View source for Awabakal

{{Short description|Australian Aboriginal people of mid north coastal New South Wales}}
{{About|the Awabakal ethnic group of Indigenous Australians|their language|Awabakal language}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Use Australian English|date=May 2012}}
{{Infobox
 | above       = Awabakal people
 | abovestyle  = background-color: #FFFF99
 | subheader   = {{small|aka: ''Awabagal'', ''Awaba'', ''Kuri'', ''Minyowa,'' ''Minyowie''  }}{{sfn|Tindale|1974|p=191}}
 | image1      = [[File:IBRA 6.1 Sydney Basin.png|220px]]
 | caption1    = Mid North Coast bioregion
 | headerstyle = background-color: #FFFF99
 | header1     = [[Hierarchy]]
 | label2      = Language family:
 | data2       = [[Pama–Nyungan languages|Pama–Nyungan]]{{sfn|Lissarrague|2006}}
 | label3      = Language branch:
 | data3       = [[Yuin–Kuric languages|Yuin–Kuric]]
 | label4      = Language group:
 | data4       = Kuri
 | label5      = Group dialects:
 | data5       = [[Awabakal language|Awabakal]]
 | label6      = Group estate:
 | header20    = Area (approx. {{cvt|1,800|km2|disp=or}})
 | label22     = Bioregion:
 | data22      = Mid North Coast
 | label23     = Location:
 | data23      = [[Mid North Coast]], [[New South Wales]]
 | label24     = Coordinates:
 | data24      = {{coord|33|5|S|151|30|E|region:AU-NSW|display=inline, title}}{{sfn|Tindale|1974|p=191}}
 | label25     = Mountains:
 | data25      =
 | label26     = Rivers
 | data26      =
 | label27     = Other geological:
 | data27      = [[Lake Macquarie, New South Wales|Lake Macquarie]]{{sfn|Tindale|1974|p=191}}
 | label28     = Urban areas:<ref name="DUBR" />
 | header30    = Notable individuals
 | data31      = [[Biraban]]
}}

The '''Awabakal''' people {{IPAc-en|ə|ˈ|w|ɒ|b|ə|g|æ|l}}, are those [[Aboriginal Australians]] who identify with or are descended from the Awabakal tribe and its clans, [[Indigenous Australians|Indigenous to]] the coastal area of what is now known as the [[Hunter Region]] of [[New South Wales]]. Their traditional territory spread from [[Wollombi, New South Wales|Wollombi]] in the west, to the [[Hunter River (New South Wales)|Lower Hunter River]] near [[Newcastle, New South Wales|Newcastle]] and [[Lake Macquarie, New South Wales|Lake Macquarie]] in the north.

The name [[Kuringgai]], also written Guringai, has often been used as a collective denominator of the Awabakal and several other tribes in this belt, but [[Norman Tindale]] has challenged it as an arbitrary coinage devised by ethnologist [[John Fraser (ethnologist)|John Fraser]] in 1892. For Tindale, Kuringgai was synonymous with Awabakal.{{sfn|Tindale|1974|p=191}} [[Arthur Capell]] however asserted that there was indeed evidence for a distinct Kuringgai language, which, in Tindale's schema, would imply they were a distinct people from the Awabakal.{{sfn|Attenbrow|2010|p=33}}

==Name==
In their language, ''awaba'' was the word for Lake Macquarie, meaning flat or plain surface, and by extension referred to the people native to that area. The Awabakal were bounded to the north–west by the [[Wonnarua]], the [[Worimi people|Worimi]] to the north–east, and the [[Darkinung people|Darkinung]] peoples to the west and south. [[Awaba, New South Wales|Awaba]] is now the name of a small town in the region.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

==Language==
[[File:Dharag-Neighbors1.png|thumb|Traditional lands of Australian Aboriginal tribes around [[Newcastle, New South Wales]]]]
{{main|Awabakal language}}
The Awabakal language was recorded by Lancelot Edward Threlkeld and Awabakal Leader Birabahn in 'An Australian grammar : comprehending the principles and natural rules of the language as spoken by the Aborigines in the vicinity of Hunter's River, Lake MacQuarie & New South Wales' -'and this is the first, and most comprehensive record of any indigenous language in Australia.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

The City of Newcastle is in the process of educating the wider community about dual name sites and traditional language history of Newcastle ''Muluubinba.''

