnai, people, gunaikurnai, gunai, kurnai, ɜːr, people, also, referred, gunnai, kurnai, aboriginal, australian, nation, south, east, australia, they, traditional, custodians, most, present, gippsland, much, southern, slopes, victorian, alps, gunaikurnai,. The Gunaikurnai or Gunai Kurnai ˈ ɡ ʌ n aɪ k ɜːr n aɪ GUN eye kur nye people also referred to as the Gunnai or Kurnai are an Aboriginal Australian nation of south east Australia They are the Traditional Custodians of most of present day Gippsland and much of the southern slopes of the Victorian Alps The Gunaikurnai nation is composed of five major clans Many of the Gunaikurnai people resisted early European squatting and subsequent settlement during the nineteenth century resulting in a number of deadly confrontations between Europeans and the Gunaikurnai There are about 3 000 Gunaikurnai people alive today predominantly living in Gippsland The Gunaikurnai dialects are the traditional language of the Gunaikurnai people although there are very few fluent speakers today GunnaikurnaiGunai or KurnaiTotal population3000 LanguagesGunaikurnai language EnglishReligionAustralian Aboriginal mythology Christianity IrreligionRelated ethnic groupssee List of Indigenous Australian group names Contents 1 Creation story 1 1 Clan names 2 Clans and languages 2 1 Neighbouring nations 3 Resistance to European settlement 4 Native Title Agreement 5 Places named after the Gunaikurnai 6 Notable Gunaikurnai people 7 See also 8 Notes 8 1 Citations 9 Sources 10 Bibliography 11 External linksCreation story EditIt is told that the first Kurnai came down from the north west mountains with his canoe on his head He was known as Borun the pelican He crossed the Tribal River where Sale now stands and walked on into the west to Tarra Warackel Port Albert He heard a constant tapping sound as he walked but could not identify it At the deep water of the inlets Borun put down his canoe and discovered much to his surprise there was a woman in it She was Tuk the musk duck He was very happy to see her and she became his wife and the mother of the Gunaikurnai people In scientific terms evidence of human occupation at Cloggs Cave near Buchan has been dated at up to 17 000 years while occupation at New Guinea Cave in the same area has been dated to over 20 000 years 1 Clan names Edit The name of this Aboriginal nation has been alternatively written in such forms as Gunai Kurnai Gunnai and Ganai As a compromise the group is now often referred to as the Gunaikurnai or Gunai Kurnai The names of clans or tribes have also attracted a number of alternative spellings Alternative names arose as Aboriginal languages had no written form before European settlement Thus Aboriginal words and tribal names can have many alternative spellings as the oral transmission from the Indigenous people may have been heard or recorded differently by various early European sources It is also possible that the European sources correctly recorded alternative pronunciations and dialects of the indigenous people 2 Clans and languages EditFurther information Gunaikurnai language The Kurnai nation is made up of five major clans or tribes Various closely related dialects were spoken among the people of the region in pre European times although these have now been largely lost 3 Each clan spoke a different dialect with its own name though these different names may largely reflect recording differences of early Europeans as discussed above The clans are summarised in the table below Clan Translation General location Tribal Country included Brataualung Men belonging to the place of fire unclear Throughout South Gippsland Wilsons Promontory along the coast east to Cape Liptrap and Tarwin Meadows and west to Port Albert and as far as the mouth of Merriman Creek near Seaspray Inland to about Mirboo The Wilsons Promontory area was shared with the Boonwurrung people of the Kulin nation Braiakalung Men belonging to the west To the west of the Mitchell River centred on the current site of Sale Predominantly to the west of the Mitchell River Lake Wellington and Providence Ponds including the Avon and Latrobe Rivers North east to Mount Baw Baw and as far north as Mount Howitt in the Victorian Alps Brabiralung Belonging to men or belonging to manly men Central East Gippsland mainly between the Mitchell and Tambo Rivers The low lying lands in the south around present day Bairnsdale and Bruthen Up along the Mitchell Nicholson and Tambo Rivers into the low mountains of the Great Dividing Range between Swifts Creek and Omeo and towards Dargo Tatungalung Belonging to the sea or the south possibly belonging to the sea in the south Around the Gippsland Lakes and along the coast west from Lakes Entrance The Ninety Mile Beach from Lakes Entrance south west to the mouth of Merriman Creek near Seaspray Around Lake Victoria and Lake Wellington in the Gippsland Lakes as well as Raymond Island in Lake King Krauatungalung Belonging to the east Centred on Orbost and the Snowy River East along the coast as far as Point Hicks and west to Lake Tyers Mission and Lakes Entrance It included the Cann Bemm Brodribb and Buchan Rivers and inland to the mountains as far north