Pindjarup
Encyclopedia
The Binjareb, Pindjarup or Pinjareb is the name of the Indigenous Australian group of Noongar
speakers, living in the region of Southwest, Western Australia
between Port Kennedy
on the coast, between Rockingham
and Mandurah
to Australind
on the Leschenault Inlet
, and between a point between Byford
and Armadale
on the Darling Scarp
, south to Benger
near Brunswick Junction
.
As a people of the wetlands, the Pindjarup were famed for their fish-traps, and a seasonal cycle of six seasons, making full use of the environmental resources from the coastal estuaries and sand-dunes, through the interior lakes and wetlands to the more fertile soils of the Darling Scarp foothills and ridgelines. Western Long-necked Tortoises, Black Swan
s, ducks, and migratory birds formed an important part of their diet.
, took the British naval vessel HMS Sulphur to explore the mouths of the Peel Inlet
, the Serpentine
and Murray River
s and the Leschenault Inlet.
Thomas Peel
, a second cousin of the future British Prime Minister, Sir Robert Peel, was given the majority of the Pindjarup lands as his personal domain. Peel faced resistance from Pindjarup peoples when he seized the mouth of the Murray
, which was an important seasonal encampment for the local Aboriginal people, providing them with about one sixth of their annual dietary needs. There were fatalities on both sides of a protracted guerilla conflict, including the death, in April 1834, of a settler named Hugh Nesbit.
, who sought to prevent his people from starvation by leading a famous but peaceful raid upon Shenton's Mill in South Perth
, taking many bags of flour, which was highly prized by his people.
As a result of Calyute's raid, and at the urging of Thomas Peel, the Pindjarep were subject to a second large scale Aboriginal conflict in the history of Western Australia, the Battle of Pinjarra
. Although the incident was called a "battle" by the local press, it has recently been termed a massacre due to the lobbying of contemporary scholars seeking a more accurate description.
.
Pindjarup people survived the conflict, but their cultural identity was weakened through policies of successive Protectors of Aborigines
in Western Australia, particularly Henry Prinsep and A. O. Neville
, who sought to "breed out" the Aboriginal race through miscegenation
with whites. Successive outbreaks of measles and other illnesses also took their toll on the successive demoralisation of these people. Nevertheless, since the 1930s the number of Aboriginal people in Pindjarup lands has increased, though most now identify themselves by the language group Noongar
, rather than Pindjarup. The most famous modern Pindjarup is the dramatist and poet Jack Davis
(1917-2000), born in Yarloop
, just south of Pinjarra, who has been called "Western Australia's Poet Laureat", for his many plays and poetry, including the famous No Sugar
, which continues to be widely performed.
From the 1940s to the 1970s up to 500 Aboriginal people, including many of Pindjarup heritage, were incarcerated at the Roelands Aboriginal Mission, most of whom were taken from their families as a part of the Stolen Generations policies of that era.
Noongar
The Noongar are an indigenous Australian people who live in the south-west corner of Western Australia from Geraldton on the west coast to Esperance on the south coast...
speakers, living in the region of Southwest, Western Australia
Southwest, Western Australia
The Southwest is a loosely defined area in the southwest corner of Western Australia. Various regionalisations have provided formal definitions of the area, but these do not coincide.* For the drainage division, see Southwest corner of Western Australia...
between Port Kennedy
Port Kennedy, Western Australia
Port Kennedy is an outer southern suburb of Perth, the capital city of Western Australia, located within the City of Rockingham.Port Kennedy is built on Becher Point and because of its geomorphological history it is home to an unusual wetland formation, called the Becher Wetland Suite...
on the coast, between Rockingham
Rockingham, Western Australia
Rockingham is a suburb and primary centre in Western Australia south-west of the Perth city centre and south of Fremantle. It has a beachside location at Mangles Bay, the southern extremity of Cockburn Sound. To its north stretches the maritime and resource-industry installations of Kwinana and...
and Mandurah
Mandurah, Western Australia
Mandurah is the second-largest city in Western Australia and is located approximately south of the state capital, Perth.The city attracts a large number of tourists, including many international visitors...
to Australind
Australind, Western Australia
Australind is a satellite town and outer northern suburb of Bunbury, Western Australia, and is located 12 km north-east of Bunbury's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Harvey. At the 2006 census, Australind had a population of 8,717. -History:Prior to European...
on the Leschenault Inlet
Leschenault Estuary
Leschenault Estuary is an estuarine lagoon that lies to the north of Bunbury, Western Australia.It had in the past met the Indian Ocean at the Leschenault Inlet - but that has been altered by harbour works for Bunbury, and the creation of The Cut north of the historical inlet location.The estuary...
