Awabakal people

Awabakal people
aka: Awabagal, Awaba, Kuri, and Ninyowa (Tindale)[1] Awabakala (AIATSIS), AWK AWABAKAL (SIL)[2]
Mid North Coast BioRegion
Hierarchy
Language Family:	Pama–Nyungan[3]
Language Branch:	Yuin–Kuric
Language Group:	Kuri
Group Dialects:	Awabakal[3]
Area (approx. 1,800 sq. km)
BioRegion:	Mid North Coast
Location:	Mid North Coast, New South Wales
Coordinates:	33°5′S 151°30′E / 33.083°S 151.5°E / -33.083; 151.5Coordinates: 33°5′S 151°30′E / 33.083°S 151.5°E / -33.083; 151.5[1]
Other Geological:	Lake Macquarie[1]
Notable individuals
Biraban

The Awabakal people ( /əˈwɒbəɡæl/), a group of indigenous people of Australia, are those Australian Aborigines that were united by a common language, strong ties of kinship and survived as skilled hunter–fisher–gatherers in family groups or clans scattered along the coastal area of what is now known as the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. Their traditional territory spreads from Wollombiin the south, to the Lower Hunter River near Newcastle and Lake Macquarie in the north.

In the traditional language, Awaba is the word for Lake Macquarie, meaning flat or plain surface; and hence, Awabakal was used to describe people of the area. The Awabakal were bounded to the north–west by the Wonnarua, the Worimi to the north–east, and the Darkinjung peoples to the west and south.

Alternate names

Awabagal is a common alternate name for the Awabakal people. Awaba is now the name a small town in the region.

Clans

Tindale claims that the Ninyowa clan were from the Newcastle area.^[1]

Language

The Awabakal language was used by the Awabakal people and also by the Wonnarua people. Oral historians and linguists are reviewing the language in order to develop a comprehensive dictionary of the language of the Hunter River and Lake Macquarie regions.^[3]

Native title

Attempts by the Awabakal Local Aboriginal Land Council to claim native title over land within Newcastle, pursuant to Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) s 190A have been dismissed in the Federal Court.^[4]

The Awabakal Newcastle Aboriginal Cooperative Limited is a not-for-profit community controlled organisation operating in the Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and Hunter Region. It was established in 1976 and is responsible for the delivery of community and health services to Aboriginal people in this region.^[5]

Notable Awabakal people

• Biraban – a famous chief who assisted the Rev Lancelot Threlkeld compile the first grammar of an Aboriginal language in Australia.^[6]

See also

• Arwarbukarl Cultural Resource Association

References

External links

• Awabakal Newcastle Aboriginal Co-op
• Tindale Tribes - Awabakal