as about Black Mountain near Wulgulmerang Their inclusion as one of the Gunaikurnai is contested by Norman TindaleNeighbouring nations Edit The Kurnai nation was bordered to the west of the Brataualung and Braiakalung by the lands of the Kulin nation centred on present day Melbourne specifically the Wurundjeri and Boonwurrung clans To the east bordering the Krauatungalung from around Cann River and out to Mallacoota were the Bidawal people To the north in the Australian Alps and around the upper Murray River were a number of clans including the Jaitmathang whose lands bordered the Brabawooloong south of Omeo According to European accounts the Gunaikurnai nation were actively fighting with the Boonwurrung at the time of European invasion There are records of a Warrowen massacre in present day Brighton which saw invading Gunaikurnai warriors of the Borro Borro willun clan wipe out around 60 Boonwurrung Yowenjerre clan members effectively eliminating the clan and allowing the Gunaikurnai to occupy Boonwurrung lands near Wilsons Promontory However there is little record of the Borro Borro willun clan outside of this incident Resistance to European settlement EditMain article Gippsland massacres The Kurnai people resisted the European invasion of their land It is extremely difficult to ascertain the numbers killed in the guerilla warfare undertaken or the numbers who died in the massacres that were inflicted upon the Gunaikurnai by the superior weaponry of the Europeans A partial list from letters and diaries for an exhibition called Koorie mounted by the Museum of Victoria in 1991 included 1840 Nuntin unknown number killed by Angus McMillan s men 1840 Boney Point Angus McMillan and his men took a heavy toll of Aboriginal lives 1841 Butchers Creek 30 35 shot by Angus McMillan s men 1841 Maffra unknown number shot by Angus McMillan s men 1842 Skull Creek unknown number killed 1842 Bruthen Creek hundreds killed 1843 Warrigal Creek between 60 and 180 shot by Angus McMillan and his men 1844 Maffra unknown number killed 1846 South Gippsland 14 killed 1846 Snowy River 8 killed by Captain Dana and the Aboriginal Police 1846 47 Central Gippsland 50 or more shot by armed party hunting for a white woman supposedly held by Aborigines no such woman was ever found 1850 East Gippsland 15 20 killed 1850 Murrindal 16 poisoned 1850 Brodribb River 15 20 killedIn 1846 Gippsland squatter Henry Meyrick wrote in a letter home to his relatives in England The blacks are very quiet here now poor wretches No wild beast of the forest was ever hunted down with such unsparing perseverance as they are Men women and children are shot whenever they can be met with I have protested against it at every station I have been in Gippsland in the strongest language but these things are kept very secret as the penalty would certainly be hanging For myself if I caught a black actually killing my sheep I would shoot him with as little remorse as I would a wild dog but no consideration on earth would induce me to ride into a camp and fire on them indiscriminately as is the custom whenever the smoke is seen They the Aborigines will very shortly be extinct It is impossible to say how many have been shot but I am convinced that not less than 500 have been murdered altogether citation needed In 1863 Rev Friedrich Hagenauer established Rahahyuck Mission on the banks of the Avon River near Lake Wellington to house the Gunaikurnai survivors from west and central Gippsland The mission sought to discourage all tribal ritual and culture citation needed The Mission closed in 1908 and the few remaining residents were moved to the Lake Tyers Mission Native Title Agreement EditThe Kurnai launched a native title claim in 1997 following on from the successful Mabo native title case of 1992 On 22 October 2010 the case was settled in the Federal Court under the Native Title Act 1993 The Court recognised the Gunaikurnai as traditional owners and found that they held native title over much of Gippsland Based on these findings the Victorian Government entered into an agreement with the Gunaikurnai on the same day the first agreement reached under the Traditional Owner Settlement Act 2010 4 5 Maps of the area covered under the agreement and the native title determination shows that it does not fully cover the entire area thought to comprise the traditional lands of the Gunaikurnai however most of the original nation is covered Notable exclusions are to the west including Wilsons Promontory to the east of the Snowy River and exclusions in the north particularly the northeast region 5 6 Also included as part of the settlement is 200 metres 660 ft offshore into the sea Only Crown land within the area is affected by the determination and agreement with all existing rights on Crown land being protected for their full term and there being no impact in any way in relation to private land 7 The agreement included the following key points ten national parks and reserves were transferred to the Gunaikurnai to be jointly managed with the State The parks and reserves are The Knob Reserve at Stratford Tarra Bulga National Park Mitchell River National Park The Lakes National Park Gippsland