Traditional owners
It is a plain fact that this beautiful and fertile valley was home for First Nations Australians prior to settlement by Europeans. Evidence of custodianship can be found in axe-grinding grooves, axe heads and other tools, middens, rock art, and traditional stories linked to land formations such as Cambewarra Mountain.
The valley’s fertile soil and varied vegetation would have provided plentiful food resources accessed in accordance with the six annual seasons, the Mudong Cycle (11-12 years) and the minor cycles. Kangaroos, wallabies, possums and lace monitors would have been readily available. Fish and eels swam in the river and creeks and there were also fresh-water shell fish. Feasting on bogong moths was an annual event and a time for social gatherings. It is likely that fire-stick farming was carried out, as well as cultural burning of the landscape to manage vegetation and prevent large-scale bushfire. Fruits, berries, nuts, seeds, roots and other plant-based food would have been gathered and grass seeds harvested. The many caves and overhanging cliffs throughout the valley would have offered shelter for travelers.
A system of walking tracks was maintained, stretching at least 150km from Appin to Jervis Bay following traditional songlines. These tracks allowed people to move from the highlands to the coast to gather food, medicine and other resources. They were also travelled by neighbouring tribes when groups gathered to trade, share knowledge and cultural practices and enjoy ceremonies together.
People living in the valley spoke a southern dialect of the Dharawal language, as well as other local languages. Thirteen Dharawal-speaking clans lived along the east coast from Botany Bay down to the northern banks of the Shoalhaven River. ‘Dharawal’ refers to the cabbage tree palm, which was plentiful throughout this region and was a key part of clan life, providing material for water buckets, the building of shelters and bridges, and making twine for fishing lines and rope.
First explorers and Aboriginal guides
The earliest recorded European to lay eyes on the valley was George Evans, who in 1812 reached the summit of what was then called Good Dog Mountain (near today’s Cambewarra Lookout) and looked west into the valley. He is said to have remarked it was a view “no painter could beautify”. So it remains.
In 1818, Dr Charles Throsby sought a route into the valley from the north, travelling from Liverpool with Aboriginal guides Broughton and Trimalong (also known as ‘Young Bundle’, son of ‘Old Bundle’) over the Meryla Pass and climbing out over Budgong Gap. Another man, Timbery, guided Throsby to the Illawarra; Broughton and Trimalong also guided him further south to Jervis Bay. The descendants of these Aboriginal guides are members of the Jerrinja community and make up a number of well-known families in that community.
Settlement
Settlement occurred as a result of a flourishing dairy industry during the 19th century. The first dairy farm was established in 1846 by Charles McCaffrey on Henry Osborne’s estate. At that time, as recorded by McCaffrey, Aboriginal people lived in each of the five small valleys. He and his family were guided over the escarpment by local Aboriginal people, who also helped with transporting the dray and all the household items.
Osborne was the most prosperous settler but never called the valley home. He was a shrewd businessman who wheeled and dealed in land until he owned nearly 5,000 acres and had licences over 12,000 more. His son Alick sold many of the blocks that now form the main street, offering land for the establishment of the Anglican Church, the rectory, the Catholic Church and the Primary School. The village was even known as Osborne for some time, before the name Kangaroo Valley was settled upon in 1870 with the opening of the post office.
In 1861, two Acts of Parliament made it possible for ‘free selectors’ to buy and own small farming blocks. Families flocked to the area and the village grew with them. By the turn of the century, the community had a post office and two hotels, two banks, shops, churches and several schools.
Reconciliation Allies Kangaroo Valley
In 2024, something to consider is how to portray a history of Kangaroo Valley that acknowledges prior custodianship and goes back into deep time, long before the coming of Europeans. Can an accurate account be given of the impact of dispossession and, furthermore, how do we acknowledge the vital contributions made by First Nations people to settler life in Kangaroo Valley and support an ongoing connection to Country?
Reconciliation Allies Kangaroo Valley is an informal group of around 70 people that formed in 2021 to look into these questions, as guided by local First Nations communities. Currently included as discussion points are the following:
- dual naming for Kangaroo Valley
- a First Nations historical and cultural walking track using QR scanning tools
- a First Nations mural on the new Osborne Park water tanks
- the Pioneer Museum.
If this is of interest to you please contact us at allieskv@gmail.com
1 Drew Longbottom as co-writer
2 ‘D’harawal – Climate and Natural Resources’, compiled by Frances Bodkin, (2019, Enviobook)
3 Les Bursill OAM, ‘The Past is in us, not Behind us’, (2019, Sutherland Shire Reconciliation)
4 Drew Longbottom as co-writer
5 ‘Views and Visions, Stories of Wattamolla and Woodhhill’, (2011, Brogers Creek Landcare Group)
6 https://digital-classroom.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/introduction-robertson-land-acts
