Topics: Culture

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1868 - North Coastal - view

Corroborees held at Manly on the site of several churches above Careening Cove. During the visit of Albert Prince of Wales, the Koori visitors come from different Guringai, Darkinyung and Garigal areas to dance a large corroboree. They camp at ‘Fassifern’ a property belonging to the Loxton family, on a flat piece of ground between Kurraba Rd Bridge and Aubin St near a waterfall, at rear of Dalmarnock cottage. They camp every year to receive annual blanket and rations for Queen’s birthday. LF Mann writes, “I well remember watching a number of the original inhabitants of this country camping and practising for this great event, making boomerangs from local trees and using them, as they danced around, their bodies painted in many designs.”

1869 - West - view

Darug burial ground

1870s - North Coastal - view

Manly carrier RJ Wild claims to have witnessed the last Aboriginal corroboree in Manly held on vacant land near St Matthew’s Church on the Corso in the late 1870s.

1870 - North West - view

“flying away”

1870 - North West - view

White people freely speak Awabakal language in Swansea, Pelican and possibly Belmont South

1871 - West - view

Aboriginal languages

1872 - South West - view

areas of spiritual significance

1874 - North Coastal - view

Mrs Janet Kennedy (nee Williams) recalls “that the Manly district contained a number of Aboriginal camps”. (Kennedy 1937) The people were living on a mixture of British food (especially tea, flour and sugar) and bush tucker.

1874 - North Coastal - view

Mrs O’Shanessy, a daughter of ferry engineer Robert Grant recalls “Where the Catholic Church now stands in Whistler Street there was an aboriginal camp that was nearly always occupied by a tribe of the coastal blacks, then an everyday feature of Manly’s life.”

1875 - North Coastal - view

Billy Fawkner was a Koori servant of the Ward family in Brisbane Waters, who helped to raise the children. During the 1860s and 70s he would travel to Dural to sell oysters and fish. With the money he would buy tea, sugar, flour, tobacco and pipes from the general store. The poet Henry Kendall knew Billy and wrote about him. King Billy’s cave was about 2 kilometres south of Berowra Creek. His wife Sal is said to have lived in a nearby cave.

1879 - North West - view

Mathews wrote under the heading “Darkinung”: “Hiram, brother of Tilly, painted hands in the cave near the punt at Sackville Reach

1879 - North West - view

“last Darkinung fullblood man” to be initiated

1882 - South Coastal - view

make shell baskets

1883 - North West - view

Tom Dillon is a fully initiated man, with a scarred chest and missing front tooth

1884 - West - view

use a spear or a waddy

1885 - Central - view

Koori artist

1886 - South Coastal - view

old ‘foot-walk’

1887 - North West - view

Gomebeere’s vocabulary

1888 - North West - view

“Grand Corroboree” performance is held in Daniel Morrison’s garden in Singleton. He is the father of artefact collector Alexander Morrison

1889 - North West - view

Margaret sought to caretake the burial ground