Australian Indigenous Peoples Quiz | Australia for Experts

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. These people call themselves Anangu. Their lands extend across what is now the South Australia and Northern Territory border, and some way into Western Australia. In the 1950s, many of their people died from radiation sickness after the British government tested nuclear weapons at Maralinga. In the early 1980s they won back freehold title to parts of their traditional lands, including, in 1983, Uluru and Kata Tjuta. Who are they?

Answer: Pitjantjatjara

Pitjantjatjara is a variety of the Western Desert Language group. Native speakers of members of this language group come from different cultures across a large area in the deserts of the Western Plateau. Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, one of Australia's most famous tourist attractions, is run under a joint management agreement between Anangu and the federal government. Pintupi and Warlpiri lands lie further north than Pitjantjatjara country, on the Northern Territory/Western Australia border area that includes parts of the Tanami Desert. Arrernte land lies further east of these, and includes Alice Springs.

2. These people are the traditional owners and caretakers of the Sydney region. Though this word means "from this place", it has been proudly adopted by members of the Cadigal band and others in the region since invasion to refer to themselves.

Answer: Eora

From the Eora people's language, the words dingo, woomera, wallaby, wombat and others have been incorporated into English. The Wurundjeri people are the traditional owners of parts of the Melbourne region, the Turrbal are the traditional owners of parts of the Brisbane region, and the Larrakia are the traditional owners of the Darwin region.

3. These people's traditional country straddles both sides of the Murray River in the Echuca region. Cummeragunja Station sits on their land, and parts of it were handed back to them in 1983. People from this nation living at Cummeragunja (some by force, some by choice) walked off it in 1939 in a legendary protest against conditions there. A native title claim by these people - the first for Victoria - was rejected by the High Court in 2002, to great public outcry. Famous members include singers Jimmy Little and Lou Bennett, and the painter Lin Onus.

Answer: Yorta Yorta

In 2004, the Yorta Yorta won the right to co-manage parts of their lands with the Victorian government. Their struggle for land justice continues. The Latje Latje, Wadi Wadi and Wemba Wemba are all nations from the Murray River region, whose respective lands lie further downstream than those of the Yorta Yorta.

4. This place is an island in the Torres Strait. Perhaps its most famous inhabitant was Eddie Koiki Mabo, whose landmark 1992 test case in the High Court overturned the legal fiction that Australia was 'terra nullius' (empty land) prior to European colonisation.

Answer: Mer Island

Sadly, Eddie Mabo died before seeing the historic outcome of his labours, but the legal decision will be forever known as 'Mabo'. In English, Mer, the home of the Meriam people, is still known as Murray Island. The Tiwi Islands - Bathurst Island and Melville Island (Yermalner) - are home to the Tiwi, and sit north-west of Darwin. Groote Eylandt (or Angurugu in the Indigenous Anindilyakwa language) is in the Gulf of Carpentaria. K'gari Island is the Indigenous Batjala name for what English speakers call Fraser Island, which lies off the coast of Maryborough, Queensland.

5. These people are the traditional owners and caretakers of the area now known as south-west Western Australia. This word, in various forms, has been a self-referential name for the diverse groups of south-west peoples since before European invasion, and also refers to their common language. Famous members include playwright Jack Davis and novelist Kim Scott.

Answer: Nyungar

Nyungar (or Noongar) country corresponds more or less to the south-west coastal basin, a huge, geologically defined area of south-west Western Australia, extending from south of Geraldton to Cape Arid, and inland to Southern Cross, and including the whole south-west corner. Narrogin, Katanning and Manjimup are all towns on Nyungar country, which bear Nyungar names.

The suffixes '-up' and '-in' or '-ing' are very characteristic of the south-west, and mean 'meeting place' or simply 'place'.

6. Members of this nation staged a famous seven-year strike at Wave Hill Station in the Victoria River region of the Northern Territory. The strike, or walk-off, which began in 1966, was initially protesting the appalling working and living conditions for the station's Indigenous workers, but ultimately it was about land justice. These people finally won back part of their land in 1975.

Answer: Gurindji

The events surrounding the Gurindji walk-off are commemorated in the popular song, 'From Little Things, Big Things Grow' by Kev Carmody and Paul Kelly. The image of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam pouring sand into the hands of traditional owner, Vincent Lingiari, at the return of land remains a moving one to this day, as it was one of the first events since invasion in which an Australian official of European descent showed recognition of Indigenous sovereignty. Lingiari led the walk-off. Kalkarinji is the current name for the former Wave Hill Station site now held freehold by Gurindji. Carmody, of course, co-wrote the wonderful song.