* ''Whibayganba'' – [[Nobbys Head]]land
* ''Tahlbihn'' – Flagstaff Hill ([[Fort Scratchley]])
* ''Burrabihngarn'' – Pirate Point ([[Stockton, New South Wales|Stockton]])
* ''Yohaaba'' – [[Port of Newcastle|Port Hunter]]
* ''Coquun'' – [[Hunter River (New South Wales)|Hunter River]]
* ''Khanterin'' – [[The Hill, New South Wales|Shepherds Hill]] (The Hill)
* ''Toohrnbing'' – Ironbark Creek
* ''Burraghihnbihng'' – Hexham Swamp<ref>{{Cite web|title=Aboriginal Culture|url=https://newcastle.nsw.gov.au/explore/history-and-heritage/aboriginal-culture|url-status=live|access-date=16 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412201938/https://www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au/explore/history-and-heritage/aboriginal-culture |archive-date=12 April 2021 }}</ref>

==Country==
Tindale estimated Awabakal territory to cover some {{convert|700|mi2|km2|order=flip}}.{{sfn|Tindale|1974|p=191}}
More recent estimates are that Awabakal territory covers 2870 square kilometres. The Awabakal clan were relocated from Newcastle harbour area by Rev Threlkeld to two locations at Lake Macquarie into a mission environment and had no cultural connection to those areas.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

==Practices==
The eaglehawk or [[wedge-tailed eagle]] has special significance for the Awabakal people. Kon, their "celestial entity", looks like an Aboriginal man, but in flight resembles an eagle-hawk.{{sfn|Threlkeld|1974|pp=3,5,66}}{{sfn|Maynard|2014|p=?}}

The Awabakal people played a significant part in shaping the environment of their region. They practised [[fire-stick farming]] extensively, which helped them to hunt and to navigate through dense prickly scrub along the coast.{{sfn|Maynard|2014|p=?}} Newcastle's main city thoroughfare, Watt Street was built over an Awabakal path from the shore to the top of a hill.{{sfn|Duncan|2013}} Fishing, particularly for shellfish, was a significant part of the Awabakal people's diet and culture pre-colonisation.{{sfn|Maynard|2014|p=?}}

The Awabakal, in pre-colonisation times, were noted as being strong and determined defenders of their territory, the means by which the defence occurred need to be explored to deepen understanding of the culture.{{citation needed|date=January 2024}} They had possession of the coastal territory for thousands of years, during which time they successfully repelled incursions by the neighbouring [[Gamilaraay people]] and established places of defence, "virtual armouries", high in the [[Watagan Mountains]].{{sfn|Maynard|2014|p=?}}

===Today===
{{refimprove|section|date=January 2024}}  
Descendants of Awabakal people who survived the British invasion and subsequent [[massacres of Aboriginal Australians]], especially during the land grab of 1826, are direct descendants of Margaret and Ned or Mahrahkah. These descendants are connected through their families/family culture together and represented by the Awabakal Descendants of the Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

These Awabakal people are considered as the [[traditional owners]] of the Awabakal region and have lived there from at least since the last Ice Age, 11,800 years ago.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

Recently settled Aboriginal people in this region partake in community support organisations like 'The Awabakal Newcastle Aboriginal Cooperative Limited', which is a not-for-profit community controlled organisation operating in the Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and Hunter Region. It was established in 1976. It is responsible for the delivery of community and health services to Aboriginal people in this region, including:
* The Awabakal Medical Centre
* The Awabakal Disability Service which provides "short to medium term support to young people living with a disability"
* Culturally appropriate care for older people
* Child care services{{sfn|Awabakal}}

=== Butterfly Cave ===
The Butterfly Cave at [[Wallsend, New South Wales|West Wallsend]] is part of "women's business" related to [[birthing]], and has been the subject of decades of active protection by women. However, the site sits on privately owned land allotted for a growing housing estate, owned by Hammersmith Management which is owned by the Roche Group. As of late 2021, women must seek permission to cross the owned land, despite the site being a protected site under the Federal Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection (ATSIHP) Act and was recognised as a New South Wales 'Aboriginal Place' in 2013.<ref name="2021-12-01_ABC">{{cite web | last=Wellington | first=Shahni | last2=Wellauer | first2=Kirstie | title=Aboriginal sacred sites across Australia still at risk as traditional owners 'locked out' of reforms | website=ABC News | date=2021-11-30 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-01/aboriginal-women-calling-to-protect-sacred-butterfly-cave-site/100613256 | access-date=2024-08-02}} {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201065043/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-01/aboriginal-women-calling-to-protect-sacred-butterfly-cave-site/100613256 |date=1 December 2021 }}, Shahni Wellington and Kirstie Wellauer, [[ABC News Online]], 2021-12-01</ref> In 2019, the cave and its surrounds were recognised by the federal government as a significant Aboriginal area.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-17/nsw-government-acquires-sacred-butterfly-cave-site-protection/103986190|title='Wonderful' news for Indigenous women as NSW reclaims sacred Butterfly Cave from developer|date=17 June 2024|via=www.abc.net.au}}</ref>

