100-563: The Kula , also known as the Kurnu, were an indigenous Australian people of the state of New South Wales . The Kula are estimated by Tindale to have held sway over roughly 4,900 square miles (13,000 km) of territory, predominantly on the western side of the Darling River , running from near Bourke to Dunlop. They were also around the Warrego River and at Enngonia and Barringun on
200-405: A humpy , gunyah, or wurley. Clothing included the possum-skin cloak in the southeast, buka cloak in the southwest and riji (pearl shells) in the northeast. There is evidence that some Aboriginal populations in northern Australia regularly traded with Makassan fishermen from Indonesia before the arrival of Europeans. At the time of first European contact, it is generally estimated that
300-506: A capacity of 20 people. There was also a cabin. The minister onboard, Rev. William Bussell, doubled as captain. On 16 August 1898, Etona arrived at Renmark , where the Bishop of Adelaide , Rev. Dr. John Harmer , held services the following Sunday with the assistance of Rev H M Wylie. In September of the same year, the service due in Holder on the 18th was suspended due to the vessel grounding on
400-553: A land bridge between the island and the rest of mainland Australia during the last glacial period . Estimates of the population of the Aboriginal people of Tasmania, before European arrival, are in the range of 3,000 to 15,000 people. However, genetic studies have suggested significantly higher figures, which are supported by Indigenous oral traditions that indicate a decline in population from diseases introduced by British and American sealers before settlement. The original population
500-518: A list of birds and mammals . George "Chinese" Morrison , then aged 18, navigated the river by canoe from Wodonga to its mouth, in 65 days, completing the 1,555-mile (2,503 km) journey in January 1881. Shipping cannot enter the Murray from the sea because it does not have an estuary . However, in the 19th century the river supported a substantial commercial trade using shallow-draft paddle steamers ,
600-402: A number of both historic paddle steamers and newer boats offering cruises ranging from half an hour to five days. The Murray River has been a significant barrier to land-based travel and trade. Many of the ports for transport of goods along the Murray have also developed as places to cross the river, either by bridge or ferry. The first bridge to cross the Murray, which was built in 1869, is in
700-426: A sandbank. During its year of launch, the boiler of Etona gave way, being replaced at a cost of £87. The Murray was plagued by "snags", fallen trees submerged in the water, and considerable efforts were made to clear the river of these threats to shipping by using barges equipped with steam-driven winches . In recent times, efforts have been made to restore many of these snags by placing dead gum trees back into
800-546: A series of barrages was built near the Murray Mouth to stop seawater entering the lower part of the river during low flow periods. They are the Goolwa Barrage, with a length of 632 metres (2,073 ft); Mundoo Channel Barragel 800 metres (2,600 ft); Boundary Creek Barragel 243 metres (797 ft); Ewe Island Barrage, 853 metres (2,799 ft); and Tauwitchere Barrage, 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi). These dams inverted
900-521: A similar number of barges were working the river in season. River transport began to decline once the railways touched the Murray at numerous points. The unreliable levels made it impossible for boats to compete with the rail and later road transport . However, the river still carries pleasure boats along its entire length. Today, most traffic on the river is recreational. Small private boats are used for water skiing and fishing. Houseboats are common, both commercial for hire and privately owned. There are
1000-668: A single founding Sahul group with subsequent isolation between regional populations which were relatively unaffected by later migrations from the Asian mainland, which may have introduced the dingo 4–5,000 years ago. The research also suggests a divergence from the Papuan people of New Guinea and the Mamanwa people of the Philippines about 32,000 years ago, with a rapid population expansion about 5,000 years ago. A 2011 genetic study found evidence that
1100-518: A spear. However, the shock to the fish was so great it launched him forward in a straight line to a place called Peindjalang, near Tailem Bend . Eager to rectify his failure to catch his prey, the hunter and his two wives (sometimes the escaped sibling wives of Waku and Kanu) hurried on, and took positions high on the cliff on which Tailem Bend now stands. They sprung an ambush on Pondi only to fail again. Ngurunderi set off in pursuit again but lost his prey as Pondi dived into Lake Alexandrina. Ngurunderi and
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#17330850908051200-617: A time when changes in tool technology and food processing appear in the Australian archaeological record, suggesting that these may be related. Mallick et al. 2016 and Mark Lipson et al. 2017 study found that the bifurcation of Eastern Eurasian and Western Eurasian dates back to least 45,000 years ago, with Australasians nested inside the Eastern Eurasian clade. Aboriginal Australian men have Haplogroup C-M347 in high frequencies with peak estimates ranging from 60.2% to 68.7%. In addition,
1300-596: Is a river in Southeastern Australia . It is Australia's longest river at 2,508 km (1,558 mi) extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest rivers of Australia (the Murrumbidgee , Darling , Lachlan , Warrego and Paroo Rivers ). Together with that of the Murray, the catchments of these rivers form the Murray–Darling basin , which covers about one-seventh the area of Australia. It
