Isabelle from 6S, researched
our indigenous people for the Australian History competition.
Introduction
Aboriginal heritage, culture and language throughout Australia is significantly
threatened as different cultures change the way we live. Australian students
learn different languages of foreign countries. What about our own land's
heritage? Why do we not learn the Aboriginal languages? In fact Aboriginal
languages are so rarely spoken and heard that the original voice of Australia
is losing its tongue.
Hundreds of years ago, the lower north shore of Sydney was filled with
forest, owned by one of the many tribes of the Aboriginal peoples. One
particular clan, the Cameragals, of the Guringai tribe, situated in the
lower north shore, were said to be powerful people. They were by far the
most numerous tribe on the lower north shore, and were described as robust
and muscular. They lived off seafood and had plenty of fresh water to drink. The Cameragal people are part of our history, the original owners of
the land known as Australia.
http://www.doaustralia.com/Aboriginal.htm
The Cameragal Clan
The Cameragals were a large muscular and robust tribe. It is thought
that they were the most numerous and powerful on the lower north shore.
They lived along seashores and in bushland, around cliffs and rocks, inside
large caves and rock shelters next to flowing streams and along the harbour
(before the arrival of the Europeans.) Situated around the harbour the
Cameragals lived off seafood and had a lot of fresh water to drink.
Although history says the Cameragals were located in the north west
of the harbour around Berry Island, Kirribilli, Cammeray, Middle Harbour,
and the Neutral Bay area, others argue that they were actually centred
in Manly Cove. Evidence is shown in the meaning of the name Manly. It shows
Manly as Ka-ye-my and another spelling is Kay-yee-my which is another meaning
for Cameragal. Another theory is that Manly got its name from Governor
Phillip, from the word manly, which he used to describe the Cameragals. The Cameragals have been referred to as a clan or part of a tribe. Tribes
are a larger group put together by marriage or/and kinship, whereas a clan
is a group of families all from a common ancestor. Clans can number from
20 to 60 men, women and children.
When the first British fleet came in 1788 and landed in Sydney Cove,
disease spread and killed many of the Cameragals. Some of those that remained
may have been massacred, or they may have been forced to move to safer
lands. By 1860 Cameragal people were rare visitors to their original homeland.
Records show that Aboriginal people like the Cameragals would come down
from the country at Christmas time and camp in caves in Cremorne where
they waited to be given a blanket each from the government.
The north shore was one of the first and maybe one of the hardest hit
by the impact of new colonisation.
Now all the remains left are caves and rock carvings as a reminder of
their culture and the way they lived their lives.
Newspaper article- 1938
Isabelle Cassidy reports.
| Once again another Aboriginal tribe
has been displaced from their land. Outraged and shocked the remaining
people of the Cameragal clan were forcibly removed from their land on the
lower north shore.
They are a powerful people but unfortunately
not powerful enough to stand against the British. What a disgrace - the
lower north shore's rightful owners thrown out! The Cameragals have struggled to keep
their land for 150 years since the arrival of the Europeans. The tribe
occupied the area around Neutral Bay, Cammeray and Middle Harbour. Where
the remaining Cammeraygal people have been moved to is unknown. |
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Want to learn more?
| Hands Across Time:
A Guide to North Sydney's Aboriginal History and Culture tell how
contrary to popular belief, the Cammeraygals' descendants were still living
in North Sydney as late as the 1930s. Unfortunately this booklet is out
of print, but you may borrow a copy from the library. |
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The Gadyan Track on Berry
Island provides visitors with signs indicating the location of middens,
rock carvings and other places of significance. Brochure
available |
| Fascinating information
about a group of about 60 people being moved by Governor Macquarie to what
is now known as Middle Head, with 'King' Bungaree in charge. These may
have included people from the Cammeraigal and Borogegal clans. |
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The Guringai Festival is
a celebration across northern Sydney, where people come from many different
Aboriginal nations. Over 40 events include film screenings, walks, and
forums. Runs from Reconciliation Week to NAIDOC Week. |
| The traditional owners of
the Sydney City region are the Cadigal band. The 'Eora people' was the
name given to the people around Sydney. The word Eora simply means "here"
or "from this place". Local Aboriginal people used the word to describe
to the British where they came from. |
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Listen
to the song written by Chris Robinson as a tribute to the Cammeraigal people
May
Gibbs Memorial Library
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