Welcome to Week Three of the A-Z of Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages!
This week's language of the week is Dalleburra, a language spoken in North-West Queensland, particularly in the area around Hughenden, Flinders River and Lammermoor Station. Dalleburra is closely related to Yirandali and is often referred to as both a dialect and clan group within the Yirandali language nation. The Dalleburra language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Flinders Shire Council.
According to Austlang, there are minimal speakers of Dalleburra; however, there are community language revival activities within the region supported by the North Queensland Regional Aboriginal Corporation Language Centre [NQRACLC].
Building with horses and men out front at Lammermoor Station, 1874.
Robert Christison, who took up Lammermoor Station in 1863 documented language and culture of the local Dalleburra people who lived and worked on Lammermoor. The State Library holds the Christison Family Papers and Lammermoor Station Records [TR1867]. This collection comprises papers and records from Lammermoor but also notes on language and cultural knowledge of the Dalleburra. Within the papers are several wordlists which were later used as source materials for publications, including Breen, Tindale and Curr. Mary Montgomerie Bennett, Christison's daughter, also published an English-Dalleburra wordlist in Christison of Lammermoor, which is also held in the State Library collections.
Dalleburra words, M M Bennett, 1927.
The National Museum of Australia also holds items from Lammermoor Station, including an online exhibition which features Yirandali man Fred Hill talking about growing up on stations in Western Queensland.
Join State Library for next week's Language of the Week - Gayiri from Central Queensland!
.
Desmond Crump
Indigenous Languages Coordinator, State Library of Queensland
State Library of Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Languages Webpages
State Library of Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Languages Map
Spoken: Celebrating Queensland languages exhibition
Jarjum Stories exhibition
Minya Birran: What next for Indigenous Languages?
Images:
King Barney Breastplate, Christison Family Papers and Lammermoor Station Records. TR1867
Building with horses and men out front at Lammermoor Station, 1874. JOL Negative number: 56724.
"Dalleburra Words", M. M. Bennett (1927) Notes on the Dalleburra Tribe.
.
References and Further Reading
State Library collections have some material relating to Dalleburra or Yirandali; items in the collections include the following:
Bennett, M. M. (1927) Notes on the Dalleburra Tribe. P 572.9943 BEN
Bennett, M. M. (1928) Christison of Lammermoor. J 929.36 CHR
Breen, J.G. (1990) Salvage Studies of Western Queensland Aboriginal Languages. Pacific Linguistics Series B – No. 105. Australian National University: Canberra. J499.15 BRE
Curr, E. M. (1887) The Australian Race: its origins, languages, customs, place of landing in Australia and the routes by which it spread itself over that continent. John Ferres Government Printer: Melbourne. RBF 572.994 cur
The Christison Family Papers and Lammermoor Station Records [TR1867].
Tindale, N. B. (1974) Aboriginal tribes of Australia: their terrain, environmental controls, distribution, limits and proper names. Q 994.0049915 tin
Comments
Your email address will not be published.
We welcome relevant, respectful comments.