# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Explore the highways of regional Australia

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Toowoomba to Bunya Mountains

Toowoomba to Bunya Mountains 2 hours | 147 KM

From Brisbane, head to the vibrant city of Toowoomba to begin your journey. Take some time to explore the city, there's a lot on offer from the spectacular views at Picnic Point to the fascinating displays and workshops at Cobb+Co Museum. From Toowoomba, follow the Warrego Highway west through Oakey, Jondaryan and Dalby- stop off at the Australian Army Flying Museum, the Woolshed at Jondaryan or the Dalby Pioneer Museum.

Make your way North via Jimbour where you can view the historic-listed Jimbour House; then head onwards through the picturesque country township of Bell.From Bell, make your way to Bunya Mountains National Park, Queensland's second oldest National Park. This natural wonderland was formed about 30 million years go and shelters the largest stand of ancient bunya pines in the world today. The Bunya Mountains is a mix of moist rainforest, grasslands, open forests and woodlands and is home to distinct plant and animal communities, with over 30 rare and threatened species. There are many accommodation options for an extended stay, welcoming cafes and a fine dining experience on offer.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Great Bunya Drive - Explore the highways of regional Australia

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Great Bunya Drive is a scenic self-drive route meandering through 390 kilometres of beautiful country landscapes between Toowoomba and Gympie, encompassing both the Darling Downs and South Burnett regions. Come explore wineries, cafes, heritage museums and stunning national parks.

# data[].attributes.body
📎 Video
Zyreen Fernando
Zyreen Fernando
The Port of Brisbane at Fisherman Island is a healing site for the Turrbal people. 

Maroochy, meaning "red nose one" refers to a black swan which is one of the totems of the Turrbal people.  Maroochy Barambah, a Turrbal songwoman whose totem is a black swan, is responsible for taking care of sites along the Brisbane River dreaming track to Maroochy River on the Sunshine Coast.
Camille Hardy
Camille Hardy
Antonia Hanley
Antonia Hanley
Waterworks Road was built on one, the Turrbal name for Ashgrove (Killindarbin), local camping grounds, fishing spots, food. He also told us stories about what Ashgrove was like when he was growing up and how deep the swimming holes were.

Photo from John Oxley Indigenous Collection
Camille Hardy
Camille Hardy


arrow_back

zoom_in

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Turrbal (Brisbane) Elder Uncle Joe Kirk tells his story

# data[].attributes.body
The Port of Brisbane at Fisherman Island is a healing site for the Turrbal people.

Maroochy, meaning "red nose one" refers to a black swan which is one of the totems of the Turrbal people.  Maroochy Barambah, a Turrbal songwoman whose totem is a black swan, is responsible for taking care of sites along the Brisbane River dreaming track to Maroochy River on the Sunshine Coast.

# data[].attributes.body
Waterworks Road was built on one, the Turrbal name for Ashgrove (Killindarbin), local camping grounds, fishing spots, food. He also told us stories about what Ashgrove was like when he was growing up and how deep the swimming holes were.

Photo from John Oxley Indigenous Collection

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Turrbal (Brisbane) Elder Uncle Joe Kirk tells his story

# data[].attributes.body
Most of the Turrbal clans lived along the Brisbane river as This was an essential Source of livelihood,  They got all of their food source from the river.

# data[].attributes.body
Tom Petrie recalled in his writing in 1901 that, as a young boy he used to catch tortoises with Turrbal children in the swamp at New Farm – which meant “a place of the land tortoise”.  Binkenba was the Turrbal name for New Farm.  Kurilpa was the Turrbal name for West End – which meant “a place for rats”.

# data[].attributes.body
John Oxley, in 1824, noted a large assemblage of Turrbal people along the present-day site of the Wesley hospital, the Regatta hotel and Coronation Drive on account of water being present there.

# data[].attributes.body
Like many indigenous peoples, they used scarring as both initiation and decoration.  The men wore scars down the midline of their bodies that resembled currents or waves in a large stream or river.  Their women wore scars to represent the ripples of a shallow flood plain.  In a way, the Turrbal truly wore their hearts on their sleeves.

# data[].attributes.body
The Brisbane River was an essential source of livelihood for the Turrbal people. The Brisbane River supported the livelihoods and lifestyles of the Turrbal people for fishing and other spiritual and recreational activities.

# data[].attributes.body
The Turrbal people of North Brisbane were the original owners of the country around the Boondall Wetlands.
The Turrbal made their own medicines using the plants in their environment.

# data[].attributes.body
Aboriginal customary law:
Customary law is a set of beliefs, customs and practices that emanates from Dreamtime. It is a pre-existing system of laws, traditions and practices which predates European settlement in Australia. Contrary to popular views, customary law is not uniform in Australia, yet similarities exist. It can vary from tribe to tribe, clan to clan and from family groups to family groups. It is an intricate system of laws that regulate the Aboriginal societies in Australia.