1400-731: Is actually on the Mitta Mitta River upstream of Lake Hume (completed 1979). The Murray also receives water from the complex dam and pipeline system of the Snowy Mountains Scheme . An additional reservoir was proposed in the 1960s at Chowilla Dam , which was to have been built in South Australia and would have flooded land mostly in Victoria and New South Wales. It was cancelled in favour of building Dartmouth Dam due to costs and concerns relating to increased salinity. From 1935 to 1940
1500-649: Is complex and multi-layered, but a few examples are Anangu in northern South Australia , and neighbouring parts of Western Australia and Northern Territory ; Arrernte in central Australia; Koori (or Koorie) in New South Wales and Victoria ( Aboriginal Victorians ); Goorie (variant pronunciation and spelling of Koori) in South East Queensland and some parts of northern New South Wales; Murri , used in parts of Queensland and northern New South Wales where specific collective names are not used; Tiwi people of
1600-533: Is estimated that people migrated from the Indonesian archipelago and New Guinea to mainland Australia about 70,000 years ago, as of 2020 evidence of human settlement in the Torres Strait has only been uncovered by archaeologists dating back to about 2500 years ago. Aboriginal people in some regions lived as foragers and hunter-gatherers , hunting and foraging for food from the land. Although Aboriginal society
1700-581: Is known to have sold his share in the Bungaree Station , which he founded with his brothers, and relocated alongside the Murray at a site near Moorundie . In 1852, Francis Cadell , in preparation for the launch of his steamer service, explored the river in a canvas boat, travelling 1,300 miles (2,100 km) downstream from Swan Hill . In 1858, while acting as Minister of Land and Works for New South Wales, Irish nationalist and founder of Young Ireland , Charles Gavan Duffy , founded Carlyle Township on
1800-464: Is now estimated that all but 13 remaining Indigenous languages are considered endangered. Aboriginal people today mostly speak English, with Aboriginal phrases and words being added to create Australian Aboriginal English (which also has a tangible influence of Indigenous languages in the phonology and grammatical structure). Around three quarters of Australian place names are of Aboriginal origin. The Indigenous population prior to European settlement
1900-412: Is often portrayed as a man) on rafts (or lala ) made from red gums and continually launched spears at his target. But Pondi was a wily prey and carved a weaving path, carving out the river's various tributaries. Ngurunderi was forced to beach his rafts, and often create new ones as he changed from reach to reach of the river. At Kobathatang, Ngurunderi finally got lucky and struck Pondi in the tail with
2000-470: Is required. Genetic studies have revealed that Aboriginal Australians largely descended from an Eastern Eurasian population wave during the Initial Upper Paleolithic , and are most closely related to other Oceanians , such as Melanesians . The Aboriginal Australians also show affinity to other Australasian populations, such as Negritos or Ancient Ancestral South Indians groups, such as
2100-621: Is sometimes used as part of a wider social movement (seen in terms such as " Blaktivism " and "Blak History Month" ). The term was coined in 1991 by photographer and multimedia artist Destiny Deacon , in an exhibition entitled Blak lik mi . For Deacon's 2004 exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art , blak was defined in a museum guide as: "a term used by some Aboriginal people to reclaim historical, representational, symbolical, stereotypical and romanticised notions of Black or Blackness. Often used as ammunition or inspiration." Deacon said that removing
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#17330850908052200-542: Is the border between New South Wales and Victoria – specifically at the top of the bank of the Victorian side of the river. In a 1980 judgement, the High Court of Australia ruled on the question as to which state had jurisdiction in the unlawful death of a man who was fishing by the river's edge on the Victorian side of the river. This boundary definition can be ambiguous, since the river changes its course over time, and some of
2300-482: Is the point at which the Murray River empties into the sea, and the interaction between its shallow, shifting and variable currents and the open sea can be complex and unpredictable. During the peak period of Murray River commerce (roughly 1855 to 1920), it presented a major impediment to the passage of goods and produce between Adelaide and the Murray settlements, and many vessels foundered or were wrecked there. Since
2400-510: Is unlikely as the Indigenous custodians are not expected to allow further invasive investigations. It is generally believed that Aboriginal people are the descendants of a single migration into the continent, a people that split from the ancestors of East Asians. Recent work with mitochondrial DNA suggests a founder population of between 1,000 and 3,000 women to produce the genetic diversity observed, which suggests that "initial colonisation of
2500-502: Is widely considered Australia's most important irrigated region. The Murray rises in the Australian Alps , draining the western side of Australia's highest mountains, then meanders northwest across Australia's inland plains, forming the border between the states of New South Wales and Victoria as it flows into South Australia . From an east–west direction it turns south at Morgan for its final 315 km (196 mi), reaching