, and between a point between Byford
Byford, Western Australia
Byford is a suburb on the southeastern edge of Perth, Australia, originally founded as the townsite of Beenup in 1906.Beenup took its name from the railway siding there, a corruption of the Aboriginal name of nearby Beenyup Brook...
and Armadale
Armadale, Western Australia
Armadale is a suburb within the City of Armadale, located on the south-eastern edge of Perth's metropolitan area. The major junction of the South Western and Albany Highways, which connect Perth with the South West and Great Southern regions of Western Australia respectively, is located within the...
on the Darling Scarp
Darling Scarp
The Darling Scarp, also referred to as the Darling Range or Darling Ranges, is a low escarpment running north-south to the east of the Swan Coastal Plain and Perth, Western Australia...
, south to Benger
Benger, Western Australia
Benger is a locality just north of Brunswick Junction in the South West of Western Australia.The South Western Highway runs through the region...
near Brunswick Junction
Brunswick Junction, Western Australia
Brunswick Junction is a town located in the South West of Western Australia along the South Western Highway, between Harvey and Bunbury.-History:...
.
Pindjarup land and environment
Their name is taken from the word pinjar or benjar, meaning wetlands or swamps. The Pindjarup people were "people of the wetlands", which were the main feature of the bioregion they inhabited. Many of these wetlands have now been drained, and the area has become dominated by the dairy industry, with cattle grazing on irrigated pastures.As a people of the wetlands, the Pindjarup were famed for their fish-traps, and a seasonal cycle of six seasons, making full use of the environmental resources from the coastal estuaries and sand-dunes, through the interior lakes and wetlands to the more fertile soils of the Darling Scarp foothills and ridgelines. Western Long-necked Tortoises, Black Swan
Black Swan
The Black Swan is a large waterbird, a species of swan, which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. The species was hunted to extinction in New Zealand, but later reintroduced. Within Australia they are nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent upon climatic...
s, ducks, and migratory birds formed an important part of their diet.
History of European settlement
The lands of the Pindjarup were first explored by Europeans in 1829 when Lieutenant P. N. Preston and Dr Alexander CollieAlexander Collie
Dr Alexander Collie was a Scottish surgeon and botanist who journeyed to Western Australia in 1829, where he was an explorer and Colonial Surgeon.-Early life:...
, took the British naval vessel HMS Sulphur to explore the mouths of the Peel Inlet
Peel-Harvey Estuary
The Peel Harvey Estuary is a natural estuary which lies roughly parallel to the coast of Western Australia and south of the town of Mandurah. The strip of land between the Indian Ocean and the estuary carries the Old Coast Road and to the east is the Forrest Highway which is the main thoroughfare...
, the Serpentine
Serpentine River (Western Australia)
The Serpentine River is a river in the South West region of Western Australia.The river rises in the Darling Scarp below Bowerling Hill and flows westward crossing Albany Highway North of North Bannister. The river continues North West through the Youarling State Forest then the Serpentine National...
and Murray River
Murray River (Western Australia)
The Murray River is a river in the southwest of Western Australia which played a significant part in the expansion of Aboriginal settlement in the area south of Perth after the arrival of British settlers at the Swan River Colony in 1829....
s and the Leschenault Inlet.
Thomas Peel
Thomas Peel
Mr. Peel, he moans, took him from England to Swan River, West Australia, means of subsistence and of production to the amount of £50,000. Mr. Peel had the foresight to bring with him, besides, 300 persons of the working-class, men, women, and children. Once arrived at his destination, "Mr. Peel was...
, a second cousin of the future British Prime Minister, Sir Robert Peel, was given the majority of the Pindjarup lands as his personal domain. Peel faced resistance from Pindjarup peoples when he seized the mouth of the Murray
Murray River (Western Australia)
The Murray River is a river in the southwest of Western Australia which played a significant part in the expansion of Aboriginal settlement in the area south of Perth after the arrival of British settlers at the Swan River Colony in 1829....