Lakes Coastal Park New Guinea Cave in the Snowy River National Park Buchan Caves Reserve Land in the Lake Tyers catchment area Gippsland Lakes Reserve at Raymond Island and Corringle Foreshore Reserve at the mouth of the Snowy River 5 the Gunaikurnai people have rights to access and use Crown land for traditional purposes within existing laws These uses can include hunting fishing camping and gathering funding to be provided to the Gunaikurnai for the purposes of managing their affairs for investment in economic development and strengthening of their cultural identity and to meet their obligations under the settlement The total value of the funding is A 12 million contributed to equally by the State and Federal Governments 2 million was to be paid to Gunaikurnai at the time the settlement came into force with the remaining 10 million invested through an independent trust to provide income for purposes outlined previously for a period of at least twenty years 7 8 5 Places named after the Gunaikurnai EditKurnai College is a Victorian state school in the Latrobe Valley of Gippsland which is in the western part of the Gunaikurnai s traditional nation in the lands of the Brayakooloong clan It has campuses in the towns of Morwell and Churchill 9 Krowathunkooloong Keeping Place is an Aboriginal culture history and heritage museum located in Bairnsdale in Brabawooloong country It is named for the Krowathunkooloong clan that occupied the Orbost and Snowy River area It houses displays related to Aboriginal culture history arts and crafts with the aim of raising the profile awareness understanding and pride in the Gunaikurnai people s history in Gippsland The museum was first named in 1991 and opened to the public in 1994 10 Notable Gunaikurnai people EditJohn Gorrie born 1950 Aboriginal liaison officer child protection worker and elder Veronica Ronnie Gorrie born 1971 1972 writer Albert Mullet 1933 2014 community leader and craftsman Lidia Thorpe Victorian Greens Politician former MP for Northcote First Aboriginal woman elected to the Parliament of Victoria 11 See also EditAlfred William Howitt Gippsland massacres Gunaikurnai language Warrigal Creek White woman of GippslandNotes EditCitations Edit Flood 2004 p 25 Gunai and Kurnai Koorie and Koori Clark 2006 Department of Justice 2010a a b c d Department of Justice 2010b Department of Sustainability and Environment 2011 sfn error no target CITEREFDepartment of Sustainability and Environment2011 help a b Department of Justice 2013 Department of Sustainability and Environment 2012 Kurnai College Pathways To Success Krowathunkooloong Brabawooloong Country sfn error no target CITEREFKrowathunkooloong Brabawooloong Country help Raue amp agencies 2017 Sources Edit Agreements with Traditional Owners Gunaikurnai Settlement Agreement Official site Department of Sustainability and Environment 1 October 2012 Retrieved 27 February 2013 Clark Ian D 14 July 2006 Aboriginal Language Areas in Victoria A Report to the Victorian Aboriginal Corporation For Languages PDF Archived from the original PDF on 21 July 2013 Retrieved 24 November 2008 The five clans of the Kurnai Bataluk Cultural Trail website Gippsland and East Gippsland Aboriginal Co operative Retrieved 27 February 2013 Flood Josephine 2004 Archaeology of the Dreamtime Marleston J B Publishing p 25 ISBN 1 876622 50 4 Gunai and Kurnai Koorie and Koori Bataluk Cultural Trail website Gippsland and East Gippsland Aboriginal Co operative Retrieved 27 February 2013 Gunaikurnai Native Title Agreement Fact Sheets and Related Material Department of Justice November 2010a Retrieved 3 March 2013 Gunaikurnai Native Title Agreement FAQs Department of Justice 27 February 2013 Retrieved 27 February 2013 Gunaikurnai native title agreement Determination Area Map PDF Department of Justice November 2010b Retrieved 3 March 2013 Morey Stephen 2016 Two traditional stories in the Ganai language of Gippsland In Austin Peter K Koch Harold Simpson Jane eds Language land amp song Studies in honour of Luise Hercus PDF Aboriginal History pp 378 391 ISBN 978 0 728 60406 3 Gippsland Settlers and the Kurnai Dead Patrick Morgan Quadrant Magazine Quadrant Archived from the original on 29 September 2007 Raue Ben agencies 18 November 2017 Northcote byelection Greens Lidia Thorpe takes Melbourne seat from Labor The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 21 August 2019 Bibliography EditGardiner P D 1990 Our Founding Murdering Father Angus McMillan and the Kurnai tribe Ngarak Press ISBN 1 875254 01 3 Gardiner P D 1994 Through Foreign Eyes European perceptions of the Kurnai Tribes of Gippsland Ngarak Press ISBN 1 875254 13 7 Gardiner P D 1996 The language of the Kurnai Tribes of Gippsland Ngarak Press ISBN 1 875254 19 6 Gardiner P D 2001 Gippsland Massacres The Destruction of the Kurnai tribes 1800 1860 Ngarak Press ISBN 1 875254 11 0 External links EditDjeetgun Kurnai Women s Aboriginal Corporation Bataluk Cultural trail Wurruk Earth Story A literary dreaming self portrait written partly in Kurnai Gunai Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gunaikurnai people amp oldid 1114197991, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
