Aboriginal History of Byron Bay
The North Coast of New South Wales has been inhabited by Aboriginal people for more than 20,000 years. Unfortunately, due to the changing environment and altered sea levels, campsites used more than 6000 years ago are now under water. Those Aboriginal archaeological sites on the North Coast that remain accessible have been dated to more recent times.
At the time of the first European settlement, the Minjungbal people and around 20 other tribes of the Bundjalung inhabited the area now known as the Northern Rivers. The resource-rich area was home to many Aboriginal land-owning clan groups, each numbering around 100 and subsisting within relatively small territories.
Local Aboriginal groups enjoyed a comparatively settled lifestyle. Long-ranging movement between territories was infrequent, and only undertaken to attend social and ceremonial gatherings. The clans built large comfortable huts of tea-tree bark laid over a frame of bent saplings, and only needed to move short distances for supplies.
Local mythology describes how these territories were known. The area within Cape Byron Headland Reserve was called Currenba ('curraby' meaning gully) because of the water channels, while the Cape itself was known as Walgun (the shoulder). This area was used for ceremony and spiritual inspiration and is featured in many Dreamtime stories. Cape Byron is a place of importance because of its connection with Julian Rocks. The Cape was used as a lookout point and as a ceremonial site with a 'dancing circle' located on the crest of the headland, where the lighthouse stands today.
Many 'middens' (mounds of refuse) could be found along the coastline prior to the advent of sandmining. These mounds contain the remains of meals, stone tools and, occasionally, human burials. The signposted midden at The Pass, representing one of these former campsite heaps, is believed to have been first used around 1,000 years ago. Also recorded in the area are numerous ceremonial grounds, human burial sites and sites related to indigenous mythology.
A sample test excavation of middens at The Pass recovered materials such as marine fish and shellfish, and items taken from the rainforest. Large chopping tools have been found in Palm Valley, are are believed to have been left by clans searching for food and other materials. The rainforest of Palm Valley offered the widest range of both food, plants and other items used for medicinal purposes and the manufacture of material items.
The local Aboriginal people fashioned tools such as shields, spears and boomerangs from the wood or bark of various trees using shell and stone tools. String was rolled from bark, bags woven from grasses, and palm leaves fashioned into containers for liquid. Small animals were often captured in nets crafted from bark fibre, and fish were either speared in the shallows using wooden spears or caught in fine mesh nets.
Records from the 19th century tell of a tribe of about 79, known as the Bumberin Tribe, whose camp was located near where the intersection of Lawson and Fletcher Streets lies today. 'King Bobby', the tribe's leader, was an old man who died two or three years later, his son Harry succeeding to the kingship. There are frequent references to Harry Bray in local historical sources, placing him at Tallow Creek and further south at Midgen Flat before he passed away in 1922. Harry and his wife Clara are buried opposite Byron Bay Golf Club.
The Arakwal people are the acknowledged custodians of the Byron Bay area, and retain a strong role in the maintenance and protection of Aboriginal cultural values. In 1997 an agreement was made between the New South Wales State Government and the custodians, ensuring the Arakwals' role in the management of the Cape Byron Reserve. The agreement also provided land for housing and a site at Paterson Street for the construction of a cultural centre.
