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Aboriginal people in the Hunter Valley

Today Aboriginal culture is recognized as holding the oldest collective memory known to man and prior to 1788 the continent was home to a diverse range of over 300 differing language or tribal groups. Western scientific understanding dictates that Aboriginal culture has existed on the Australian continent for upwards of 60,000 years. In contrast Aboriginal belief states that Aboriginal people have been a part of the Australian continent ‘since the time before time began’. James Cook’s exploration of the east coast of the Australian continent in 1770 and journal observations and maps were responsible for the British government’s decision to establish a penal settlement at Sydney Cove in 1788. The invasion of Aboriginal Australia had begun.

Aboriginal peoples living in the Hunter Valley were culturally and environmentally rich groups who had lived in the area for thousands of years. The sense of care and respect they developed for their environment and sacred attachment to land ensured the survival of future generations. Trade and gift exchange were very important elements of Aboriginal economic, social and ritual life. Trade routes criss-crossed all parts of the continent including the Hunter Valley. Goods including shell, wood, gums, ochre and a variety of manufactured items such as tools, ornaments and sacred objects were sent along these routes. Kinship is the central core to the egalitarian Aboriginal extended family system - including skin and totemic affiliation. There were no chiefs or kings; in traditional Aboriginal society, all Aboriginal adults have ongoing reciprocal commitments to one another.

The Dreaming beliefs of all Aboriginal groups are linked and interwoven to the Creative Ancestors. The Creation heroes created the world and all within during the creation era. Prior to the creation period the Hunter Valley like the continent at large was a vast empty flat plain devoid of any living thing. The creation ancestors rose up from their slumber beneath the plain to invoke the creation period. In doing so they left their indelible imprint – mountains, rivers, lakes, rocks, flora, fauna and man/woman. Every geographical feature and living thing on the land bore the mark of the Creative Ancestors.

In regard to spiritual beliefs there were several important Beings in the Hunter Valley, including Biame and Koin. Reverend Kemp recorded aspects of early Muswellbrook history when attached to the clergy in the 1840s. He wrote briefly about Aboriginal people in the locality and recorded a small vocabulary. He revealed that some Aboriginal people in the area believed in Biame the creation hero of the Kamilaroi, whilst others paid reverence to Koin the Creation Ancestor of the Awabakal, Gringhai and Worimi. An ochre painting of Biame is located in a cave at Milbrodale on the outskirts of Singleton. Biame is depicted as a large figure with long outspread arms welcoming and embracing protectively the tribal territory.

Pp 12 - 13

Source:
Wannin Thanbarran
A History of Aboriginal and European Contact in Muswellbrook and the Upper Hunter Valley
Greg Blyton, Deirdre Heitmeyer and John Maynard
Umulliko Centre for Indigenous Higher Education
The University of Newcaste
A project of the Muswellbrook Shire Council Aboriginal Reconciliation Committee