About the Boonerwrung - The
Boonerwrung People
The ancestors of the Boonerwrung people were among the Victorian
coastal groups. They were linked with Tasmania but were disconnected
by the rising seas that turned once-fertile plains into Port Phillip
and Westernport Bays, including the Mornington Peninsula. Some of
Tasmania's Palawa (Indigenous) peoples have Boonerwrung ancestry.
Along the coastline near Black Rock and Beaumaris, a number of natural
wells that once provided fresh water to the Boonerwrung can be found.
A famed ancestor of the Boonerwrung is Derrimut. A Boonerwrung Elder,
Derrimut was honoured by the early settlers of Melbourne for informing
them of an impending attack by the Woiwurrung group.
The following is a list of the Boonerwrung clans:
- Mayone-bulluk - area at the top of the Mornington Peninsula
and the head of Westernport Bay
- Ngaruk-Willam - Dandenong across to the Mordialloc area
- Yallock-Bullock - near the Bass River on the eastern side
of Westernport Bay
- Burinyung-Ballak
- Yowenjerre - the eastern-most side of Boonerwrung land
- Yalukit Willam - a small strip of coastline north of the
Mordiallic Creek following around the head of Port Phillip Bay to
the Werribee River
Boundaries
The Boonerwrung territory extended south of the Mordialloc (moodi
yallock, murdi yaluk) Creek and a small coastal strip around the
top of Port Phillip Bay, including the land around Western Port and
the Mornington Peninsula. Mount Martha and Mt Eliza are in ngaruk
territory.
Language / terminology
Some key terms of the Boonerwrung language, and their English equivalent,
are noted here:
- Bulluk / baluk / buluk / bullock - mob, people
- Willam / wilam - hut, camp
- Ngaruk / ngarruk - hill, mountain, rocks, stones
- Yallock, yaluk - river
Totems
The two moeity totems of the Boonerwrung people are Bunjil
the Eaglehawk and Waang the Crow.
