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ABORIGINAL OCCUPATION AROUND WAANYARRA |
Occupying parts of the North
Central area of Victoria were the Jajoweroung
(Jajawurrung) tribe, also known as the Djadja Wurrung people.
The name, "Jim Crow
blacks", was also
used by the early settlers. Jim Crow being the name given to Mt
Franklin by Captain Hepburn.
It is thought Jim Crow was a corruption of the word Jumcra, a
name given to the squatters run which covered the district. Coincidentally,
the crow featured strongly in the Jajawurrung folk law, it was
regarded as lord of the plains.
Another story is told of Captain Hepburn naming the mount after
a popular James Rice tune of 1835,
"Wheel about and
turn about and do just so,
Turn about and wheel about and jump Jim Crow."
The Jajawurrung people spoke
the same dialect, with minor variations and their `Clan' chief
was considered to be Munangabum of the Liarga balug tribe (located
near Maldon). There were 16 tribes in the Jajawurrung's area.
From "The Loddon Aboriginals"
by Norm Darwin.
Once large in numbers, they
declined to lesser tribes or families by the 1840's when Methodist
Minister E. S. Parker discovered them.
Parker established an Aboriginal Mission at Jim Crow (Mt. Franklin)with
comparative success.
Observers state that Parker was well meaning and laboured for
the blacks. He preached to his charges in their native language.
After the Aboriginal Protectorate was abolished Parker stayed
on at Jim Crow for many years as a magistrate working for the
aboriginals.
Munangatum was Jajoweroung chief in the early 1840's, he dealt
with one of the early European settlers Hector Nonnan Simson.
Although Simson saw the aboriginals friendly to whites and despite
his good relations with the tribes, he built a water tank under
his house and fortress gates, just in case of accidents.
The Jajoweroung tribe had no major clashes with settlers and no
shootings occurred. Many of the settlers reported the tribes as
'half civil', and were pleased that the tribespeople could be
used as servants, stripping bark, washing sheep and digging potatoes.
A few known relics of Aboriginal occupation have survived the
turbulent early days of the colony. Apart from collections of
hand tools still in the possession of early Loddon River families,
many relics have been lost. But the Rock wells near Maryborough,
Carisbrook's ceremonial stone arrangements and a few canoe trees
remain as signs of aboriginal traditional territories.
The total aboriginal population of Victoria in 1861 according
to Census returns of that year was 1694, being 1046 males and
648 females. The aboriginal population diminished yearly under
the influence of white settlement.
By 1879 Chief of the Jajoweroung, "King Tommy" was the
last survivor of the tribe to live in the natural state in his
own locality.
From The Footsteps Echo
by Lynne Douthat