Yued facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Yued

Bibbulmun, Jun-ar
Yued, also called Juat, in relation to other Noongar tribes
Total population
600 (2016, est.)
Regions with significant populations
Moora
Languages
Yued (dialect of Noongar)/ Aboriginal English
Related ethnic groups
Noongar Aboriginals and 13 of its other groups- Amangu, Ballardong, Kaneang, Koreng, Mineng, Njakinjaki, Njunga, Pibelmen, Pindjarup, Wardandi, Whadjuk, Wiilman and Wudjari.

The Yued people are one of 14 groups of Noongar Aboriginal Australians. They have lived in the South West of Western Australia for about 40,000 years. The area where they live is also called Yued. Other spellings include Juat, Yuat, and Juet.

European explorers first visited the Yued area in the 1600s. But it was not settled by Europeans until George Fletcher Moore arrived in 1836. In 1846, a Spanish monk named Rosendo Salvado started a Catholic mission. This mission became New Norcia, which is the only monastic town in Australia. Some Yued people lived there.

Later, European settlement brought new government rules. These rules, like the Aborigines Act of 1905, tried to make Aboriginal people live like Europeans. This led to the creation of settlement camps, such as the Moore River Settlement. These camps caused health problems and forced Yued people away from their traditional lands.

Today, there are many projects to keep Yued culture alive. These include setting up native titles, creating heritage plans, and running cultural community programs.

Yued Language and Communication

When Europeans first settled in Australia, Yued was one of 13 dialects of the Noongar language. The Yued language was part of the Djiralay (northern dialect) group. This was one of three main dialect groups in the wider Noongar region. The other two were Kongal-Boyal (south-eastern) and Kongal-Marawar (south-western).

After European settlement, fewer Yued people spoke their native language. This was because of rules that stopped Aboriginal people from practicing their culture. Today, most Yued people speak Aboriginal English. Only a few fluent Yued speakers remain.

Common Noongar Words in Different Dialects

Here are some common Noongar words and how they sound in the three main dialects:

Names for the Yued Region

It is not fully clear if "Yued" was the original name the people used for themselves. Some believe it was a name used by non-Yued people. However, in the 1800s, Aboriginal people living in New Norcia called themselves "Jun-ar." This was written down by Rosendo Salvado.

Some research suggests that local Noongar people called the Yued region "Minnalyungar." This means "Southern People" and was a name given by people from the north. Another name was "Jaburu-Jungara," a Whadjuk name meaning "north" by locals. Today, local people often use "Yuat" to describe themselves.

Yued Geography and Land

Under the Yued Native Title agreement, the Yued region covers about 22,000 square kilometers. It stretches from the coast of Western Australia inland. The towns in this region include Leeman, Jurien Bay, Cervantes, Two Rocks, Toodyay, Gingin, Calingiri, Lancelin, Dalwallinu, Coorow and Moora.

Important Places in Yued Country

Many places in the Yued region are important to the Yued people. They are listed as Aboriginal Heritage sites. This shows their cultural value.

Examples of Heritage Sites

Plants and Animals of the Yued Region

The Yued region has a Mediterranean to semi-arid climate. This climate helped unique plants and animals grow. These plants and animals were a vital food source for the Yued people.

Flora and Fauna Used by Yued People

Traditional Yued bush food

Yued Culture and Traditions

Mythological Beliefs: The Rainbow Serpent

A very important spirit for the Noongar people, including the Yued, is the Rainbow Serpent. This mythical figure is known in many Aboriginal Australian cultures. In Noongar culture, it is called Waugal (also Waakal, Waakle, Waagal, or Wogal).

The Waugal is special to the Yued people because they believe it created the Moore River. Because of this, the river is known as a Dreaming Track. The river was important for many Yued activities, such as meeting, camping, and birthing sites. Many believe the Waugal still lives in the deep pools of the Moore River.

Daily Activities and Seasons

Before European settlement, the Yued people moved around with the seasons. In springtime, they would go to swamps and estuaries. Here, they found plenty of food like freshwater turtles and frogs. These areas became meeting places with the Amangu people in summer and early autumn. They would camp and trade goods.

The Yued and other Noongar people traded based on the six Noongar Seasons. A common trading place was called a Mandurah, which was a type of fair or meeting place. The Yued people were known for making and trading cutting and fighting tools. These included the Dowak (a heavy hunting stick) and D-Yuna (a stick used in wars).

Tools used by the Yued people

Social Structure

The Yued region had a social system with six classes or sections of people. A person's class was passed down from their mother. These classes also acted as family names:

• Tiraop
• N-Oiognok
• Palarop
• Tondorop
• Mondorop
• Jiragiok

There were specific rules about who could marry whom. For example, people could not marry someone from the same class.

Culture During European Settlement

Government rules, like those that led to the Stolen Generations (when Aboriginal children were taken from their families), made it hard to keep cultural practices alive. However, some Yued people went to reserves and river sites. Here, they could continue some traditional ways of life. One practice was initiation ceremonies for young boys becoming men.

European Settlement in Yued Country

The Yued region changed a lot after Europeans arrived in Australia. The earliest European visits were by Dutch trading ships between 1656 and 1658 near the Moore River. But actual settlement did not begin until 1836. That's when Irish explorer George Fletcher Moore visited the Garban River, which was later renamed Moore River after him.

Settlers were drawn to the Yued region because of its rich land and good yam fields. They started farming around the towns of Moora and Gin Gin. George Grey, a governor, noted how much hard work Aboriginal people had put into farming the land. The first permanent settlers arrived in 1846.

