Aboriginal Names for Australia
Aboriginal Australians or indigenous Australians are diverse communities of people who have settled in what is now Australia for over 50,000. The term aboriginal is derived from a Latin word that literally means “from the beginning”. Thus, these groups of people are the first groups to settle in the area. Apart from South African populations, they are believed to be one of the oldest human populations in the world.
The Aboriginal Australians are composed of two main populations: those who reside in mainland Australia and those who live in the Torres Strait (now a part of Queensland, Australia). These populations are quite diverse, with unique language groups such as Meriam Mir and Torres Strait Creole. Furthermore, the Aboriginals were mainly composed of several tribes; each with their own social rules, culture, and practices.
Thousands of years ago, when today’s Australia was still inhabited by its first people, it did not have a name. It is possible Aboriginals must not have thought of the land as separate or distinct from others. Meanwhile, it is also possible that the Aboriginals had this concept but if they had assigned a name for what is now Australia, it is not known. It is not clear what term or name they used to refer to their land.
Original Names for Australia
Most likely, the Aboriginals had created terms or names for several familiar features and places in their land. This includes mountains, oceans, lakes, local areas, and other similar features. Furthermore, the Aboriginals’ language evolved according to what they had to deal with back then. Most of the Aboriginals would have travelled to nearby places, although not extensively for them to figure out that they belong to a large continent. Thus, the term for their whole “continent” or “country” probably never arose.
Keep in mind that the Aboriginals had over 200 diverse and rich languages. When they talked about “Australia”, they just referred to it as land or ground. Thus, they often call their land uthuru in the Midwestern portion of Australia; barna in the Murchison region; biik in the Woiwurrung language of Melbourne; and kurrek in the Wemba Wemba language of Victoria. These are mere generic terms that literally meant ground or land, and not really a specific term they unanimously used to refer to their continent or country.
However, the name Australia can be traced back to European navigators. Even before they came to Australia’s lands, Europeans knew that there is an unknown land in the Southern Hemisphere which they referred to as Terra Australis Incognita which is Latin for unknown southern land. In the 1800’s, Dutch navigators named the continent as New Holland. However, Matthew Flingers, a navigator, is known to prefer the term Terra Australis or Australia to refer to the continent.
Australia was Made Up of Many Countries
Nowadays, Aboriginal Australians refer to the land of Australia in the same way other people do – Australia. This is why many would see and hear the terms First Australians, First Nations Australia, and Australia’s First People are becoming more widely accepted. First Peoples is a term used to refer to people in Australia who have been there from the beginning.
The British Invasion has resulted in many Aboriginals’ lives, significantly cutting down their population from about one million to just around 60,000. Moreover, the invasion also resulted in the loss of lands and farms for the Aboriginals. The Invaders saw the land as Tierra nullis (meaning land that is unoccupied) and decided to take as many as they can get. The Aboriginals rarely concerned themselves with issues of land ownership. It was more of a Western concept that the Aboriginals didn’t find relevant as they had been free to wander and settle in their own lands for hundreds to thousands of years already. Furthermore, differences in languages may have also played a part.
As more foreign invaders settled in Australia, the Aboriginals were pushed further away from their farming lands to the arid portions of the continent. This has put them in a poor situation economically. Furthermore, it has also resulted in their poor health as they began succumbing to diseases. Many were taken away from their families and their homes were subjected to land grabbing by the British invaders. It was only in 1992 that a law called for these aboriginal lands to be turned over, and that these lands are no one’s property and can be claimed by anyone.
Back when British invaders arrived in Australia, Aboriginals already designated specific names for various parts in Australia in accordance with their languages. Uluru is the aboriginal term or name for a central area in Australia. Thus, this must always be recognized and respected. Once the invaders arrived in Australia, they began renaming some of the areas. This includes renaming one of the major areas Ayers Rock which is now a less appropriate term to use.
