Darug people

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The Darug (also spelt Dharuk, Dharug and Daruk) are a tribe (sometimes called a nation) of Indigenous Australians, who are traditional custodians of much of what is modern day Sydney. There is some dispute about the extent of the Darug nation. Some historians believe the coastal Eora people were a separate tribe to the Darug. Others believe they were part of the same tribe[1]. The territory that was indisputably Darug was the Cumberland Plain area in western Sydney and it stretched from Wisemans Ferry in the north down to around Camden in the south. They also extended into the foothills of the Blue Mountains in the west and the Hills District to the east.

There was certainly a cultural divide between the western Darug and the Eora. The Eora were katungal or 'sea people'. They built canoes and their diet was primarily seafood including fish and shellfish from Sydney Harbour, Botany Bay and their associated rivers. The inland Darug were paiendra or 'tomahawk people'. They hunted kangaroos, emus and other land animals and used stone axes more extensively.[2]

[edit] Darug clans

The Darug nation was divided up into a number of clans who each tended to live in a certain geographic area. Each clan contained about 50 to 100 people and the men would pair with women from other clans or tribes[3]. So the clans were interrelated and members from one clan would frequently travel in the territory of others, including to hunt, trade and perform ceremonies. They didn't consider themselves owners of the land, rather custodians. Known Darug clans were the:[4]

• Kurrajong
• Boorooberongal
• Cattai
• Bidjigal
• Gommerigal
• Mulgoa
• Cannemegal
• Bool-bain-ora
• Cabrigal
• Muringong

The clans had different cultures. The Bidjigal, for example, were known for their warlike nature. Led by Pemulwuy, they conducted a guerilla campaign against the British colonists who attempted to trade and befriend the natives, as per Governor Phillip's orders from the King.

Smallpox introduced in 1789 by the British colonists decimated the population by as much as 90% in some areas.

Neighbouring people were the Kuringgai to the northeast around Broken Bay, the Darkinjung to the north, the Wiradjuri to the west on the other side of the Blue Mountains, the Gandangara to the southwest in the Southern Highlands and the Tharawal to the southeast in the Illawarra area.