Toogee language facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Toogee |
|
|---|---|
| Southwestern Tasmanian | |
| Region | South-western coast of Tasmania |
| Ethnicity | Toogee |
| Extinct | 19th century |
| Language family |
Northern–Western Tasmanian?
|
| AIATSIS | T10 |
Southwestern Tasmanian, also known as Toogee, was a language spoken by the Aboriginal people of Tasmania. It is now extinct, meaning no one speaks it anymore. This language was likely used along the west coast of the island, in an area south of Macquarie Harbour.
We don't have many records of the Toogee language. Only one list of words was ever collected. This list was put together in Port Davey by George Augustus Robinson. He got the words from the Ninenee Tribe, who lived near Bathurst Harbour. There are 131 words in the list, but some might be from other Tasmanian languages. Because there are so few words, it's hard for experts to fully understand how this language was related to others.
The Toogee People
The Toogee were Aboriginal people who lived in Western Tasmania, Australia. They lived there long before Europeans settled in the area. Their home region included Macquarie Harbour.
This tribe had two main groups, called the Lowreenne and the Ninegin. The Toogee people were skilled at making tools from stone. They even used a special natural glass called Darwin Glass. This glass was formed when a meteorite hit the Earth a very long time ago.
Evidence of the Toogee people's lives goes back 20,000 years! Scientists have found ancient tools and other items in a place called Kuti Kina Cave. The Toogee also left behind piles of shells, known as middens, along the coast. These middens show what they ate and how they lived by the sea.
