Umbarra

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This article is about the person called Umbarra. For the island in New South Wales also known as Umbarra, see
Merriman Island
.

King plate

Umbarra, or King Merriman (died 1904) was an

Djirringanj/Yuin people of the Bermagui area on what has become called the Sapphire Coast since European Colonial settlement of far-southern New South Wales
coastal area.

Although

king plates to certain elders, hence the moniker "King".[citation needed
]

Life

Umbarra lived on

clairvoyant abilities, and communicated with a black duck, his moojingarl or being with which he had a spiritual connection, which warned him of coming danger.[citation needed
]

Umbarra provided information on the Yuin to Alfred William Howitt for Howitt's 1904 book The native tribes of South-East Australia.[1]

Umbarra's father, who was also associated with the black duck, is believed to have also been named Merriman and to have died around 1850.[1] His wife, Queen Narelle, died around 1900.[2] The brother of Umbarra and the brother of Narelle, despite being unrelated to one another, founded a single family, the Nobles. Yuin genealogist and researcher Dave Tout is a descendant of the Nobles.[1]

Funeral of Queen Narelle, Umbarra's wife, circa 1900

Legends

Many legends exist about Umbarra and his moojingarl. One day it told him of a group of warriors coming from the far south to do battle. King Merriman remained on the island while the other men took the women and children to a place of safety and then hid in the reeds. The first to sight the approaching warriors, the King warned his men who fought a fierce battle but lost. The opposing tribesmen then set out for the island.[3]

King Merriman threw powerful spears, and a

Shoalhaven tribe to warn them but the Kiola tribe defeated the invaders and the King, whose power was finished, stayed for a time at the Shoalhaven then travelled away.[3]

Today

General access to Merriman Island is forbidden due to its great significance for Indigenous people, and is gazetted as an Aboriginal site.[4]

The former Wallaga Lake National Park is incorporated into Gulaga National Park.

References

  1. ^ a b c Rose, Deborah Bird; James, Diana; Watson, Christine; New South Wales National Parks & Wildlife Service (2003). "Indigenous kinship with the natural world in New South Wales". trove.nla.gov.au. pp. 45โ€“46. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  2. ^ Corkhill, William Henry (1900), [The funeral of Queen Narelle, wife of King Merriman at Wallaga Lake], retrieved 9 January 2019
  3. ^ a b Donaldson, Susan Dale (2012). "Exploring ways of knowing, protecting, acknowledging Aboriginal totems across the Eurobodalla, Far South Coast, NSW: Final report" (PDF). Eurobodalla Shire Council. pp. 11โ€“12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 June 2018.
  4. ^ "Wallaga Lake". Visit NSW. Retrieved 6 July 2021.

External links

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