Gunggari people

The Gunggari language is a member of the Maric language family. It is closely related to, and sometimes considered a dialect of neighbouring Bidjara and Manandanji languages.[2] As of 2021, there are only 3 native speakers.[3] Since 2013, the language has been taught in St Patrick's school, Mitchell and is being actively revived.

The Gunggari people were first contacted by Europeans in 1846 when Commissioner of Crown Lands, Roderick Mitchell, and his father, surveyor Thomas Mitchell, were on an expedition through the Maranoa District.[4] The following year, Ludwig Leichhardt also made contact[5]

In 1854, Edmund Morey occupied the Mitchell Downs pastoral run, which, after its conversion to a hotel, began the growth of Mitchell.[6] This was resisted by the Gunggari people.

After Australia's federation in 1901, the Australian Government began the systemic removal of many Australian Aboriginals to work on government reserves or missions. In 1906, the first Gunggari people were removed from Forest Vale, with over 100 being removed between 1914 and 1941.[7] Many Aboriginal people of the region took refuge on the Yumba ("Camp"), a shantytown to the east of Mitchell. The Yumba contained houses and humpies, and a schoolhouse until its relocation to Mitchell State School in 1948. In 1968, citing safety concerns from the lack of a sanitation system, the Yumba was demolished and the residents were forced to move into the neighbouring towns.[8]

In the early 1990s, the Yumba's old schoolhouse was returned to the Yumba after successful lobbying from local Aboriginal people. It now stands as a museum of the Yumba.[9]

A 1996 court case[10] permitted Tenneco Energy Australia to install a pipeline through Gunggari, Mandandanji and Bidjarra land. The proposal for a pipeline was approved after the initial application, although this approval was later revoked by the Gunggari people. Smith on behalf of The Gunggari People v Tenneco Energy Queensland Pty. Ltd and The State of Queensland and Goolburri Aboriginal Corporation Land Council ruled that Tenneco Energy could carry on with construction.

In 2012, the Gunggari People were granted native title over 1,184km²[11] of land. In 2014, a further 146.2km²[12] was granted as native title. After a third determination, the Gunggari People have native title over approximately 19,400km²[13] of land, greatly exceeding the initial application for 13589.2km[14] of land.

Throughout most of the First World War, Indigenous Australian involvement was forbidden, and all identified Indigenous applicants were rejected or sent home during training. In 1917, this ban was partially lifted to allow "half-castes" with one European parent to enlist. At least 8 Gunggari men enlisted in Roma and joined the 49th Infantry Battalion, 10th reinforcements.

• Johnathan Thurston (b. 1983), former rugby league player