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Ngooraialum

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Ngooraialum

Ngooraialum were an Australian Aboriginal tribe in central Victoria. They occupied the land along the Goulburn River (which they called Waaring) immediately above Toolamba and centered on Noorillim.

It is estimated that they numbered only 200 persons in 1841.

The neighbouring Bangerang tribe, with whom there were some hostilities, called them Ooraialum. They said of the Bangerang tribe that they were people of the Waaring (Goulburn River) but never referred to themselves as such. It is inferred from this that they had arrived from some other area, possibly Swan Hill.

They had occasionally conflict, intermarriage and trade with their neighbours.

They spoke a dialect of the Aboriginal Daungwurrung language, part of the Kulin branch of the Pama-Nyungan, which is classified as a nearly extinct language of Australia, though currently in the revitalization process. They called the Goulurn River Warring meaning "big or large water".

Today, many Ngooraialum in the Goulburn Valley live in Rumbalara a settlement built in 1958 to replace a shanty town on the edge of Shepparton.

References

Ngooraialum Wikipedia