At first, Yued people helped explorers and settlers. They gave advice on farming and helped find water. Some even worked on farms. But soon, Yued people's lives became difficult. They were often forced off their land and moved to the edges of towns. New diseases brought by settlers, like bronchitis and measles, also caused health problems.

New Norcia Mission

In 1845, a Catholic mission led by Spanish monk Rosendo Salvado started near the Moore River. Salvado wanted to teach Aboriginal people farming skills without making them lose their Indigenous identity. He brought Yued people from Gin-Gin and Moora to live at the mission. They were given housing and land to farm, and some worked for the mission. This community grew into the town of New Norcia.

By 1847, some Yued parents allowed their children to live with the monks. The New Norcia Mission began housing and teaching young boys. Salvado believed the mission could not care for girls at first, but this changed in 1861. The mission gave Indigenous children a structured education, chores, and lessons in sports and music. To raise money, Salvado took five Yued children to Europe. He wanted to show how "Native" children were successfully learning European ways. By 1858, 92 Aboriginal people, including 26 children, lived at New Norcia.

Later, problems arose at New Norcia. Aboriginal residents felt they were not being cared for properly. Government funding decreased, and the mission's goals changed. In 1911, residents were encouraged to leave. Some found jobs near Perth, while others moved to the edges of towns.

Living on the Town Edges

Many Yued people who left New Norcia joined others living on the outskirts of towns like Moora. The 1905 Aborigines Act aimed to reduce contact between Aboriginal people and settlers. This led many Yued people to create homes on the edges of towns, in areas called reserves. The Karramarra reserve was created by the state in 1916. Other well-known reserves included Moora Reserve, Mogumber reserve, and Walebing reserve. After the Moora Camp closed in 1920, Walebing became a permanent home for Yued people.

Because many reserves were near Moora, it became a central place for the Yued community. Family names of Aboriginal pioneers in the Moora District include Jackamarra, Taylor, Spratt, Narrier, Anderson, Headland, Yappo, Warrell, Wyatt, and Boota.

Life in these camps was often difficult. Records show that Aboriginal residents sometimes had to ask for food in town. Townspeople also complained about hygiene and fighting in the reserves. However, these camps helped Yued people keep some traditions alive during a time of forced cultural change.

Settlement Camps and Changes

In 1915, the Western Australian government set up the Carrolup settlement. This was part of its assimilation policies to separate Aboriginal people from the wider community. In 1918, the Moore River settlement camp was built nearby. This camp housed Aboriginal people from other groups in the Yued region. It could hold 400 people from Gingin to Northampton, including children from the Murchison district.

In the 1960s, life improved for Yued people. The 1905 Aborigines Act was removed, and settlement camps closed. The Moora Shire Council approved building new homes for Aboriginal families. This reduced the need for people to live on the edges of towns.

Challenges with Jobs

For much of the 1900s, many Aboriginal people in the Yued region struggled to find jobs. This was due to social racism and the strict rules of the 1905 Aborigines Act. This act tried to keep Aboriginal people in settlement camps. It limited their freedom to find work and reduced the land they could farm.

Other reasons for joblessness included more competition from European immigrants. The Great Depression also caused economic problems. Many Yued people relied on government food and small payments for simple jobs. For example, they might collect firewood for settlers in exchange for tobacco. Some also earned money by selling propsticks, which were commonly traded by Aboriginal people. In 1970, out of 260 Aboriginal people in Moora, only 35 had jobs. About 100 others needed work.

Programs to Support Culture and Jobs

In the 1980s, Yued leaders started thinking about vocational skills classes. These classes aimed to help with joblessness and strengthen Yued culture.

In 1985, Wendy Passamani, a Yued descendant, started one of the first self-employment programs in Moora. This course taught people how to spin wool and use weaving tools to make textiles. Over time, interest in the program faded, and it closed.

In 1986, Yuat elder Edward (Ned) Mippy led cultural awareness programs in schools, especially St Joseph School. These programs helped Yued children reconnect with their culture. Activities included teaching the Yued language, sharing Dreamtime stories, and teaching bushcraft skills like using spears and boomerangs.

Yued Artefacts Workshop

In July 1986, Edward Mippy started the "Yued artefact workshop." This workshop was held in Church Hall. It taught Yued adults how to make traditional items by hand. These included boomerangs, spears, spear throwers, shields, and traditional Yued-style huts called maya-maya. The workshop was officially named "Yued Nyoongar Kaat Maya," meaning "Headquarters of the Yued people." The items made were often used in monthly Yued community celebrations.

These artefacts were sold in local shops, including the Moora Service Station, Walebing Roadhouse, and local Arts and Crafts exhibitions. The program received money from the Western Australian Department of Employment, Education & Training. Trainees had a contract and worked 20 hours a week for $150.

The workshop officially opened in February 1990. It received good reviews from the community. An article said that Aboriginal people in Moora were "turning their hand to commerce and in the process discovering talents they did not realise they had." They made many items, hoping to sell them to tourists. When Mippy died in 1992, and funding stopped, the workshop's future was uncertain. However, government funding returned, and a new building was created for the workshops in 1995. The workshops were praised for helping Yued people culturally and economically, though some people did criticize them.

Yued People Today (1990 onwards)

Since the 1990s, many more efforts have been made to preserve Yued culture.

Examples of Cultural Preservation Projects

Aboriginal Population in 2016

The 2016 census showed that the Aboriginal population in most Yued towns was 2–3%. However, in Moora, 13.4% of the population identified as Aboriginal.

Breakdown of Aboriginal Population in Yued Towns