Aboriginal Culture - The Adjahdura People
The People
The traditional owners of the Yorke Peninsula are the Adjahdura people whose land reached from Port Broughton in the North to the Hammock Ranges in the East. The Kaurna People of the Adelaide Hills and the Nukunu people in the North shared their borders, and often met with the Adjahdura people for trade and ceremony. The Adjahdura people consisted of four different groups; the Kunara from the north, the Windera in the east, Wari in the west and the Dilpa group in the south.
Evidence suggests that prior to European colonisation the Adjahdura People lived in settlements around the coast, with the young and old staying there whilst the others went off for a day or two, returning with food. These settlements were at places with fresh water and food, including Moonta Bay, Tiddy Widdy Beach, Point Pearce, Point Yorke and many more. Shallow graves of the Adjahdura people have been found with necklaces and other objects as well as ochre, which could have been used during the burial ceremonies for decoration.
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Hunting and Gathering
Living on the Yorke Peninsula meant that the Adjahdura people had plenty of fresh plants and animals to live off including roots, seeds, and a huge variety of fruit.
Emu, kangaroos, possums, bandicoots, lizards, wombats, and bettongs were just some of the animals hunted.
The Adjahdura people were skilled at fishing, which made up a large part of their diet, as did shellfish such as periwinkles and warreners, crayfish and crabs. Fires were used to clear the grasses and promote growth of vegetation, and waterholes were covered with large boulders to keep them clean.
Their clothing mainly consisted of cloaks that were made from possum and kangaroo skins, dried and sewn together with the tendons from kangaroos and wallabies. In the wintertime, the men would rub emu oil on their skin to keep warm.
Archaeological evidence shows that the Adjahdura people used stone materials to make hammer stones, cutting tools, scrapers and spear tips. The spear tips would then be attached to a wooden shaft using resin or gum. Wood and roots were used to make spears, digging sticks and for building shelters.
The nets used for both fishing and hunting were called Buntu Buntu, they were made of reeds by the women and took a couple of days to make by the time they were picked, dried and rolled into string.
After European Settlement
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In the early days of settlement it was estimated that the
population of the Adjahdura Tribe was 500. In the first 30 years
of European settlement, 80% of the Adjahdura tribe were wiped out
through introduced diseases and by the bullet - massacres were a common
practice. By 1880 there were less than 100 survivors.
Watering holes were how the Aboriginal people of the area sustained
life. When Europeans arrived they took most of the water holes
and cleared most of the natural vegetation for farming.
In the early 1860's the Yorke Peninsula Aboriginal Mission Committee was established and teaching was started in a wool shed in Moonta Bay under the command of Reverend W. Julius Kuhn.
In 1867 the Mission was moved to Point Pearce on 639 acres of land. This land grew in acreage as a small township developed, which included housing, woolsheds, a church and large underground stone tanks.
The Adjahdura people harvested their own crops and the mission included a hall, meat shop, blacksmiths, wheat barn, piggery, shearing sheds and chaff houses.
Bad things are spoken about Aboriginal missions - but Adjahdura elders Irene Agius and Elaine Newchurch talk about how important Point Pearce was in the survival of their people - they say it was a place they could run away from the bullet - a sanctuary for Aboriginal people.
In the late 1800's and early 1900's, missions from other areas in the state were closed down by government and Aboriginal people from other clan groups were moved to Point Pearce to live with the traditional owners of the area. This caused many problems that are still evident today. From this time, the word Narungga - which means camp site - was used to describe the Aboriginal people who lived at Point Pearce. But today, the direct descendants of the traditional owners, who live on the land, still see themselves as Adjahdura people.
Aboriginal Cultural Tours - Adjahdura Land, Yorke Peninsula can give you an amazing insight into the traditional owners of this country, of their rich cultural heritage, Dreaming stories and traditions - and the issues they are facing today.
>> more information about Aboriginal Cultural Tours - Adjahdura Land, Yorke Peninsula