Curio

State Library of New South Wales
Aboriginal names and words of the Cammeray Tribe

Aboriginal names and words of the Cammeray Tribe

1884-1907
Manuscript
Am 1 / Folder 1
Presented by Miss Hendy Pooley 1912

“On explaining to Dick my desire to obtain a knowledge of his language and an insight into the manners and customs of his countrymen, he told me at once 'not to ask questions," that "blackfellows don’t like to be cross-questioned," that " black-fellows tell too much gammon " but to look about consequently, by following Dick's advice when visiting his or other encampments in different localities, I secured much information.”* - John F. Mann, Letter to the Editor Sydney Morning Herald June 20, 1900

The Surveyor General Department‘s licensed surveyor, John Frederick Mann (1819-1907) compiled this random list of words based upon information given to him by a Cammeraigal man named Long Dick. The words originate from Long Dick’s tribe- the Cammeraigal people- of Sydney’s North Shore.

This five page document is unusual, as it names the Aboriginal informant- Long Dick. Generally, the recording of Aboriginal language lists and vocabularies are only known by the person who compiled it. This list also features several paragraphs of explanatory notes and translations in English.

* John F. Mann, Letter to the Editor Sydney Morning Herald 22 June, 1900
Transcription, Trove http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/14319527?searchTerm=long%20dick

Long Dick was the son of two well known Sydney colonial identities- Cora Gooseberry and Bungaree, whose many achievements include being the first Aboriginal man to circumnavigate Australia. 

The suburb of ‘Cammeray’ on Sydney’s North Shore is named after the Cammeraigal people. 

The explorer and artist Pavel Mikhailov who travelled with Faddei Faddeevich Bellingshausen’s 1819-1821 Russian expedition to Antarctica, created a family portrait of Bungaree and his family, which includes Long Dick.

Boio was Long Dick’s traditional name.