2600-719: The Aboriginal Australians of the mainland and many islands, including Tasmania , and the Torres Strait Islanders of the seas between Queensland and Papua New Guinea , located in Melanesia . 812,728 people self-identified as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin in the 2021 Australian Census, representing 3.2% of the total population of Australia. Of these Indigenous Australians, 91.4% identified as Aboriginal; 4.2% identified as Torres Strait Islander; while 4.4% identified with both groups. However,
2700-693: The Andamanese people , as well as to East Asian peoples . Phylogenetic data suggests that an early initial eastern non-African (ENA) or East-Eurasian meta-population trifurcated, and gave rise to Australasians (Oceanians), the Ancient Ancestral South Indians, Andamanese and the East/Southeast Asian lineage including the ancestors of Native Americans , although Papuans may have also received some geneflow from an earlier group (xOOA) as well, around 2%, next to additional archaic admixture in
2800-548: The Latin ab (from) and origo (origin, beginning). The term was used in Australia as early as 1789 to describe its Aboriginal peoples . It became capitalised and was used as the common term to refer to both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. Today the latter peoples are not included in this term. The term "Aborigine" (as opposed to "Aboriginal") is often disfavoured, as it is regarded as having colonialist connotations. While
2900-610: The Pila Nguru of Western Australia ). Several settlements of humans in Australia have been dated around 49,000 years ago. Luminescence dating of sediments surrounding stone artefacts at Madjedbebe , a rock shelter in northern Australia, indicates human activity at 65,000 years BP. Genetic studies appear to support an arrival date of 50–70,000 years ago. The earliest anatomically modern human remains found in Australia (and outside of Africa) are those of Mungo Man ; they have been dated at 42,000 years old. The initial comparison of
3000-535: The Sahul region. Rasmussen et al. 2011 shows that Aboriginal Australian have a lower proportion of European alleles compared to Asians, which they believe is indicative of a multiple dispersal model. Genetically, while Aboriginal Australians are most closely related to Melanesian and Papuan people, McEvoy et al. 2010 believed there is also another component that could indicate Ancient Ancestral South Indian admixture or more recent European influence. Research indicates
3100-469: The Tasmanian catastrophe genocide". A woman named Trugernanner (often rendered as Truganini ), who died in 1876, was, and still is, widely believed to be the last of the "full-blooded" Tasmanian Aboriginal people. However, in 1889 Parliament recognised Fanny Cochrane Smith (d. 1905) as the last surviving "full-blooded" Tasmanian Aboriginal person. The 2016 census reported 23,572 Indigenous Australians in
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3200-891: The Tiwi Islands off Northern Territory; and Palawah in Tasmania . The largest Aboriginal communities – the Pitjantjatjara , the Arrernte, the Luritja , and the Warlpiri – are all from Central Australia . Throughout the history of the continent, there have been many different Aboriginal groups, each with its own individual language , culture, and belief structure. At the time of British settlement, there were over 200 distinct languages. The Tasmanian Aboriginal population are thought to have first crossed into Tasmania approximately 40,000 years ago via
3300-569: The c from black to "de-weaponise the term 'black cunt ' " was "taking on the 'colonisers' language and flipping it on its head". Contemporary Aboriginal arts in the 21st century are sometimes referred to as a "Blak" arts movement, expressed in names such as BlakDance, BlakLash Collective, and the title of Thelma Plum 's song and album, Better in Blak . Melbourne has an annual Blak & Bright literary festival, Blak Dot Gallery, Blak Markets, and Blak Cabaret. Aboriginal peoples of Australia are
3400-435: The didgeridoo . Although there are a number of cultural commonalities among Indigenous Australians, there is also a great diversity among different communities. The 2022 Australian census recorded 167 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages used at home by some 76,978 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. At the time of European colonisation, it is estimated that there were over 250 Aboriginal languages . It
3500-519: The language group (such as Arrernte ), or demonym relating to geographic area (such as Nunga ), is considered best practice and most respectful. European colonials from their early settlement used the term "Black" to refer to Aboriginal Australians. While the term originally related to skin colour and was often used pejoratively, today the term is used to indicate Aboriginal heritage or culture in general. It refers to any people of such heritage regardless of their level of skin pigmentation. In
3600-409: The message stick . Weapons included boomerangs , spears (sometimes thrown with a woomera ) with stone or fishbone tips, clubs, and (less commonly) axes. The Stone Age tools available included knives with ground edges, grinding devices, and eating containers. Fibrecraft was well-developed, and fibre nets, baskets, and bags were used for fishing, hunting, and carrying liquids. Trade networks spanned
3700-403: The mitochondrial DNA from the skeleton known as Lake Mungo 3 (LM3) with that of ancient and modern Aboriginal peoples indicated that Mungo Man is not related to Australian Aboriginal peoples. However, these findings have been met with a general lack of acceptance in scientific communities. The sequence has been criticised as there has been no independent testing, and it has been suggested that