Brisbane's Local Aborigines: the Turrbal People
https://sandgatess.eq.edu.au/Supportandresources/Formsanddocuments/Documents/indigenous-heritage-document.pdf

# data[].attributes.body
The Turrbal people of North Brisbane were the original owners of the country around the Boondall Wetlands. The suburb now known as Sandgate was originally known as Cabbage Tree Creek. The Turrbal people called the area Warra which means a stretch or expanse of water.
Before European settlement, the land, the river and its tributaries were the source and the support of life. The river's abundant supply of food included fish, shellfish, crabs and shrimps. The good fishing places became campsites and the focus of group activities.

# data[].attributes.body
1823, the three castaways (Pamphlett, Parsons and Finnegan) had a rather tense encounter with some of the Turrbal people in the vicinity of the present-day central business district.

Part of that process is the publication of a Turrbal history book The Surviving Turrbal which the Turrbal people hopes will form an integral part of history and social science studies in schools all over their ancestral homelands.  Maroochy says that it is very important that Queenslanders know and understand their true history.  This is not an era for blaming or finger pointing.

# data[].attributes.body
In Turrbal thought, the origins of the division of the sexes was attributed to two distinct birds. Men all came from the billing (a small house bat). Women in turn had their descent from a wamankan (night-hawk). They could not be eaten, but capturing and killing them was permitted.

# data[].attributes.body
The language spoken by the Turrbal people is classified as extinct. There were four distinct dialects, and there are no current speakers or writers of any of them.

# data[].attributes.body
The tribe were clans and family groupings, which were responsible for their own areas, looked after the land and the well being of their people. the Turrbal people were fishing people. Brisbane river was an essential source of livelihood for the Turrbal people. Many lived along the Brisbane river and its associated waterways, particularly before European settlement. Brisbane river supported lifestyles of the turrbal people for fishing and other spiritual and recreational activities

# data[].attributes.headline
The Turrbal land covered from Moggil to North Pine to the Logan River

# data[].attributes.subject
The Turrbal land covered from Moggil to North Pine to the Logan River

# data[].attributes.body
The Turrbal clan occupied the northern side of the Brisbane River. White settlers often referred to this clan as the ‘Duke of York’s clan’.
Breakfast Creek, just outside Ascot’s suburb boundary, was known by the Turrbal people as Yowoggerra, meaning Corroboree Place. The Turrbal had camping grounds around the area. The explorers Oxley and Cunningham met clan members at the creek’s mouth in 1824.

# data[].attributes.body
The tribe were clans and family groupings, which were responsible for their own areas; looked after the land and the well being of their people

Each tribe had its own boundary, which was well known, and none went to hunt, etc., on another’s property without an invitation, unless they knew they would be welcome, and sent special messengers to announce their arrival.

The Turrbal or Brisbane tribe owned the country as far north as the North Pine River, south to the Logan River, and inland to Moggill Creek.

The people of the Turrbal tribe all spoke the same language.

Many lived along the Brisbane River and its associated waterways, particularly before European settlement.  The Brisbane River supported the livelihoods and lifestyles of the Turrbal people for fishing and other spiritual and recreational activities

# data[].attributes.body
Prior to the European settlement there were about 5,000 aborigines in the Brisbane area.
The coming and going of ships brought diseases for which the Aborigines had no immunity, and whole communities died out.

# data[].attributes.body
The earliest historical records suggest that Brisbane was well inhabited by the Turrbal people.  In fact, this dense inhabitation was one of the many reasons, which attracted the early settlers to ‘Meeaan-jin’ (Turrbal name for Brisbane) following their initial abortive settlement at Humpybong (Redcliffe) in 1824.  The various pathways (Aboriginal tracks) that had existed since the Dreamtime were later to form the basis of road infrastructures around Brisbane today.  Examples of these include Waterworks Road and the Old Northern Road.  Waterworks Road for example was built on a Turrbal pathway that led Mount Coot-tha – a place of the honey-bee Dreaming.  The Old Northern Road was the pathway that led to triennial Bunya feast in Wakka Wakka country.  Toowong had a ceremony ring upon which a pub (The Regatta Hotel) is believed to be standing today.

# data[].attributes.body
The Turrbal or Brisbane tribe owned the country as far north as the North Pine River, south to the Logan River. Within the tribe, there were clans and family groupings, which were responsible for their own areas where they looked after the land and the well being of their people.
The original inhabitants of the Brisbane area, that has enticed some neighboring tribal groups such as "Jagera."

# data[].attributes.body
The Turrbal people were fishing people. The Brisbane River was an essential source of livelihood for the Turrbal people.  Creeks and swamps around Brisbane were vital food sources.

The Brisbane River supported the livelihoods and lifestyles of the Turrbal people for fishing and other spiritual and recreational activities.

The Turrbal People were the original owners of the country around the Boondall wetlands. The suburb known as Sandgate was originally known as Cabbage Tree Creek. The Turrbal people called the area Warra which means an expanse or stretch of water.