Acknowledgement of Country

We acknowledge and respect the Traditional Custodians whose ancestral lands we live and work
upon and we pay our respects to their Elders past and present. We acknowledge and respect the
deep spiritual connection and the relationship that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have
to Country.
We also pay our respects to the cultural authority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and
their nations in South Australia, as well as those across Australia.

The area of Deep Creek Conservation The Kaurna Country consist of the plains
Park lies within lands that are stretched from the north and south from
traditionally occupied by the Tarntanya through the wooded foothills
Ramindjeri (a group belonging to the which range to the east. The Aboriginal
Ngarrindjeri) and Kaurna Indigenous people of today occupy and enjoy the
people. The Aboriginal people of the lands, visitors are asked to respect the
southern Fleurieu Peninsula consist of land and not touch or remove anything.
two language groups, these are The world of the Kaurna was developed
Kaurna and Ngarrindjeri. The with the first arrival, of European explorers
Ngarrindjeri peoples can also identify that settled along the coast line early 1800s,
as numerous alternates names these and then, finally, the South Australian
include; Yaralde, Tangane, Thangal or colonists of 1836 (SA Gov, 2019).
Ngarrindjeri and many others
(Hemming et al., 2002). The link with
the land lies at the heart and soul of
Ngarrindjeri culture.
Dream time stories are a wat of life in the indigenous culture, here is an story called
How the Waters got their Planes. “Way, way back in the first time, when everything
was new, there was a group of Aboriginal people living on a mountain. It was a lovely
place, but everyone was worried. It had not rained for a long, long time and they were
very short of water.
They had some wells but these, except for one, were empty. When it had rained The Kaura language was last was last spoken
before, the water had just run down the side of the mountain, into the sea, which was
far, far away. Now, on the other side of the mountain, there were just some big, dry on a daily basis in the 1860s however, the
plains where nothing grew.
Weeri and Walawidbit were two greedy men. They decided to steal the last of the language is being used in today’s society
water for themselves and then run away.
In secret, they made a large water-carrier, which was called an eel-a-mun. When through small conversations, names and
everyone was asleep, they stole the water from the last well and hurried off.
When the people woke up, there was no water for them. This was very bad, because communities (Amery & Simpson, 1994). By
there were little children and babies needing water and also the old people. And also,
it was very hot. learning this language, it can assist in
The Elders called all the people together and it was then that they saw that two men engaging with the local nunga people and
were missing.
Looking around, they found the tracks of the two men. Quickly, the warriors followed culture, the environments (Fauna, flora, and
these tracks, which led down the other side of the mountain to the big plains and they The people in the day lived the hunter-
bush foods), local places and, and the
could see the men in the distance.
The water-carrier was very heavy and Weeri and Walawidbit were walking slowly. This gatherer’ life style. This entailed the groups to
was because they thought they were safe. However, when they saw the warriors
indigenous language (Amery & Simpson,
coming they ran, too. stay between their tribal groups as families as
The best spearmen in the group ran to a cliff which jutted out and threw all the spears
1994).
they had. One hit the eel-a-mun and dropped off. However, it did make a hole in the the Fleurieu Peninsula provided ample food.
water-carrier. On and on across the plains ran the two men. They did not notice that
Foods such as; native fruits, nectar, edible
the water was leaking out until the carrier was almost empty. This was why they had
been able to run faster and by this time, the warriors had caught up.
The Ngarrindjeri language will impact the
roots, seeds, plants, and animals such as
Now, this was way back in the first time, when very strange things happened. So the future generations of our society, as it is still
warriors took the men back home and the Elders called a big meeting. It was decided possums, frogs, snakes, lizards, fish, birds
that the two men had to be punished for stealing and also, for thinking of themselves used by the elders (Amery, 2010). A
first and not the community. and kangaroos were hunted for food between
So the Wonmutta, the clever man, made some very strong magic and Weeree was Ngarrindjeri dictionary has been created to
changed into the very first emu. He went running down the mountain, out onto the the tribes (South Ocean Retreats, 2019)
plains, in shame. Walawidbit was changed into the very first blue-tongued lizard and help train and keep the language alive
he crawled away to hide in the rocks.
But, a wonderful thing had happened. Wherever the water had leaked onto the plains, (Amery, 2010). This language is the primary
there were now beautiful billabongs, or waterholes. There was grass and flowers and
lovely water lilies and then there were shrubs and trees. And soon, the birds came and aboriginal language used (Amery, 2001).
everyone was happy because there was enough water for everyone. (Dream time,
2019)”.
Reference List

Amery, R., & Simpson, J. (1994). Kaurna. Macquarie Aboriginal words: A dictionary of words from Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
languages, 144-172.

Amery, R. (2010). Monitoring the use of Kaurna. Hobson et al, 56-66.

Amery, R. (2001). Language planning and language revival. Current Issues in Language Planning, 2(2-3), 141-221.

Deep Creek Conservation Park education pack - Natural Resources Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges. (2019). Retrieved 2 October 2019, from
https://www.naturalresources.sa.gov.au/adelaidemtloftyranges/land/our-parks/schools-in-parks/deep-creek-conservation-park-education-pack

Hemming, S., Trevorrow, T., & Rigney, M. (2002). Ngarrindjeri culture. The Murray mouth: exploring the implications of closure or restricted flow,
Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation, Adelaide, 13-19.

History - Southern Ocean Retreats. (2019). Retrieved 3 October 2019, from http://southernoceanretreats.com.au/deep-creek-history/

Kaurna People | Adelaidia. (2019). Retrieved 1 October 2019, from http://adelaidia.sa.gov.au/subjects/kaurna-people