Gumbaynggirr

Gumbaynggir (also 'Kumbainggar') are an Australian Aboriginal group of the Coffs Harbour, New South Wales area.. The Gumbaynggirr lands cover an area of the Mid North Coast from the Nambucca River to as far north as the Clarence River (Grafton),and eastward to the Pacific coast, making the Gumbaynggirr tribe one of the largest in NSW. (Approx. 11,500 km²) Evidence indicates people have lived in the area for many thousands of years.

Their neighbours to the south are the Dunghutti (Kempsey), to the north, the Bundjalung (Byron Bay area) and to the west, the Ngarabal (Glen Innes) and Nganyaywana (Anaiwan) (Armidale).

The Garby Elders are a tribal group who recognise the lands and seas from Moonee northward along the coast past Wooli and inland to the east bank of the Orara River. Descendants of the original people still live in this area today. Arrawarra Headland, which lies at the heart of the Garby Elders’ country, is a one-hour walk from the camps at Corindi Beach.

Clement Hodgkinson was the first European to make contact with the local Aboriginal community when he explored the upper reaches of the Nambucca and Bellinger Rivers in March 1841.

The Garby Elders speak of the regretful interactions between their people and the Europeans, the most notable being the Red Rock Massacre of the 1880s. Europeans are said to have chased the Gumbaynggirr people from their camp at the river to the headland, where many innocent people lost their lives. Red Rock is referred to as ‘Blood Rock’ by the Garby Elders, who regard this as an extremely sacred site and a place for reflection. A memorial has been established on the headland to mark the event and recognise the brutality that occurred at the site. As land was given as freehold to the new settlers, and as fences, farms and houses were constructed, Gumbaynggirr people found it more and more difficult to travel from camp to camp. Many Gumbaynggirr people were forced onto Missions and Reserves. The Garby Elders remained free, however, and found ways to stay on the ‘other side of the fence’ in no-man’s-land.

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