An old document from the 1800’s is helping a New South Wales coastal region to re-awaken the Indigenous language names for plants and trees.
The original botanic publication was compiled by Doctor Ellis, a knowledgeable Dharawal man from Kangaroo Valley who was an informant to a white botanist settler, William McArthur.
McArthur interviewed Doctor Ellis about the region’s plants and trees as he was interested in growing agriculture.
Dharawal man, Graham Avery (pictured right), was gifted this document by a descendant of Doctor Ellis and it sparked his interest in reviving the Dharawal language for native plants on the South Coast.
Mr Avery is a horticulturalist and conservationist, and says it’s important that Doctor Ellis is acknowledged for his extensive knowledge of the plants.
“I would like to recognize Dr Ellis and I [want] him to be recognized for the Dharawal plant names that he [has] passed on,” he said.
He conducted his own research to create a Dharawal language dictionary. The first task was to update the outdated botanical names.
“When I [was] given [the] William McArthur publication, all the botanical names [were] quite old, and it hadn’t been updated.
“So that’s why I went through and updated the botanical names with the Dharawal names,” Mr Avery said.
He came across a Dharug language dictionary, an Indigenous language from the same region, and this encouraged him to create his own dictionary.
“I made my own Dharawal language dictionary, because the Dharug language in [the] south coast they published their dictionary and, I [thought] oh wow, if they can do it, I can do it.
“I got interested in the Dharug language dictionary [when] they published it in 2018 and I wanted to start making the Dharawal language dictionary because… both of these languages are closely related, but [they have] different names for plants.
The grammar and the languages are [still] quite similar and closely related.”
Mr Avery said Dharug and Dharawal words can be almost identical, so he had to separate them to find the individual Dharawal plant names.
“I realised that the Aboriginal plant names had two different languages in [the] one document.
So, I had to split [the] two different languages apart to say this plant name is from the Dharug language in Sydney, and then this plant name is from the Dharawal language from Illawarra,” Mr Avery said.
He wants to encourage people to use the Dharawal plant and tree names.
“We don’t use the Dharawal plant names, very much, [or] very few of it, we [mostly] use the Sydney plant names… that’s why I love to promote Dharawal language in Dharawal country,” he said.
Mr Avery said his research helped him learn more about his ancestors but it was challenging at times.
“It made me happy to understand [what] species the Dharawal people were relying on.
… There are [also] Dharawal names that are common names, like, for example, one Dharawal name [can also be a] quite common name for all different species.
…That’s why I had to be technical [and] particular of each botanical name, because some Aboriginal names are quite common for all different species but [under] one genus,” he said.
Mr Avery has a hearing impairment, so reading and writing the Dharawal language has been an important way for him to learn.
He says often Indigenous people without a disability can sing, listen to audio tapes, or listen to elders talk in their language.
But he says its just as important to have material for Indigenous people living with a disability, so they can learn and interpret Indigenous dialects in their own way.
Mr Avery is continuing to build on the dictionary and has submitted it to Botanic Gardens of Sydney.
“I’m just sharing my info and my passion [for] this research, and its up to anyone if they want to use it… I just want to keep on sharing and promoting it.”
Featured image is Yeh-dthede or Sydney Red Gum, Smooth-barked apple (Angophore costata) supplied by Graham Avery.