3800-401: The river banks have been modified. For 11 km (6.8 mi) west of the line of longitude 141°E, the border is between Victoria and South Australia, in the middle of the river. The discrepancy was caused during the 1840s, when the border was originally surveyed, by an east–west miscalculation of 3.72 kilometres (2.31 miles). West of this sector, the Murray is entirely within
3900-517: The river red gum . The health of the Murray has declined significantly since European settlement, particularly through regulation of its flows. Extreme droughts between 2000 and 2007 put significant stress on river red gum forests, leading to mounting concern over their long-term survival. The Murray has also flooded on occasion. The most significant was the flood of 1956 : lasting for up to six months, it inundated many towns on its lower reaches in South Australia. Between 2.5 and 0.5 million years ago,
4000-625: The 1970s, with a rise in Aboriginal activism, leaders such as Gary Foley proudly embraced the term "Black". For example, writer Kevin Gilbert 's book of that time was entitled Living Black . The book included interviews with several members of the Aboriginal community, including Robert Jabanungga , who reflected on contemporary Aboriginal culture. Use of this term varies depending on context, and its use needs care as it may be deemed inappropriate. The term "Black" has sometimes caused confusion as being applied to contemporary African immigrants rather than
4100-455: The 21st century there is consensus that it is important to respect the "preferences of individuals, families, or communities, and allow them to define what they are most comfortable with" when referring to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The word ' aboriginal ' has been in the English language since at least the 16th century to mean "first or earliest known, indigenous". It comes from
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4200-507: The Aboriginal population. Nevertheless, a population collapse, principally from new infectious diseases, followed European colonisation. A smallpox epidemic spread for three years after the arrival of Europeans. Massacres , frontier armed conflicts and competition over resources with European settlers also contributed to the decline of the Aboriginal peoples. From the 19th to the mid-20th century, government policy removed many mixed heritage children from Aboriginal communities, with
4300-597: The Aboriginal, Papuan and Mamanwa peoples carry some of the alleles associated with the Denisovan peoples of Asia, (not found amongst populations in mainland Asia) suggesting that modern and archaic humans interbred in Asia approximately 44,000 years ago, before Australia separated from New Guinea and the migration to Australia. A 2012 paper reports that there is also evidence of a substantial genetic flow from India to northern Australia estimated at slightly over four thousand years ago,
4400-461: The Cadell Fault. About 25,000 years ago, displacement occurred along this fault, raising its eastern edge, which runs north–south, 8 to 12 m (26 to 39 ft) above the floodplain. This created a complex series of events. A section of the original Murray River channel immediately behind the fault was rendered abandoned (it exists today as an empty channel known as Green Gully). The Goulburn River
4500-470: The Government has stated that as of 30 June 2021, there are 983,700 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, representing 3.8% of the total population of Australia, as the "final 2021 Census-based estimated resident population". Of these, 91.7% identified as Aboriginal; 4.0% identified as Torres Strait Islander; 4.3% identified with both groups. The term Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples or
4600-491: The Murray River, after his close friend, Scottish historian and essayist Thomas Carlyle . Included in the township were "Jane Street", named in honour of Carlyle's wife Jane Carlyle and "Stuart-Mill Street" in honour of political philosopher John Stuart Mill In 1858, the Government Zoologist , William Blandowski , together with Gerard Krefft , explored the lower reaches of the Murray and Darling rivers, compiling
4700-422: The Murray and its tributaries by destroying aquatic plants and permanently raising turbidity . Carp is the most common species, and can be found in all segments of the river. Four large reservoirs were built along the Murray. In addition to Lake Victoria (completed late 1920s), these are Lake Hume near Albury-Wodonga (completed 1936), Lake Mulwala at Yarrawonga (completed 1939), and Lake Dartmouth , which
4800-458: The Murray persists in numerous forms in various language groups that inhabit the enormous area spanned by the Murray system. The Wotojobaluk people of Victoria tell of Totyerguil from the area now known as Swan Hill , who ran out of spears while chasing Otchtout the cod. Roonka Flat , near Blanchetown , was a site of occupation since at least 7000BC. The first Europeans to encounter the river were Hamilton Hume and William Hovell , who crossed
4900-466: The Murray short-necked turtle, broad-clawed yabbies and the large-clawed Macrobrachium shrimp, in addition to aquatic species more widely distributed through Southeastern Australia such as common long-necked turtles, common yabbies , the small claw-less paratya shrimp, water rats and platypus . The Murray crayfish , an endangered species, was able to increase its numbers thanks to scientists. The Murray also supports fringeing corridors and forests of
5000-473: The Murray terminated in a vast freshwater lake – Lake Bungunnia – formed by earth movements that blocked the river near Swan Reach . At its maximum extent, Lake Bungunnia covered 33,000 km (12,741 sq mi), extending to near the Menindee Lakes in the north and to near Boundary Bend in the south. The draining of Lake Bungunnia occurred approximately 600,000 years ago. Deep clays deposited by
