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The Wiradjuri were the largest aboriginal group in New South Wales. Wiradjuri means 'people of the three rivers', these rivers being the Macquarie , Lachlan and the Murrumbidgee . The Wiradjuri travelled into Alpine Areas in the summer to feast on Bogong Moth s. The Wiradjuri diet included shellfish and fish such as Murray cod from the rivers. In dry seasons, they ate kangaroos, emus, and food gathered from the land, including fruit, nuts, yam daisies, wattle seeds and orchid tubers. Occupation of the land by the Wiradjuri can be seen by carved trees and campsite remainders. Carved trees are more commonly found around the Macquarie and Lachlan rivers in the north rather than the Murrumbidgee in the south. Campsites, which indicate regular seasonal occupation by small groups, have been found on river flats, open land and by rivers. Norman Tindale quotes Alfred Howitt as mentioning several of these local groups of the tribe, for example, the Narrandera (prickly lizard), Cootamundra (Kuta-mundra) from kutamun turtle, Murranbulla or Murring-bulle (maring-bula, two bark canoes). There were differences in dialect in some areas, including around Bathurst and near Albury. The Wiradjuri are identified as a coherent group as they maintained a cycle of ceremonies that moved in a ring around the whole tribal area. This cycle led to tribal coherence despite the large occupied area. Clashes between European settlers and aborigines were very violent from 1839 to 1841, particularly around the Murrumbidgee, and have been termed the 'Wiradjuri Wars'. The loss of fishing grounds and significant sites by the aborigines and the killing of aborigines was retaliated through attacks with spears on cattle and stockmen. In the 1850s there were still corroborees around Mudgee but there were fewer clashes. European settlement had taken hold and the aboriginal population was declining due to the effects of disease and perhaps alcohol use. In the 21st century, major Wiradjuri groups live in Condobolin, Peak Hill, Narrandera and Griffith. There are significant populations at Wagga Wagga and Leeton and smaller groups at West Wyalong, Parkes, Forbes, Cootamundra and Young. NOTABLE WIRADJURI PEOPLE Wiradjuri elders Isabell Coe and Neville "Uncle Chappy" Williams are leading land rights activists and proponents in the Lake Cowal Campaign . WIRADJURI LANGUAGE See Also: Wiradhuri language The Wiradjuri language had effectively died out of everyday spoken use, but has recently been reconstructed from early European Anthropologist's records by Stan Grant , a member of the Wiradjuri Elder's Council, and John Rudder Ph.D., who has previously studied Australian Aboriginal Languages in Arnhem Land . It is a member of the small Wiradhuric Branch of the Pama-Nyungan Family . The name of the town of Wagga Wagga comes from the Wiradjuri word Wagga meaning crow, and to create the plural, the Wiradjuri repeat the word. Thus the name translates as 'the place of many crows'. WIRADJURI CULTURE IN FICTION The short story "Death in the Dawntime", originally published in ''The Mammoth Book of Historical Detectives'' (Mike Ashley, editor; 1995), is a , a British author who spent his formative years in the Australian outback, where he encountered representatives of many aboriginal cultures. EXTERNAL LINKS
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