Aboriginal Heritage
In writing on this subject I must be mindful that not a great deal is known about the Wiradjuri custodians of the land being within the area of Junee. I make mention of this because I am referring to the valley area where I live being closer to Junee than Wagga Wagga. The main reason so little is known is that most of the Wiradjuri had died out or were displaced before & during the time of settlement. This left as in most cases nothing of a tangible basis other than obscure trails of stone implements & fragments to show where they had been.
I should point out that I am not making any qualified statements known to be fact in these matters, as my background simply comes from personal experiences & observations over the time I have lived here. Much to my mind is to put forward theories as to what may have been.
However, what also remains is an oral history albeit pieces of information passed down from those early farming settlers. In a broader sense this information is more encompassing to Junee than the location of Meribah & therefore is of vital significance to the history of the wider Junee area.
Subsequently it is my intention in the future to add here what oral history accounts if & when they come to light.
Early settlers like the Whitaker family who settled in the Bethungra hills to the north east of Junee & Cooper family from nearby Eurongilly relate stories that in the 1860s some aborigines were still living in a tribal way within the Bethungra Hills. This may have been attributed to the fact that water could be found there all year round. Something that was pointed out to me by Jim Cooper (now deceased). Jim had a great mind & memory of earlier times.
The Whitaker family in particular lived in close association to aborigines of the time. They endeavored to live harmoniously with them & to protect their way of life. Owen Whitaker whose ancestors I speak of had stories that it was not always apparently plain sailing as there were disagreements along the way.
In his writings of the history at Junee by Mr J. Pratt covering the period from 1855 to 1903 published in the Junee Southern Cross newspaper in 1903 only one reference is made of Aborigines within the district.
In 1868, the same year that gold was first discovered in the district at what is now known as Junee Reefs, the two Station Managers of North & South Junee Stations started to fence their runs. It cost between 25 & 30 pounds per mile and meant the employment of many men. From Sat evening until Mon there would be about 60 of these fencers drinking at the Old Junee pub in the Houlaghans Valley by the creek of the same name. They would keep it up all night, as there was not much chance of being caught for selling liquor there after hours, the nearest Police Station being at Wagga Wagga some 21 miles away by horse.
The township of present day Junee at this time did not exist. Mr Rasch who was the manager of the North Junee Station engaged some 20 aborigines from Wagga Wagga to strip a thousand sheets of box bark. They would draw their cheques, go to the pub, and knock it down all the same as the white fellow.
Closer to home I believe the Houlaghans Valley & associated creek as we know it today provided the local people with not only a place of sustaining them with food, water an shelter, but was an important thoroughfare for traveling Wiradjuri north & south through this valley. All along the way can be seen Kengal or The Rock as we know it today south of the Murrumbidgee River. It is believed this Sphinx shaped Hill was of great spiritual significance, which was attended at certain times of the year for important ceremonies.
This valley is also one of the last to the west which affords hilltop views of what I believe to be important landmarks for the Wiradjuri. From certain vantage points one can see the Bethungra Hills to the East, the Galore Hill to the West, & as mentioned Kengal or The Rock Hill to the South. All significant landmarks to a people who traveled a great deal bound to this land in many spiritual, & religious traditions.
Traveling to the North in this valley one crosses over the southerly land fall or water-shed back to the Murrumbidgee near the village of Combanning. Here the land fall abruptly runs in the opposite direction to the North & onto the Lachlan River Valley being another important location of Wiradjuri occupation.
This was an important stock traveling route through the valley in the early days for cattle & follows that the settlers would travel in the ways of the Aborigine.
Stone implements & fragments of tool making found at Meribah by me over the years bear testimony to the inhabitants here of these earlier periods. Some have been identified as being of western origin, others await study to determine where they have come from. Few scar trees can be found today as most have been lost to land clearing practices. It seems more important than ever before to grasp what little information remains before this too is gone, like the early settlers & the custodians of the Junee dreamtime before them. Junee means Speak to me.