Following 13 years of local activism,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.savethebutterflycave.info/|title=Save The Butterfly Cave|website=www.savethebutterflycave.info}}</ref> representation, and negotiation with the former owners, the NSW Government acquired a parcel of land surrounding the Butterfly Cave that was earmarked for development by Hammersmith Management, which is owned by the Roche Group.<ref name="auto"/>

{{blockquote |text=The {{convert|25.74|ha|adj=on|disp=sqbr}} plot, purchased by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service protects the Cave and the surrounding cultural landscape, including vital elements such as aquifers, traditional journey paths, creeks, stone arrangements and food source areas. The land will be managed by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and permanently protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974. The NSW Government will consult with the local Aboriginal community on future management of the site and protection of the surrounding cultural landscape.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/news/sacred-butterfly-cave-safeguarded-for-future-generations|title=Sacred Butterfly Cave safeguarded for future generations|date=19 June 2024|website=NSW Environment and Heritage}}</ref>}}

===Centres===
The Awabakal Environmental Education Centre began operating in 1976. It is an NSW Department of Education and Communities facility.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Home – Awabakal Environmental Education Centre|url=https://awabakal-e.schools.nsw.gov.au/|access-date=2021-05-20|website=awabakal-e.schools.nsw.gov.au|language=en-AU|archive-date=6 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506211807/https://awabakal-e.schools.nsw.gov.au/|url-status=live}}</ref> The centre provides opportunities for teachers and students in the Hunter Region to learn about the environment and human interactions with the natural world.{{sfn|AwabakalEEC}} ''Wollotuka'', meaning an 'eating and meeting place' originally began as a support programme in 1983 to assist and promote university studies for indigenous people. Wollotuka's all indigenous staff moved into their new building, Birabahn in 2002, and the Wollotuka Institute was officially established in 2009.{{sfn|Wollotuka1}}{{sfn|Wollotuka2}}

==Native title==
In 2013 an association of Awabakal and Guringai descendants laid claim to [[Native title in Australia|native title]] over land from [[Maitland, New South Wales|Maitland]] to [[Hornsby, New South Wales|Hornsby]].{{sfn|Kelly|2013}} The claim was opposed by representatives of the Worimi and Wonnarua as asserting rights over their own traditional territories.{{sfn|Connor|2016|p=111}} In 2017 the claim was withdrawn after the NSW government claimed that, while the claim group, the Descendants of the Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation had shown descent from the original people indigenous to the area, it was argued that they had failed to demonstrate continuous preservation of customary laws and practices since the onset of white colonization.{{sfn|Fellner|2017}}

==Notable Awabakal people==
* [[Biraban]]{{spaced ndash}}a recognised headman of the Awaba clan{{sfn|Maynard|2014|p=?}} who assisted the [[Lancelot Edward Threlkeld|Rev Lancelot Threlkeld]] compile the first grammar of an Aboriginal language in Australia{{sfn|Van Toorn|2006|p=43}}
* [[Bob Barrett (Indigenous Australian)|Bob Barrett]] – a colonial enforcer who worked with the British to capture convicts at Newcastle and Port Macquarie

==Alternative names==
* ''Awaba'' (Awabakal [[toponym]] designating Lake Macquarie)
* ''Awabagal''
* ''[[Koorie|Kuri]]'' (generic term ("man") in Sydney area languages)
* ''[[Kuringgai]]''
* "Lake Macquarie, Newcastle" tribe
* ''Minyowa'' (Awabakal [[Band society|horde]] at Newcastle)
* ''Minyowie''

Source: {{harvnb|Tindale|1974|p=191}}

==See also==
* [[Arwarbukarl Cultural Resource Association]]
* [[Kuringgai]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