, which was an important seasonal encampment for the local Aboriginal people, providing them with about one sixth of their annual dietary needs. There were fatalities on both sides of a protracted guerilla conflict, including the death, in April 1834, of a settler named Hugh Nesbit.
Battle of Pinjarra
At the time of British settlement in 1829, the leader of the Pindjarup was CalyuteCalyute
Calyute also known as Kalyute, Galyute or Wongir, was an Indigenous Australian resistance leader who was involved in a number of battles with white settlers and members of other tribes in the early days of the Swan River Colony, in Western Australia. He was a member of the Pindjarup people from...
, who sought to prevent his people from starvation by leading a famous but peaceful raid upon Shenton's Mill in South Perth
South Perth, Western Australia
South Perth is a residential suburb 3 kilometres south of the central business district of Perth, the capital of Western Australia, which adjoins the southern shore of Perth Water on the Swan River...
, taking many bags of flour, which was highly prized by his people.
As a result of Calyute's raid, and at the urging of Thomas Peel, the Pindjarep were subject to a second large scale Aboriginal conflict in the history of Western Australia, the Battle of Pinjarra
Battle of Pinjarra
The Battle of Pinjarra or Pinjarra Massacre was a conflict that occurred in Pinjarra, Western Australia between a group of 60 to 80 Australian Aborigines and a detachment of 25 soldiers and policemen led by Governor James Stirling in 1834...
. Although the incident was called a "battle" by the local press, it has recently been termed a massacre due to the lobbying of contemporary scholars seeking a more accurate description.
Events after 1834
By 1836 a permanent military settlement was established in Pinjarra, and further land grants to settlers occurred with little overt resistance from Aboriginal people, who sought employment in the pastoral industry which was established in the area. By 1838 a road through Pindjarup lands connected Pinjarra to BunburyBunbury, Western Australia
The port city of Bunbury is the third largest city in Western Australia after the State Capital Perth and Mandurah. It is situated south of Perth's central business district...
.
Pindjarup people survived the conflict, but their cultural identity was weakened through policies of successive Protectors of Aborigines
Protector of Aborigines
The role of Protectors of Aborigines resulted from a recommendation of the report of the Select Committee of the House of Commons on Aborigines . On 31 January 1838, Lord Glenelg, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies sent Governor Gipps the report.The report recommended that Protectors of...
in Western Australia, particularly Henry Prinsep and A. O. Neville
A. O. Neville
Auber Octavius Neville was a public servant, notably Chief Protector of Aborigines, in Western Australia.-Early career:...
, who sought to "breed out" the Aboriginal race through miscegenation
Miscegenation
Miscegenation is the mixing of different racial groups through marriage, cohabitation, sexual relations, and procreation....
with whites. Successive outbreaks of measles and other illnesses also took their toll on the successive demoralisation of these people. Nevertheless, since the 1930s the number of Aboriginal people in Pindjarup lands has increased, though most now identify themselves by the language group Noongar
Noongar
The Noongar are an indigenous Australian people who live in the south-west corner of Western Australia from Geraldton on the west coast to Esperance on the south coast...
, rather than Pindjarup. The most famous modern Pindjarup is the dramatist and poet Jack Davis
Jack Davis (playwright)
Jack Davis , was a notable Australian 20th Century playwright and poet, also an Indigenous rights campaigner. He was born in Western Australia, in the small town of Yarloop, and lived in Fremantle towards the end of his life. He was of the Aboriginal Noongar people, and much of his work dealt with...
(1917-2000), born in Yarloop
Yarloop, Western Australia
Yarloop is a town located in the South West of Western Australia along the South Western Highway, between Waroona and Harvey. At the 2006 census, Yarloop had a population of 545.-History:...
, just south of Pinjarra, who has been called "Western Australia's Poet Laureat", for his many plays and poetry, including the famous No Sugar
No Sugar (play)
No Sugar is a play written by Jack Davis which is intended to expose Australian racism. It is a story set during the Great Depression, in Northam, Western Australia, Moore River Native Settlement and Perth...
, which continues to be widely performed.
From the 1940s to the 1970s up to 500 Aboriginal people, including many of Pindjarup heritage, were incarcerated at the Roelands Aboriginal Mission, most of whom were taken from their families as a part of the Stolen Generations policies of that era.
See also
- Indigenous AustraliansIndigenous AustraliansIndigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
- List of massacres of indigenous Australians
- List of Indigenous Australian group names