ia GOWRBURRA AND KOOLABURRA TRIBES. 



To the south of the Gowrburra and Koolaburra, another 

 cognate tribe resides, whose hunting grounds extend from Esk 

 and Cressbrook to Crow's Nest, over country watered by Cress- 

 brook Creek, and other tributaries of the Brisbane River, joining 

 it on its right bank. A commencement was made with a 

 vocabulary of this third language, but it was pointed out by 

 Dr. Lauterer, that a list of words in this Wackar tongue already 

 existed in " The Australian Race," vol. Ill, p. 210, by E. M. 

 Curr. No name was given to this tribe by Messrs. W. Lands- 

 borough and M. Curr who supplied the vocabulary, nor is the 

 locality specified, but a comparison of my list witli that of 

 Curr's work proved their similarity. 



The vocabularies presented to this Society are therefore 

 restricted to the two tribes living in the southern extremity of 

 the Burnett basin, or on the Burnett watershed. Many points 

 of resemblance can be noted running through the three 

 languages, and there are twenty words (t) in the Gowrburra list 

 evidently derived from the same roots as the words of similar 

 meaning in Curr's work, but only one word — Bee, the hand — is 

 exactly similar. Comparing the Koolaburra words with Lands- 

 borough's list, twenty-eight words (t) are clearly drawn from the 

 same root; and seven others {l),i.e., Tambor, mouth.', Moo, stom- 

 ach; f'roonaw^, faeces ; 7ioom7o, bark; Ban, grass; M^m, thunder; 

 and Koondo, canoe, are identical. On the other hand, there are 

 many points of divergence, especially in the names of weapons, 

 of family relationship, and even in the numerals. From the 

 Lower Burnett vocabulary given in Curr III, p. 8-13, these difler 

 wholly in the numerals, names of weapons, family relationships , 

 names of sun, moon, &c. 



Every care has been taken in preparing these lists, and it 

 was mentally laid down as an axiom that no word can stand 

 which relies on the statement of a single black. It would have 

 given any onlooker some hours of intense enjoyment, who could 

 have heard me taking my first lesson in Gowrburra from a party 

 of that tribe of all ages, gathered round the veranda of the old 

 Burnett Inn. 



Many of the Koolaburra words were collected by the late 

 Walter Scott, Esq., of Taromeo Station, who spoke the language 