7. This word is found in numerous languages of the south-eastern part of the continent, and means 'person'. However, more commonly today, the word is used to mean any Indigenous person from the south-east, particularly those living in urban areas.

Answer: Koori

Partly, the word Koori has been broadly adopted in the south-east because of the number of Indigenous people who cannot know their ancestry more precisely. The horrific practises of forcibly moving people into missions, taking children away from parents, eliminating traditional languages and cultures, stealing land, and, ultimately, killing people, have left many Indigenous people with severed cultural and family ties.

The Wiradjeri, Yuin and Wathaurong are all peoples from the south-east. Wiradjeri country comprises a very large area of outback New South Wales, Yuin land is on the New South Wales far south coast, and Wathaurong land includes western parts of Melbourne and also country further to the north-west of there.

8. A 2001 feature film depicted a story about these people, focusing on the adventures of one boy. Their traditional lands cover a large area in the north-east corner of Arnhem Land in the far north of the Northern Territory. Famous members include 1992 Australian of the Year Mandawuy Yunupingu and other members of the band Yothu Yindi, and the artist David Malangi, whose artwork appeared on the original Australian one dollar note.

Answer: Yolngu

The film was 'Yolngu Boy'. David Malangi's art work was reproduced on Australian currency without his permission or his knowledge, but he was subsequently compensated when he found out about it. Yindjibarndi are the traditional owners of lands in the Fortescue River area of the Pilbara region in Western Australia. Toogee are a people from south-western Tasmania. Bundjalung country is on the Pacific coast, straddling the New South Wales/Queensland border.

9. This name is synonymous with a prominent legal decision that allowed for the coexistence of Indigenous people's native title land-use rights with the land-use rights of pastoralists. These people took their case against the Queensland government on this matter to the High Court in 1996, and won. Their traditional lands are on the western side of Cape York.

Answer: Wik

The term 'Wik' was not originally used by the Wik peoples to refer to themselves, but is the European anthropological name for their language group. However, it has been adopted by Wik speakers more recently as a self-referential term. John Koowarta was a Wik man who earlier had led a long-running battle against the Queensland Government's outrageous decision to block Aboriginal people from purchasing land.

The Mirrar people successfully fought a very hard campaign in the late 1990s to stop a new uranium mine from opening on their lands at the Jabiluka site in Kakadu National Park, which is in the Northern Territory.

10. Which of the following lists represents peoples from the Lake Eyre and desert regions of South Australia?

Answer: Kokatha, Arabana, Dhirari

The Arabana and Dhirari peoples are the traditional owners and caretakers of the land surrounding Lake Eyre, to the west and east respectively. Kokatha land lies further to the south and west, taking in a broad expanse of desert and dry country. Maasai, Tigre and !Kung are all Indigenous peoples from the continent of Africa (from Kenya/Tanzania, Eritrea and the Kalahari desert respectively). Ainu, Adivasi and Penan are Indigenous peoples from across Asia (Japan, India and Sarawak respectively). Navajo, Cheyenne and Musqueam are Indigenous peoples from North America (the south-west four-corners region, the central great plains, and the Pacific north-west respectively). Even in Australia, people often recognise more Native American nations' names than the names of Indigenous Australian nations.

There are literally hundreds, possibly thousands, of Indigenous language groups, nations, 'tribes', bands, alliances, peoples and other sorts of groupings in Australia. Yet for most people, understanding how they fit together is a difficult task, as there is very little knowledge of Indigenous groupings among most non-Indigenous people (including the quiz writers). This quiz barely scratches the surface. Perhaps more quizzes on the subject can help us all learn a bit more about the incredible cultural diversity of this continent. Some of the information and spelling here was sourced from the 'Aboriginal Australia' map accompanying 'The Encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia' (1994) edited by D. Horton, published by AIATSIS. This was supplemented by information from many other sources, including 'The Macquarie Atlas of Indigenous Australia' (2005) edited by B. Arthur and F. Morphy, published by the Macquarie Library.

Source: Author Phyllis_n_Jean

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Leau before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Australian Indigenous Peoples Trivia Quiz

At the time of European invasion, there were hundreds of cultures and languages on the Australian continent. Test your knowledge of some of the better known Indigenous nations and peoples of the place now known as Australia.

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