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A Brief History of North Stradbroke Island.
Recognized sites of cultural significance to the local community exits on Straddie.
These sites include birthing sites, burial sites, bora rings, midden sites and geographical features such as lakes, creeks, hills and trees. Members if the indigenous community has strong and passionate feelings about any form of disturbance of the land. Indigenous occupancy of these lands and waters date back some 20,000 years.
The Minjerribah (NSI) indigenous community belongs to the Jandai language group and comprises of three groups, Nunukul, (Amity Point area), Koenpul (South of Dunwich) and Ngugi (Moreton Island). Anthropological evidence shows that due the variety in their diet they were a strong and tall race of people. Their diet consisted of a variety of marine life such as dugong, mullet caught in tow rows (made from cotton tree bark), whelks, oysters and eugaree. Wallaby, kangaroo and other small mammals such as possum, flying fox and bandicoot supplemented the diet when required. Bungwal fern was collected from swamps, pounded, made into flour and cooked in coals. Honey, nuts and berries also added variety to their diet.
Minjerribah women were particularly noted for their baskets, made from swamp reeds. They used a unique weaving knot, which gave the fibre strength, and the baskets were sought after items of trade. Initiation ceremonies were carried out (of both men and women). Scarifications of the face, chest, and back were features identifying tribal groups and status.
Their travel extended from the Brisbane River and Moreton Island in the North, through to Logan River and South Stradbroke Island in the South, as they hunted, gathered and net with other tribes of the area for cultural exchange. Each year they visited the Bunya Mountains for several weeks for corroborree (song and dance), feasting, trade, and competition, along with tribes from Southern regions of Queensland.
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