- Every Day Along The Eastern Beaches Of Sydney We Speak Words That Continue To Connect Us With The Cadigal People, The Traditional Owners (TO's) Of Cadigal Country
- Aboriginal Place Names Are Spread Across Australia From Coast To Coast, Derived From The Various Languages & Dialects That Once Dominated Their Respective Landscapes. Some Of The Names Were Adopted By Colonisers & Have Been Subsumed Into Mainstream Australian Culture, Others Are Still Used By TO's, Some Are No Longer Used At All, But Have Been Recorded Historically, & There Are Many That Have Been Lost From Memory.
When You Lay Asleep Last Night & Hear The Sound Of The Ocean, of Waves Breaking On The Shore, That Sound We Need A sentence To Describe Is Expressed By the Cadigal In One Word "BONDI"
Historically Bondi Was Spelt Variously As Boondi, Bundi, Bundeye & Boodye. With Such A Beautiful & Poetic Meaning, It Is Surprising That It Is Not More Commonly Known.
Alternatively, The Australian Museum Has A Record That Bondi Means The "Place Where A Fight Of Nulla's Took Place." It Has Been Suggested That This Latter Meaning May Derive From The Dull Wet Crack. A Nulla (An Aboriginal Weapon) Would Have Made As If It Hit Someone In The Head In Warfare Or Payback Ceremonies; A Sound Analogous To Be The Wet Crack Of Waves Breaking On Rocks.
Tamarama Has Two Distinct Spellings As "Gamma Gamma," & Elsewhere As "Cramarama." It's Original Phonetic Pronunciation Must Lie Somewhere Between The Three Variations. Despite Maroubra Folklore, Historical Evidence Suggests That It Is Tamarama That Means "Thunder" Or "Thunder Clap" Or "Thunder Storm"
Unfortunately For Coogee, It's Name Doesn't Have Quite The Poetic Sensibility That Bondi Does, Though It's Great For Sledging Coogee Residents In Sport Or Pub Banter. The Name Coogee Has Been Derived From The Aboriginal Word "Kudjah" (Kudjii), Meaning "Smelly" Or "Bad Smell". It Is Believed That The Name Derived From The Smell Of Large Deposits Of Rotting Seaweed That Once Built Up Along The Shoreline. There Is Good Historical Record That The True Name Of Coogee Bay Is "Bobroi"
"Boora" Is The Name Of Long Bay. The Traditional Word For A Pathway Was Recorded As "Mo-Ro" & Elsewhere As "Maru". Maroubra Is Believed To Be A Combination Of The Words "Maru" (Pathway) & "Boora" (Long Bay). Long Bay Was An Important Camping & Ceremonial Ground For The Cadigal, And The Traditional Pathway That Led There Passed Right Through Present Day Maroubra.
For TO's, The Importance of Place Names Is Obvious. It Would Be Difficult To Find Significant Geographical Features In Australia That Don't Have An Original Name That Forms Part Of Greater Narratives Of Creation And Lore, Which Us Whitefellas Have Called Dreamtime these Stories Weave Their Way Across The Country Along Song Lines Often So Vast In Distance That Even Distinct Language Groups Are Custodians Of Only Part Of The Story.
Since 2001 The NSW Government Has Committed To Recognising Aboriginal Cultural Heritage By Registering Original Place Names So That They Are Set Aside With Existing Names. Already 20 Locations Around Sydney Harbour Have Been Formally Gazetted As Dual Names Under The NSW Geographical Names Board Dual Naming Policy.
But The Significance Of Aboriginal Place Names Is Not Just Important For TO's. They Are A Defining Element Of The Cultural Identity Of Australia. Many Are So Commonly Used, Subsumed Into Our Daily Lives, & Others So Subtle That We Fail To Recognise Their Significance. However, To Foreign Ears These Names Cleary Distinguish Themselves As Exotic; They Are Uniquely Our Own. As Such Defining Characteristics Of Our Nation In The Growing Cultural Monotony Of Globalisation, They Are Features We Should Celebrate.
The Cadigal Have Left The Eastern Beaches Of Sydney A Greater Cultural Legacy Than The Place Names we Speak Of Daily
And when I Feel Up To Writing Again I Will Follow Up With The Greatest Gift & Legacy That The Cadigal Left Us.
