Biraban, also known to the whites as "M'Gill", collaborated with Lancelot Threlkeld in compiling a record of his people's language. Portrait by Alfred Agate, 1839.
Which “Awabakal” called the river “Coquun”? Re-thinking what I thought I knew about some indigenous words.
Like a lot of people, I am fascinated by the indigenous history of the part of Australia in which I live. I'm frustrated by the paucity of teaching of this important subject in our schools, and I often wish I had better access to real knowledge about the people who lived here before us. I have tried to read and learn, using the sources of information that are available to me. And very often, embarrassingly and frustratingly, I find that things I thought were dependable facts turn out to be not so certain, or perhaps misunderstandings,…