==References==
{{refbegin|35em}}
*{{Cite web
 | title = About Us
 | publisher = Awabakal.org
 | url = http://www.awabakal.org/about/about-us/
 | url-status = dead
 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20120719081106/http://www.awabakal.org/about/about-us/
 | archive-date = 19 July 2012
 | ref = {{harvid|Awabakal}}
 }}
*{{Cite web
 | title = AIATSIS map of Indigenous Australia
 | date = 28 July 2023
 | publisher = [[Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies|AIATSIS]]
 | url = https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/articles/aiatsis-map-indigenous-australia
 | ref = {{harvid|AIATSIS}}
 | access-date = 15 January 2018
 | archive-date = 21 September 2020
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200921123831/https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/articles/aiatsis-map-indigenous-australia
 | url-status = live
 }}
*{{cite book
 | title = Sydney's Aboriginal Past: Investigating the Archaeological and Historical Records
 | last = Attenbrow
 | first = Val
 | year = 2010
 | publisher = [[University of New South Wales Press]]
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=TDxldj_SLcYC&pg=PA33
 | isbn = 978-1-742-23116-7
 }}
*{{Cite web
 | title = Awabakal EEC
 | publisher = Awabakal Environmental Education Centre
 | url = http://www.awabakaleec.schoolwebsites.com.au/
 | url-status = dead
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140216042636/http://www.awabakaleec.schoolwebsites.com.au/
 | archive-date = 16 February 2014
 | ref = {{harvid|AwabakalEEC}}
 }}
*{{Cite book
 | title = Climate Change and Anthropos: Planet, People and Places
 | last = Connor
 | first = Linda H.
 | year = 2016
 | publisher = [[Routledge]]
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=XXmFCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA111
 | isbn = 978-1-317-97055-2
 }}
*{{Cite book
 | title = Australian Languages: Their Nature and Development
 | last = Dixon
 | first = Robert M. W.
 | year = 2002
 | author-link = Robert M. W. Dixon
 | publisher = [[Cambridge University Press]]
 | volume = 1
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=MSqIBNJtG0AC&pg=PR34
 | isbn = 978-0-521-47378-1
 }}
*{{Cite news
 | title = Newcastle's first street to be illuminated
 | last = Duncan
 | first = Carol
 | publisher = [[Australian Broadcasting Commission|ABC Newcastle]]
 | url = http://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2013/05/29/3769996.htm
 | date = 29 May 2013
 | access-date = 23 February 2014
 | archive-date = 1 March 2014
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140301063512/http://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2013/05/29/3769996.htm
 | url-status = live
 }}
*{{Cite news
 | title = Awabakal and Guringai native title claim from Maitland to Hornsby put on ice
 | last = Fellner
 | first = Carrie
 | newspaper = [[The Newcastle Herald]]
 | url = https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/4979410/heartache-after-claim-snuffed-out/
 | date = 11 October 2017
 | access-date = 24 February 2024
 | archive-date = 27 July 2020
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200727231049/https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/4979410/heartache-after-claim-snuffed-out/
 | url-status = live
 }}
*{{Cite book
 | chapter = Worimi Languages
 | last = Grimes
 | first = Barbara
 | year = 2003
 | title = International Encyclopedia of Linguistics: AAVE-Esperanto
 | editor-last = Frawley
 | editor-first = William
 | publisher = [[Oxford University Press]]
 | volume = 1
 | page = 378
 | chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=sl_dDVctycgC&pg=RA3-PA378
 | isbn = 978-0-195-13977-8
 }}
*{{Cite web
 | title = History of Wollotuka
 | date = 8 April 2013
 | publisher = [[University of Newcastle (Australia)|University of Newcastle]]
 | url = https://www.newcastle.edu.au/about-uon/our-university/indigenous-collaboration/the-wollotuka-institute?a=33545
 | ref = {{harvid|Wollotuka2}}
 | access-date = 11 November 2017
 | archive-date = 12 November 2017
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171112131937/https://www.newcastle.edu.au/about-uon/our-university/indigenous-collaboration/the-wollotuka-institute?a=33545
 | url-status = live
 }}
*{{cite news
 | title = Awabakal land claim lodged
 | last = Kelly
 | first = Matthew
 | newspaper = [[The Newcastle Herald]]
 | url = https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/1831422/awabakal-land-claim-lodged/
 | date = 9 October 2013
 | access-date = 24 February 2024
