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[Page 7]
GRASSES, ETC.
Grass (generally) ... Ah-rah-ruggum
Grass (blady) ... Un-gurrah
Grass (Kangaroo) ... Nah-wurrah
Grass (used for making dilly bags) ... Udo-roar-ri-jeen
Grass tussocks ... Nah-nee-yell
Reeds ... Nah-rahn-gin
MISCELLANEOUS WORDS
A fight or battle ... Ut-tye-in
A single fight ... Ul-key-mah
Yes ... Nee
No ... Wat-chee
Where? ... Eudah-you-ah-rin
Good ... Lah-roo-ee
Bad ... Yah-will
Quick ... Ah-rin-money
Slow ... Wool-lah-wah
Small ... Boon-mun
Big ... Wil-lah-rah
Heavy ... Wool-lah-wah
Fat ... Goo-ry
Rotton (or putrid) ... U-kah
SOME PLACE NAMES
Grafton – "Woors-roo-middah". Freeburn explained that "Woorsroo" means the human neck. Presumably therefore the locality got its name from the neck of land upon which the town is built. See any large scale swap of the river.
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Elizabeth Island – "Eerie-eerie-id-jah". Literally "edible people". Derived from an ancient fable, or legend, to the effect that, in the dim past, people were killed and eaten upon this island.
Woodford Island – "Moor-loo-wah-hoo". The name (says Freeburn) of the Brushgrove end of the island meaning "many black snakes", "Moorloo" being this reptile's name.
Camira cattle station – "Boo-roo-gin-bah". Place of wind or a windy place.
Clarence River Heads Southside – "Yum-bah". A Sea shell. Freeburn said "a rough shell about as big as a man's fist, clings to rocks and is edible." (not an oyster shell). It is a pity that "Yumbah" has been corrupted to the incorrect "Yamba" by which name the township at Clarence river heads is known.
Clarence River Heads North side (near a quarry) – "Eerie-bunning". Place where bats flit about at night.
Town of Maclean – "Ee-why-ah-arrilay." Many white cockatoos.
Lawrence or the Elbow. – "Ill-boo-yah". "Illboo" means a cough but the connection between a cough and a place name is unexplained.
Lismore – "Dig-ah-rym-bah". "Digary" means sour and here again Freeburn failed to explain any connections between "sour" and Lismore.
Tatham - "Char-gum-bah." Tatham is a village down river from Casino and the native name probably means "place of children" chargum, or "Charchum", meaning a child in the Casino-Lismore dialect.
Dyraaba Cattle station, 15m from Casino. – "Tug-why-bin." The meaning is not clear though "Tug-why-ah" means a messenger.
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SOME PLACE NAMES – Continued.
Wooroowoolgen, Cattle station near Casino. – "Doom-gun." This wind means "a wave", so called, perhaps, because of the wave like appearance of some of the adjacent country. Years ago the Casino blacks denied that the original names of these two stations belonged to their dialect. One man thought that Wooroowoolga might be a corruption of "Wooroocooloom" a magpie. I think Freeburn got the last four names (including those for Lismore and Tatham) from his wife a native of Casino Lismore tribe. Both Cattle stations are on south side of the river.
"Beer-rin-bah" - general name of the Clarence river; Freeburn could give no meaning for this word.
"Cool-que-rin", a large tributary flowing from the south into the lower Clarence and known as the "Coldstream." No meaning given.
Yul-gil-bar. The Moorish castle on the Upper Clarence built by Mr E.D.S Ogilvie in the early sixties and named by him. His eldest daughter gives the meaning as "place of little fish" though her cousin, C.W.Bundock, gives it as "the place of platypi" after "Yulgil" a platypus and "bar" a place (see S.M.Herald January 1st 1923). The Upper Clarence blacks stressed the first syllable as "Yool."
I repeated to Freeburn part of a song which I heard sung by Casino-Lismore blacks many years ago. He knows that dialect so I thought he might be able to explain the meaning of the song which runs thus: –
Goolong andoo norrey lay-hay
Goolong andoo norrey lynn
Nah, been, byne ah mah-jay
Koomurrah mah-jay, wool-lay!
Freeburn said the verse refers to fighting, with blood flowing freely, at some distant period of time, "Koo-mur-rah" meaning blood in Casino-Lismore dialect.
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