Nar-dha, nar (meaning black ducks) and dha (meaning earth
ground), was a significant meeting place for people from various
clans from as far away as the Richmond River in the south and the
Burnett in the north. It was an important pathway.
At certain times of the year, initiation ceremonies, law making,
corroborees (yawahrr) - a way of sharing the news - and exchange
of goods took place at Nar-dha.
The waterholes provided animal foods - fish, turtles (binkin),
yabbies (yarring) and water fowls/ducks - and plants like
bungwall fern for food and bark for shelters. Stones from the waterholes
were suitable for making tools such as knives, spearheads and scrapers.
Acknowledgment
The Nar-dha Waterholes Project was undertaken by the Brisbane City
Council, in association with Indigenous interested parties, who
have traditional or historical links to the area. Council formed
the Indigenous Advisory Group comprising representatives of the
Jagera, Sandy family, Isaacs family, Undumbi, Bond family and Morgan
family, to provide Indigenous guidance on the development of the
project and formulate conservation processes for the preservation
of the bora ring.
J.G.Steele reported in 1984 that the languages spoken in the greater
Brisbane area belonged to the Yuggera language group, which centred
on Brisbane and extended from the islands of Moreton Bay to the
headwaters of the Bremer River and Lockyer Creek. Brisbane was known
to the Aboriginal people as 'Mian-jin', which means 'place shaped
like a spike' and covered an area that encompassed forest, scrub,
and the coastal lowlands, which featured swamps, lagoons, and pockets
of rainforest. The coastal areas in particular were rich in food.
Campsites were scattered throughout the region, and included those
at Woolloongabba, Toowong, Bowen Hills, Newstead, Nundah, and Nudgee,
with various established pathways linking these and other significant
sites.
Nudgee Indigenous Reference Group
Some members of the Nudgee Indigenous Reference Group and Brisbane
City Council staff.