 | archive-date = 28 July 2020
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200728045842/https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/1831422/awabakal-land-claim-lodged/
 | url-status = live
 }}
*{{cite book
 | title = A salvage grammar and wordlist of the language from the Hunter River and Lake Macquarie
 | last = Lissarrague
 | first = Amanda
 | year = 2006
 | publisher = Muurrbay Aboriginal Language and Culture Cooperative
 | url = http://www.wonnarua.org.au/images/HRLM%20part%201.pdf
 | isbn = 0-9775351-0-X
 | access-date = 13 May 2012
 | archive-date = 10 April 2013
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130410123550/http://wonnarua.org.au/images/HRLM%20part%201.pdf
 | url-status = live
 }}
*{{cite journal
 | title = Keepara ceremony of initiation
 | last = Mathews
 | first = R. H.
 | author-link = Robert Hamilton Mathews
 | journal = [[The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland]]
 | year = 1897
 | volume = 26
 | pages = 320–340
 | doi = 10.2307/2842007
 | jstor = 2842007
 | url = https://zenodo.org/record/2141163
 | access-date = 28 February 2021
 | archive-date = 21 October 2021
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211021114233/https://zenodo.org/record/2141163
 | url-status = live
 }}
*{{cite web
 | title = Callaghan, The University of Newcastle: Whose Traditional Land?
 | last = Maynard
 | first = John
 | year = 2014
 | publisher = [[University of Newcastle (Australia)|The Wollotuka Institute, University of Newcastle]]
 | url = http://www.newcastle.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/41868/Research-document_John-Maynard_whose-land.pdf
 | access-date = 9 February 2014
 | archive-date = 22 February 2014
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140222151703/http://www.newcastle.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/41868/Research-document_John-Maynard_whose-land.pdf
 | url-status = live
 }}
*{{Cite book
 | chapter = Linguistic Diversity and Biodiversity: The Threat from Killer Languages
 | last = Skuttnabb-Kangas
 | first = Tove
 | year = 2003
 | title = The Politics of English as a World Language: New Horizons in Postcolonial Cultural Studies
 | editor-last = Mair
 | editor-first = Christian
 | publisher = [[Rodopi Publishers]]
 | chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=xyYkxBmiA7AC&pg=PA32
 | pages = 31–52
 | isbn = 978-9-042-00876-2
 }}
*{{Cite book| title = Australian reminiscences & papers of L. E. Threlkeld, missionary to the Aborigines, 1824–1859
 | last = Threlkeld | first = Lancelot Edward | year = 1974
 | author-link = Lancelot Edward Threlkeld
 | editor-last = Gunson | editor-first = Niel
 | publisher = [[Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies]]
 | volume = 40, Part 1
 }}
*{{Cite book | title = Aboriginal Tribes of Australia: Their Terrain, Environmental Controls, Distribution, Limits, and Proper Names
 | last = Tindale | first = Norman Barnett | year = 1974
 | author-link = Norman Tindale
 | publisher = [[ANU Press|Australian National University Press]]
 | url =https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstreams/accca907-ea47-4eb1-8217-aa5d3184e3a0/download
 | isbn = 978-0-708-10741-6
}}
*{{Cite book
 | title = Writing Never Arrives Naked: Early Aboriginal Cultures of Writing in Australia
 | last = Van Toorn
 | first = Penny
 | year = 2006
 | publisher = [[Aboriginal Studies Press]]
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=uEl8AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA43
 | isbn = 978-0-855-75544-7
 }}
*{{Cite web
 | title = Wollotuka Institute
 | date = 9 April 2013
 | publisher = [[University of Newcastle (Australia)|University of Newcastle]]
 | url = https://www.newcastle.edu.au/about-uon/our-university/indigenous-collaboration/the-wollotuka-institute
 | ref = {{harvid|Wollotuka1}}
 | access-date = 11 November 2017
 | archive-date = 12 November 2017
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171112131904/https://www.newcastle.edu.au/about-uon/our-university/indigenous-collaboration/the-wollotuka-institute
 | url-status = live
 }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* [http://aiatsis.gov.au/sites/default/files/docs/collections/language_bibs/awabakal.pdf Bibliography of Awabakal language and people resources], at the [[Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies]]

{{Aboriginal peoples in New South Wales}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Awabakal| ]]
[[Category:Central Coast (New South Wales)]]