5100-475: The Murray. There is some evidence that, before outside contact, some groups of Aboriginal Australians had a complex subsistence system with elements of agriculture, that was only recorded by the first European explorers. One early settler took notes on the life styles of the Wathaurung people whom he lived near in Victoria. He saw women harvesting Murnong tubers, a native yam that is now almost extinct. However,
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#17330850908055200-513: The Red Gum forests, actually travels through the Edward River channel. The Murray has not had enough flow power to naturally enlarge The Barmah Choke and The Narrows to increase the amount of water they can carry. The Cadell Fault is quite noticeable as a continuous, low, earthen embankment as one drives into Barmah from the west, although to the untrained eye it may appear man-made. The Murray Mouth
5300-491: The advent of large-scale river regulation , the waters at the Murray Mouth are almost invariably slow and shallow. As of 2010 , the Murray River system received 58 per cent of its natural flow; the figure varies considerably. The border between Victoria and New South Wales (NSW) lies along the top of the southern or left bank of the Murray River. The Murray forms part of the 3,750 km (2,330 mi) long combined Murray–Darling river system that drains most of
5400-438: The area that they were harvesting from was already cleared of other plants, making it easier to harvest Murnong (also known as yam daisy) exclusively. Along the northern coast of Australia, parsnip yams were harvested by leaving the bottom part of the yam still stuck in the ground so that it would grow again in the same spot. Similar to many other farmers in the world, Aboriginal peoples used slash and burn techniques to enrich
5500-433: The area. These conditions are perfect for River Red Gums , which rapidly formed forests in the area. Thus the displacement of the Cadell Fault 25,000 BP led directly to the formation of the famous Barmah River Red Gum Forests. The Barmah Choke and The Narrows restrict the amount of water that can travel down this part of the Murray. In times of flood and high irrigation flows the majority of the water, in addition to flooding
5600-653: The basal form K2* (K-M526) of the extremely ancient Haplogroup K2 – whose subclades Haplogroup R , haplogroup Q , haplogroup M and haplogroup S can be found in the majority of Europeans, Northern South Asians, Native Americans and the Indigenous peoples of Oceania – has only been found in living humans today amongst Aboriginal Australians. 27% of them may carry K2* and approximately 29% of Aboriginal Australian males belong to subclades of K2b1 , a.k.a. M and S . Aboriginal Australians possess deep rooted clades of both mtDNA Haplogroup M and Haplogroup N . Although it
5700-432: The border with Queensland. Their western reach ran close to Yantabulla . Source: Tindale 1974 , p. 195 Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, and/or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of present day Australia prior to British colonisation . They consist of two distinct groups, which include many ethnic groups:
5800-669: The continent would have required deliberate organised sea travel, involving hundreds of people". Aboriginal people seem to have lived a long time in the same environment as the now extinct Australian megafauna . Some evidence from the analysis of charcoal and artefacts revealing human use suggests a date as early as 65,000 BP. Luminescence dating has suggested habitation in Arnhem Land as far back as 60,000 years BP. Evidence of fires in South-West Victoria suggest "human presence in Australia 120,000 years ago", although more research
5900-521: The continent, and transportation included canoes . Shelters varied regionally, and included wiltjas in the Atherton Tablelands , paperbark and stringybark sheets and raised platforms in Arnhem Land , whalebone huts in what is now South Australia, stone shelters in what is now western Victoria, and a multi-room pole and bark structure found in Corranderrk . A bark tent or lean-to is known as
6000-620: The distinctiveness and importance of Torres Strait Islanders in Australia's Indigenous population. Eddie Mabo was from "Mer" or Murray Island in the Torres Strait. He was a party in the Mabo decision of 1992. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people also sometimes refer to themselves by descriptions that relate to their ecological environment, such as saltwater people for coast-dwellers (including Torres Strait Islander people ), freshwater people , rainforest people , desert people , or spinifex people , (the latter referring to
6100-509: The driest continents on Earth, the Murray has significant cultural relevance to Aboriginal Australians . According to the people of Lake Alexandrina , the Murray was created by the tracks of the Great Ancestor, Ngurunderi, as he pursued Pondi, the Murray Cod . The chase originated in the interior of New South Wales. Ngurunderi pursued the fish (who, like many totem animals in Aboriginal myths,
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#17330850908056200-532: The early 2000s, dredging machines have operated at the Murray Mouth for 24 hours a day, moving sand from the channel to maintain a minimal flow from the sea and into the Coorong's lagoon system. Without the dredging, the mouth would silt up and close, cutting the supply of fresh sea-water into the Coorong National Park, which would then warm up, stagnate and die. Being one of the major river systems on one of
