Boonwurrung
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| Pre contact 300-500. | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Languages | |
| Bun wurrung, English | |
| Religion | |
| Australian Aboriginal mythology, Christianity | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
|
Dja Dja Wurrung, Taungurong, Wathaurong, Wurundjeri see List of Indigenous Australian group names |
The Boon wurrung are Indigenous Australians of the Kulin nation, who occupy South-Central Victoria, Australia. Before British settlement, they lived as all people of the Kulin nation lived, sustainably on the land, predominantly as hunters and gatherers, for tens of thousands of years. They were referred to by Europeans as the Western Port or Port Philip tribe and were in alliance with other tribes in the Kulin nation, having particularly strong ties to the Wurundjeri people. From 2005 the Boon wurrung people have been represented by the Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, while the Boon wurrung Foundation claims to represent "the traditional people and custodians of the lands from the Werribee River to Wilson Promontory".
Boon wurrung was a dialect of Wuy-wurrung, a Kulin language of the Pama-Nyungan language family. The ethnonym occasionally used in early writings to refer to the Bunwurrung, namely Bunwurru, is derived from the word bu:n, meaning 'no' and wur:u, signifying either 'lip' or 'speech'.
The Boon wurrung were a predominantly coastal people whose lands encompassed some 3,000 square miles (7,800 km2) of territory around Western Port Bay and the Mornington Peninsula. It western boundary was set at Werribee. To the southeast it extended from Mordialloc through to Anderson Inlet, as far as Wilson's Promontory. Inland its borders reached the Dandenong Ranges, and ran eastwards as far as the vicinity of Warragul. The Bunurong Land Aboriginal Corporation is the RAP representing Boon Wurrung country and culture.
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