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Butchulla MonumentPrint Page Print this page

16-July-2015
16-July-2015

Photographs supplied by John Huth

The monument commemorates the Aboriginal tribes from the Wide Bay area.

The bronze plaque shows an Aboriginal elder telling stories of the Dreamtime to children and was sculptured by Rhyl Hinwood. The monument contains a dance circle containing hand-made concrete plinths decorated with sea shells.

The Butchulla occupied Fraser Island for at least 5000 years. The Aboriginal lifestyle was disrupted soon after European settlement in the 1840s. Butchulla people put up a strong resistance but were overwhelmed by European weapons, followed by disease, drugs and lost food sources. By the late 1800s, most remaining Aborigines from the region were relocated to an island mission settlement and then, in 1904, to various missions throughout Queensland. A few Aboriginal families stayed behind, their men employed in local logging or fishing industries.

Location

Address:Charlton Esplanade, Pialba, 4655
State:QLD
Area:AUS
GPS Coordinates:Lat: -25.280969
Long: 152.845122
Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.
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Details

Monument Type:Monument
Monument Theme:Culture
Sub-Theme:Indigenous
Artist:Dr Rhyl Hinwood AM (Brisbane, QLD)

Dedication

Approx. Monument Dedication Date:1980s
Front Inscription

This monument is dedicated to past, present and future members of Aboriginal tribes in the Wide Bay area, in particular the Butchulla Tribe.

This bronze plaque depicts a story teller relating stories of the Dreamtime to the children while the woman in the Sun looks on.

 

Left Side Inscription

Yullu
( Porpoise )

Sacred totem of the Butchulla Tribe

Back Inscription

Gil`la Nad`hu dhaN`ga won`nan kan tam`burwan
Gil`lago dhaN gago bon`na- yir ki yan`go|
Weno Nin kala Nur a`dhu Nin`na gil`la wu

Of the honey I half left the can was full to the lip

For the honey the half of tomorrow I shall go
If thou art good I thee honey will give

Importance of honey in the Aboriginal food chain is written in Aboriginal and English

Source: MA
Monument details supplied by Monument Australia - www.monumentaustralia.org.au