6300-684: The eastern edge of Lake Alexandrina , which fluctuates in salinity . The water then flows through several channels around Hindmarsh Island and Mundoo Island . There it is joined by lagoon water from The Coorong to the south-east before emptying into the Great Australian Bight (often referenced on Australian maps as the Southern Ocean ) through the Murray Mouth , 10 km (6.2 mi) east of Goolwa South . Despite discharging considerable volumes of water at times, particularly before
6400-499: The first trips being made by two boats from South Australia on the spring flood of 1853. The Lady Augusta , captained by Francis Cadell , reached Swan Hill while another, Mary Ann , captained by William Randell , reached Moama (near Echuca ). In 1855 a steamer carrying gold-mining supplies reached Albury but Echuca was the usual turn-around point, though small boats continued to link with up-river ports such as Tocumwal , Wahgunyah and Albury. The arrival of steamboat transport
6500-504: The generations after colonisation. The word "community" is often used to describe groups identifying by kinship , language , or belonging to a particular place or "country". A community may draw on separate cultural values and individuals can conceivably belong to a number of communities within Australia; identification within them may be adopted or rejected. An individual community may identify itself by many names, each of which can have alternative English spellings. The naming of peoples
6600-425: The indigenous peoples. Living Black is an Australian TV news and current affairs program covering "issues affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians". It is presented and produced by Karla Grant , an Arrernte woman. A significant number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people use the term " Blackfella " and its associated forms to refer to Aboriginal Australians. The term blak
6700-419: The inland of Victoria, New South Wales and the southern part of Queensland. The Murray carries only a small fraction of the water of comparably sized rivers in other parts of the world, and with great annual variability of its flow. It has dried up completely during extreme droughts on three occasions since official record-keeping began. More often, a sandbar formed at the mouth and stopped the flow. The Murray
6800-508: The intent to assimilate them to what had become the majority white culture. Such policy was judged " genocidal " in the Bringing Them Home report (1997) published by the government in the late 20th century, as it reviewed human rights abuses during colonisation. There are a number of contemporary appropriate terms to use when referring to Indigenous peoples of Australia. In contrast to when settlers referred to them by various terms, in
6900-486: The intervening stretch of the river a series of locks and weirs were built. These were originally proposed to support navigation even in times of low water, but riverborne transport was already declining due to improved highway and railway systems. The disruption of the river's natural flow, run-off from agriculture, and the introduction of pest species such as the European carp has led to serious environmental damage along
7000-542: The irrigation has led to dryland salinity that now threatens the agricultural industries. In 2006, the Government of South Australia released a plan to investigate the construction of controversial Wellington Weir . Lock 1 was completed near Blanchetown in 1922. Torrumbarry weir downstream of Echuca began operating in December 1923. Of the several locks that were proposed, only thirteen were completed; Locks 1 to 11 on
7100-656: The lake are evident in cliffs around Chowilla in South Australia. Considerably higher rainfall would have been required to keep such a lake full; the draining of Lake Bungunnia appears to have marked the end of a wet phase in the history of the Murray–Darling Basin and the onset of widespread arid conditions similar to today. A species of Neoceratodus lungfish existed in Lake Bungunnia; today Neoceratodus lungfish are only found in several Queensland rivers. The noted Barmah River red gum forests owe their existence to
7200-518: The last 500 years. The population was split into 250 individual nations, many of which were in alliance with one another, and within each nation there existed separate, often related clans , from as few as 5 or 6 to as many as 30 or 40. Each nation had its own language, and a few had several. Murray River The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray ) ( Ngarrindjeri : Millewa , Yorta Yorta : Dhungala ( Tongala ))
7300-449: The last Ice Age, Australian Aboriginal peoples developed a variety of regional cultures and languages, invented distinct artistic and religious traditions, and affected the environment of the continent in a number of ways through hunting, fire-stick farming , and possibly the introduction of the dog . Technologies for warfare and hunting like the boomerang and spear were constructed of natural materials, as were musical instruments like
7400-451: The more inclusive term "Indigenous Australians". Six percent of Indigenous Australians identify fully as Torres Strait Islanders. A further 4% of Indigenous Australians identify as having both Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal heritage. The Torres Strait Islands comprise over 100 islands, which were annexed by Queensland in 1879. Many Indigenous organisations incorporate the phrase "Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander" to highlight
7500-433: The nutrients of their soil. However, sheep and cattle later brought over by Europeans would ruin this soil by trampling on it. To add on the complexity of Aboriginal farming techniques, farmers deliberately exchanged seeds to begin growing plants where they did not naturally occur. In fact there were so many examples of Aboriginal Australians managing farm land in a complex manner that Australian anthropologist Norman Tindale
