Ngarraka Yaan: A Murdi History of Weilmoringle

Abstract

This thesis is about family and community history and focuses on a place called Weilmoringle (Weil), a Murdi (Aboriginal) community and pastoral property in northwest NSW. Weilmoringle or Wayilmarrangkal means 'old man saltbush' in the Muruwari language and it is the place and community in which I grew up. Through the people I interviewed and the oral histories I collected the thesis explores people's connections, disconnections, stories and memories of Weil. It also provides the Murdi perspective on the history of Weil since time immemorial to the pastoral era, and its period as an affluent pastoral station from 1857 to 2006. The thesis also looks at more modern times, and the transition from traditional to contemporary housing and the imposition of western education and how pastoral skills and traditional bush knowledge are simultaneously taught to Murdi children. The thesis ends with a snapshot of present day Weil community and the dynamics between the families at the Top End and Bottom End camps.