Quandamooka people
| Quandamooka people | |
|---|---|
| Location: | Moreton Bay, Southeast Queensland |
| Coordinates: | 27°30′S 143°30′E / 27.500°S 143.500°ECoordinates: 27°30′S 143°30′E / 27.500°S 143.500°E |
| Notable people | |
The Quandamooka people are an Aboriginal Australian group that live around Moreton Bay in Southeastern Queensland. They are composed of three distinct tribes, the Nunukul, the Goenpul and the Ngugi and they live primarily on Moreton and North Stradbroke Islands, that form the eastern side of the bay. Many of them were pushed out of their lands when the English colonial government established a penal colony near there in 1824. Each tribe has its own language. A number of local food sources are utilised by the tribes.
To the Aboriginal peoples who live in the region around the modern towns of Cleveland and Redland City, the name for Moreton Bay is "Quandamooka." Before European colonisation, there were many indigenous clans that lived in the area, including the Jagara, who lived near present-day Cleveland, and the Koopenul who lived south of there. The Nunukul and Koenpul tribes lived on Stradbroke Island, while the Ngugi tribe lived on Moreton Island. The Nunukul, Koenpul and Ngugi tribes together constitute the Quandamooka people. Studies by archaeologists have found that indigenous peoples have lived on Stradbroke Island for at least 21,000 years.
The Quandamooka people first encountered Europeans in 1799, when the English navigator and cartographer Matthew Flinders entered Moreton Bay. The area was settled by the English colonists in 1824, with the establishment of a penal colony there. As the settlement became larger and free settlers began to move in, the indigenous peoples were pushed out of the more fertile lands into the coastal fringe, with many of them moving to the less occupied small islands. The Aboriginal people frequently resisted the colonisation, and fighting broke out on many occasions. The settlers also carried a number of diseases to which the Aboriginal people were susceptible due to lack of exposure. These diseases destroyed a large number of the Quandamooka people when they came into contact with the white settlers. The indigenous people living on Stradbroke Island were able to sustain their lifestyle for the longest period; however, in 1897 the Aboriginal Protection and Restriction of the sale of Opium Act moved all indigenous people to reservations, with the exception of those who were imprisoned or were employed as servants.
...
Wikipedia