7600-474: The patterns of the river's natural flow from the original winter-spring flood and summer-autumn dry to the present low level through winter and higher during summer. These changes ensured the availability of water for irrigation and made the Murray Valley Australia's most productive agricultural region, but have seriously disrupted the life cycles of many ecosystems both inside and outside the river, and
7700-852: The person's specific cultural group, is often preferred, though the terms First Nations of Australia, First Peoples of Australia and First Australians are also increasingly common. Since 1995, the Australian Aboriginal flag and the Torres Strait Islander flag have been official flags of Australia . The time of arrival of the first human beings in Australia is a matter of debate and ongoing investigation. The earliest conclusively human remains found in Australia are those of Mungo Man LM3 and Mungo Lady , which have been dated to around 40,000 years ago, although Indigenous Australians have most likely been living in Australia for upwards of 65,000 years. Isolated for millennia by rising sea water after
7800-441: The pre-1788 population was 314,000, while recent archaeological finds suggest that a population of 500,000 to 750,000 could have been sustained, with some ecologists estimating that a population of up to a million or even two million people was possible. More recent work suggests that Aboriginal populations exceeded 1.2 million 500 years ago, but may have fallen somewhat with the introduction of disease pathogens from Eurasia in
7900-511: The remaining length of the Murray to finally reach Lake Alexandrina and the river's mouth. The vicinity of the Murray Mouth was explored more thoroughly by Captain Collet Barker in 1831. The first three settlers on the Murray River are known to have been James Collins Hawker (explorer and surveyor) along with Edward John Eyre (explorer and later Governor of Jamaica ) plus E.B. Scott (onetime superintendent of Yatala Labour Prison ). Hawker
8000-600: The results may be due to posthumous modification and thermal degradation of the DNA. Although the contested results seem to indicate that Mungo Man may have been an extinct subspecies that diverged before the most recent common ancestor of contemporary humans, the administrative body for the Mungo National Park believes that present-day local Aboriginal peoples are descended from the Lake Mungo remains. Independent DNA testing
8100-426: The river channel is unusually narrow), before entering into the proper Murray River channel again. The primary result of the Cadell Fault – that the west-flowing water of the Murray River strikes the north-south fault and diverts both north and south around the fault in the two main channels (Edward and ancestral Goulburn) in addition to a fan of small streams, and regularly floods a large amount of low-lying country in
8200-615: The river promoted an expansion of farming and led ultimately to the development of irrigation areas (including the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area ). In 1915, the three Murray states – New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia – signed the River Murray Agreement which proposed the construction of storage reservoirs in the river's headwaters as well as at Lake Victoria near the South Australian border. Along
8300-724: The river where Albury now stands in 1824: Hume named it the Hume River after his father. In 1830, Captain Charles Sturt reached the river after travelling down its tributary the Murrumbidgee River and named it the Murray River in honour of the then British Secretary of State for War and the Colonies , Sir George Murray , not realising it was the same river that Hume and Hovell had encountered further upstream. Sturt continued down
8400-595: The river's length. There are widespread concerns that the river will be unusably salty in the medium to long term – a serious problem given that the Murray supplies 40 per cent of the water supply for Adelaide . Efforts to alleviate the problems have proceeded but disagreement between various groups has hampered progress. Introduced fish species such as carp , gambusia , weather loach , redfin perch , brown trout , and rainbow trout have also had serious negative effects on native fish. The most pernicious are carp, which have contributed to environmental degradation of
8500-527: The river. The primary purpose of this is to provide habitat for fish species whose breeding grounds and shelter were eradicated by the removal of the snags. Author E.J. Brady chronicled an eventful journey downriver in a small motor boat from Albury to the coast in 1911 in River Rovers. The volume and value of river trade made Echuca Victoria's second port and in the decade from 1874 it underwent considerable expansion. By this time up to thirty steamers and
8600-571: The state of South Australia. Major settlements along the course of the river, from its source to the Southern Ocean, and their populations from the 2016 Australian census are as follows. The Murray and its tributaries support a variety of river life adapted to its vagaries. This includes native fish such as the famous Murray cod , trout cod , golden perch , Macquarie perch , silver perch , eel-tailed catfish , Australian smelt and western carp gudgeon , as well as other aquatic species such as
8700-411: The state of Tasmania. The Torres Strait Islander people possess a heritage and cultural history distinct from Aboriginal traditions. The eastern Torres Strait Islanders in particular are related to the Papuan peoples of New Guinea , and speak a Papuan language . Accordingly, they are not generally included under the designation "Aboriginal Australians". This has been another factor in the promotion of
