Quandamooka people

Moreton Bay, Moreton Island and North Stradbroke Island, the traditional homes of the Quandamooka people

The Quandamooka people are an Aboriginal Australian group that live around Moreton Bay in Southeastern Queensland. They are composed of three distinct tribes, the Nunukal, the Koenpul and the Nguhi, and they live primarily on Moreton and North Stradbroke Islands, that form the eastern side of the bay. Many of them were pushed out of their lands when the English colonial government established a penal colony near there in 1824. Each tribe has its own language. A number of local food sources are utilised by the tribes.

History

To the Aboriginal peoples who live in the region around the modern towns of Cleveland and Redland City, the name for Moreton Bay is "Quandamooka." Prior to European colonisation, there were many indigenous clans that lived in the area, including the Jagara, who lived near present-day Cleveland, and the Koopenul who lived south of there. The Nunukal and Koenpul tribes lived on Stradbroke Island, while the Nguhi tribe lived on Moreton Island.^[2] The Nunukal, Koenpul and Nguhi tribes together constitute the Quandamooka people.^[2] Studies by archaeologists have found that indigenous peoples have lived on Stradbroke island for at least 21,000 years.^[3]

The Quandamooka people first encountered Europeans in 1799, when the English navigator and cartographer Matthew Flinders entered Moreton Bay. The area was settled by the English colonists in 1824,^[2] with the establishment of a penal colony there.^[4] As the settlement became larger and free settlers began to move in, the indigenous peoples were pushed out of the more fertile lands into the coastal fringe, with many of them moving to the less occupied small islands.^[2] The Aboriginal people frequently resisted the colonisation, and fighting broke out on many occasions. The settlers also carried a number of diseases that the Aboriginal people were susceptible to due to lack of exposure. These diseases destroyed a large number of the Quandamooka people when they came into contact with the white settlers.^[2] The indigenous people living on Stradbroke island were able to sustain their lifestyle for the longest period; however, in 1897 the Aboriginal Protection and Restriction of the sale of Opium Act moved all indigenous people to reservations, with the exception of those who were imprisoned or were employed as servants.^[2]

Culture

Nomadism

The lifestyle of the Quandamooka people was nomadic, moving between semi-permanent campsites. They built shelters of various kinds, ranging from simple lean-tos for an overnight stay to more robust huts used at well-frequented campsites. Their traditions were recorded in the form of art, songs, and dances.^[2]

Language

The three tribes that comprise the Quandamooka people each had their own language, with distinct words for places. The language that the Goenpul tribe of central and southern Stradbroke Island speaks is Jandai, and the language spoken by the Noonukul of northern Stradbroke island is called Moondjan.^[2]

Food

The Quandamooka people used several local food sources, including many from the ocean. The collection of these resources was often segregated by gender. Canoes were used to fish in Moreton Bay for Mullet, and to hunt Dugongs and Sea Turtles. They were also used to travel to the mainland to hunt.^[2]

Hunting and fishing were male specialisations. Dugongs were highly prized catch, because of their multiple uses. The meat was roasted and eaten, while medicinal oil was also obtained from the animals. The men used several different techniques to catch fish. These included netting them from canoes using nets made of vines or bark, spearing them, and trapping them.^[2]

The collection of other sources of food was done by women. These included shellfish, fern roots, Pandanus trees, insect larvae, berries, lily bulbs, honey, and small game. The fern roots were roasted and pounded into flour, while the fleshy part of Pandanus trees were used to make a drink. The game animals consumed by the Quandamooka included lizards, snakes, waterbirds, and marsupials.^[2]

Art and tools

The Quandamooka people made several tools and weapons from materials found locally. These included boomerangs and shields, as well as dilly bags made from woven reeds. These tools were frequently decorated with patterns, which were either burned or painted. Tools and weapons were also occasionally traded with other nearby tribes.^[2]

Native title

On 4 July 2011, the Quandamooka people were granted Native title to a 568-square-kilometre (219 sq mi) plot of land, following a 16-year legal battle. The title that was granted covered most of North Stradbroke Island, many smaller islands, and the adjoining parts of Moreton Bay. The title was the first granted to indigenous people in South Queensland.^[5][6]

Prominent people

Oodgeroo Noonuccal

Oodgeroo Noonuccal (born Kath Walker, 1920-1993) was one of the most nationally prominent members of the Quandamooka people. She served as a wireless operator in the Australian Women's Army Service, and later became a poet.^[7] She was also a political activist, campaigning for Aboriginal rights.^[8] Oodgeroo was best known for her poetry, and was the first Aboriginal Australian to publish a book of verse.^[9]

Leeanne Enoch

Leeanne Enoch is the Labor party member for the district of Algester in the Queensland assembly since 2015.^[10] She is the first indigenous woman to be elected to the Parliament of Queensland.^[11]

References