Aboriginal Nations and Language
Some aboriginal names for towns and other locations managed to survive up to this day. This includes Wagga Wagga, a regional city in New South Wales; and Parramatta, which is now a commercial district city also in New South Wales. However, for the rest of Australia, it’s unfortunate that most of them don’t have a trace of their aboriginal roots and origins.
We should keep in mind that terminology and name preferences vary across different communities and individuals in Australia. As previously mentioned, there are hundreds of Aboriginal languages that have been used and are still being used today. Thus, we should consult with the local citizens and other members of the community to know the preferred terminologies and names, as well as inappropriate or unacceptable ones.
Language is an integral part of any kind of society. It is the main means of communication and exchanging information. Unfortunately, it could also create barriers and also become a source of discrimination. Thus, it is imperative that we educate ourselves Using the right terms and terminologies are essential in promoting social justice as well as preserving the indigenous Australians’ culture and identity.
Also, Read : 4 Unique Things To Do In Australian Capital Territory (ACT) With Family In 2022
Fun Fact
What do aboriginals call Australia?
The Aboriginal English words ‘blackfella’ and ‘whitefella’ are used by Indigenous Australian people all over the country — some communities also use ‘yellafella’ and ‘coloured’.
Read More The First Aboriginal Minister is a Huge Step Forward…
Pretty much had enough of the incorrect sentiment of ‘British invasion’ within the article, and I don’t even live in Australia…it was COLONISED people! …fortunately for the Aboriginals, and just for the record, it wasn’t just the British who sailed to far lands for their benefit and the future of the original settlers. The writer has an issue which I guess will not be resolved anytime soon sadly……..
Peter – We have pretty much had enough of you white colonial racists rewritting history. We grew up with your whitewashed altered history in our schools, It was a “British invasion” fought through “Frontier Wars'” ,massacres and genocide, but never ceeded, of which you have naively turned a blind eye. We would have happily not had your invasion of the oldest continuous civilisation on the planet. We survived for in excess of 65,000 years in environments of which your countrymen perished from lack of passed down knowlegde – your culture is just a drop in the ocean of time and like you just about as insignificant.
History, 1770s: Britain just lost the American colonies and hadn’t yet subjugated India. Their industrial machine was about to chug to a halt – they had to get more resources and quick. The native peoples here knew of whites before they landed and while some communities tried welcoming them as guests, some knew there was no cooperation to be had. Pemulwuy was prescient in trying to repel the white invaders and was murdered for trying to protect his country, in cold blood, by the ‘morally superior’ Christian British. Research the Doctrine of Discovery and the Mabo vs Qld Case (No. 2) to learn why Australia isn’t even an actual nation, merely a convenience for capitalism’s unregulated access to resources. Just as in the US, native peoples here have been murdered, subjugated and survived genocide by whites for centuries. Native people’s countries are still being invaded: Standing Rock, perhaps? Please don’t be defensive about white history: we are a bloody curse on this planet.
Peter. Seems like you’ve got a chip on your shoulder as well as being incredibly ignorant. The article is about Australia so only Dutch and British colonials are referenced.
When the Aboriginals are compensated for the theft of their lands and genocide of their people the issue you talk of can begin to be resolved, but never forgotten.
When the English was freed come to Australia as convicts the English would not let them go home to England so they had to settle some were don’t blame the convicts blame the king that ordered it I don’t think they had a choice this country is still getting invaded
Peter – you seem to have a colonialist attitude to life. Good for you. I’m sure if somebody comes along and takes over your country, booting you out of your house and murdering your kids, raping your wife and every other female family member leaving them with venereal diseases, you can stand by quietly and shrug it off as colonisation. As a member of a race that was conquered and colonised by Celts, Vikings, Angles, Saxons, Romans and French, a descendant of people enslaved and forced to live under laws that were not their own, i get why the First Australians feel the way they do and agree with them. All i can do about it though, is offer a personal apology for their plight because I am a white Brit, but at least I learned that even more than a millenium of being subjected to that kind of treatment doesn’t excuse doing to others what was done to us.
It’s great that this article actually answered the question it set out at the start.