8800-434: The stretch downstream of Mildura , Lock 15 at Euston and Lock 26 at Torrumbarry . Construction of the remaining weirs purely for navigation purposes was abandoned in 1934. The last lock to be completed was Lock 15, in 1937. Lock 11, just downstream of Mildura, creates a 100-kilometre (62 mi) long lock pool that aided irrigation pumping from Mildura and Red Cliffs . Each lock has a navigable passage next to it through
8900-498: The term "Indigenous Australians" has grown in popularity since the 1980s, many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples dislike it. They feel that it is too generic and removes their distinct clan and people identity. However, many people think that the term is useful and convenient, and can be used where appropriate. In recent years, terms such as "First Nations", "First Peoples" and "First Australians" have become more common. Being as specific as possible, for example naming
9000-519: The town of Murray Bridge, formerly called Edwards Crossing. To distinguish this bridge from the many others that span the Murray River, this bridge is known as Murray River road bridge, Murray Bridge Tolls applied on South Australian ferries until abolished in November 1961. Small-scale pumping plants began drawing water from the Murray in the 1850s and the first high-volume plant was constructed at Mildura in 1887. The introduction of pumping stations along
9100-488: The various peoples indigenous to mainland Australia and associated islands, excluding the Torres Strait Islands. The broad term Aboriginal Australians includes many regional groups that may be identified under names based on local language, locality, or what they are called by neighbouring groups. Some communities, cultures or groups may be inclusive of others and alter or overlap; significant changes have occurred in
9200-409: The weir, which is opened during periods of high river flow, when there is too much water for the lock. The weirs can be completely removed, and the locks completely covered by water during flood conditions. Lock 11 is unique in that the lock was built inside a bend of the river, with the weir in the bend itself. A channel was dug to the lock, creating an island between it and the weir. The weir is also of
9300-400: The women settled on the shore, only to suffer bad luck with fishing, being plagued by a water fiend known as Muldjewangk . They later moved to a more suitable spot at the site of present-day Ashville . The twin summits of Mount Misery are said to be the remnants of his rafts; they are known as Lalangengall or the two watercraft . This story of a hunter pursuing a Murray cod that carved out
9400-605: Was able to draw an Aboriginal grain belt, detailing the specific areas where crops were once produced. In terms of aquaculture, explorer Thomas Mitchell noted large stone fish traps on the Darling River at Brewarrina. Each trap covers a pool, herding fish through a small entrance that would later be shut. Traps were created at different heights to accommodate different water levels during floods and droughts. Technology used by Indigenous Australian societies before European contact included weapons, tools, shelters, watercraft, and
9500-597: Was dammed by the southern end of the fault to create a natural lake. The Murray River flowed to the north around the Cadell Fault, creating the channel of the Edward River which exists today and through which much of the Murray's waters still flow. Then the natural dam on the Goulburn River failed, the lake drained, and the Murray changed its course to the south and started to flow through the smaller Goulburn River channel, creating "The Barmah Choke" and "The Narrows" (where
9600-452: Was further reduced to around 300 between 1803 and 1833 due to disease, warfare, and other actions of British settlers. Despite more than 170 years of debate over who or what was responsible for this near-extinction, no consensus exists on its origins, process, or whether or not it was genocide. However, according to Benjamin Madley, using the "UN definition, sufficient evidence exists to designate
9700-527: Was generally mobile, or semi-nomadic , moving according to the changing food availability found across different areas as seasons changed, the mode of life and material cultures varied greatly from region to region, and there were permanent settlements and agriculture in some areas. The greatest population density was to be found in the southern and eastern regions of the continent, the River Murray valley in particular. Canoes were made out of bark for use on
9800-428: Was launched as a mission steamer, replacing an earlier steam launch, also named Etona , which had been operating on the Murray since 1891. The vessel was based at Murray Bridge , and operated between Goolwa and the Victorian border, stopping at towns such as Mannum , Morgan and Renmark as well as isolated settlements and workcamps. The forepart of the vessel was used a chapel fitted with an altar and organ, with
9900-404: Was small, with estimates ranging widely from 318,000 to more than 3,000,000 in total. Given geographic and habitat conditions, they were distributed in a pattern similar to that of the current Australian population. The majority were living in the south-east, centred along the Murray River . The First Fleet of British settlers arrived with instructions to "live in amity and kindness" with
10000-455: Was welcomed by pastoralists who had been suffering from a shortage of transport due to the demands of the gold fields. By 1860 a dozen steamers were operating in the high water season along the Murray and its tributaries. Once the railway reached Echuca in 1864, the bulk of the woolclip from the Riverina was transported via river to Echuca and then south to Melbourne. The steam paddleship Etona
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