Yapurarra facts for kids

The Yapurarra or Jaburara people are an Aboriginal Australian group. Their traditional lands are located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia and the Dampier Archipelago.

Language of the Jaburara People

The language spoken by the Jaburara, sometimes called Yaburarra, is believed to have been very similar to the Ngarluma language. Both of these languages are part of a larger group known as the Ngayarda languages.

Traditional Lands of the Jaburara

The Jaburara people traditionally lived on about 518 square kilometres (200 square miles) of land. This area included places like Dampier, Burrup, and Nichol Bay. Their territory also stretched northwards to Dolphin Island and Legendre Island.

First Meetings with Europeans

In February 1817, during one of Phillip Parker King's trips to map the Australian coast, an attempt was made to talk with some Jaburara people. Three men were seen floating on a log near what is now Karratha. The ship's interpreter, Bungaree, tried to communicate with them. Even though he spoke the Dharug language from Broken Bay and couldn't understand them, he helped calm their fears. He did this by taking off his clothes and showing them his ritual scars.

Challenges and Changes for the Jaburara

The Jaburara people, along with other local groups like the Ngarluma and Mardu-Dunera, bravely resisted the arrival of European settlers on their lands. At that time, a common saying among settlers in the region was "a word and a blow: the blow, which is generally fatal, coming first." This shows how dangerous and unfair the situation was for the Aboriginal people.

In 1868, near the town of Roebourne, in an area known as Murujuga (meaning "hip bone sticking out"), two policemen and a local tracker were killed. Three Jaburara men were suspected, caught, and sent to prison.

After this event, two groups of settlers – pearlers from the north coast and pastoralists (people who raise livestock) – were given permission by the authorities to use deadly force "with discretion and judgement." They attacked Jaburara camps from two sides. This terrible event is now known as the Flying Foam massacre. It is believed that up to 60 Jaburara people were killed. In just one camp, about 15 people lost their lives.

This massacre, along with the La Grange massacre, was one of the ways that Aboriginal people were forcibly removed from their lands in north-western Australia. The Flying Foam massacre especially cut off the Jaburara people's connections to the islands. By the early 1900s, only one small family was recorded as still surviving.

Jaburara Heritage and Art

The rich history of the Jaburara people can still be seen today through many important sites. These include old rock quarries and large, ancient petroglyphs (rock carvings). There are also grindstones that Aboriginal women used to make flour from native seeds, as well as old nomadic camps and middens (piles of shells and other waste from past meals).

These sites can be found along the Jaburara Heritage Trail. This trail goes through an area that has some of the most extensive remains of ancient Aboriginal rock art in the world. Some of this amazing art dates back as far as 25,000 years!

Other Names for the Jaburara

• Jaburara-ngaluma (meaning northern Ngaluma)
• Jaburrara-ngarluma
• Madoitja (possibly another name)