The first people of this land and their understanding of Indigenous plants goes way beyond just knowing what is edible. They used plants for tools, weapons, and for medicine and healing. They understood the seasons and the life cycle of plants and animals and the effect that had on their own survival.
At Evans Head, a scarred tree stands. A tallow wood, its bark was removed by the local Indigenous mob to make a small canoe or repair a canoe. There are two stories attached to this site.
The First is that the bark was removed by young boys being trained in canoe-making and bark removal. The actual scar would have been much larger if the boys had been making a full size canoe to seat two men.
I've had a request for some Bundjalung bird names to be shared on our website….so here they are.
All these words and others on our website come from a “Dictionary of Western Bundjaung” compiled by Margaret Sharpe, and takes in these main dialects; Birihn ( Rapville), Gidhabal (Woodenbong), Wahlubal (Tabulan), Wehlubal (Baryulgil) and Wudjebal (tenterfield)
These boys, Kowunduh and Yarbirri are part of the next generation of proud indigenous men. For them, even their names will always take them back to their culture and the significant ancestors they were named after.
In pre-colonial times, Bundjalung country encompassed some of the richest hunting and fishing grounds anywhere on the continent. According to the oral traditions of the Bundjalung, these areas were first settled by the Three Brothers and their descendants.
