Creation of the Hunter Valley

As told by James Wilson-Miller

and illustrated by Charlotte Craven-Miller

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the Wonnarua people of the  Hunter Valley, New South Wales.

We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

Creation of the Hunter Valley

Story by James Wilson-Miller

Illustrated by Charlotte Craven-Miller

This digital book was commissioned by

Wonnarua Nation Aboriginal Corporation (WNAC)

and

Australian Catholic University.

Australian Catholic University Limited acknowledges that

this digital storybook embodies cultural knowledge of

the Wonnarua community.

Charlotte Craven-Miller

Charlotte Craven-Miller is a proud Wonnarua full-time artist. The Wonnarua Nation belongs to the Hunter River Valley region of New South Wales. Her artistic skills and works encompass realism, portraiture, images, and abstract art. Her artistic works are inspired by her rich Wonnarua cultural heritage drawing upon The Dreamings and the Wonnarua peoples’ connection and belonging to Country. She is the artist of the seminal Wonnarua portraiture entitled: Wonnarua Elders commissioned by the Wonnarua Nation Aboriginal Corporation. She is the illustrator of the e-book The Frog that Grew commissioned by the University of Technology and Science, New South Wales. She was commissioned by the Australian Catholic University Limited and the Wonnarua Nation Aboriginal Corporation Australia to write and illustrate the children’s e-book Burning Mountain and illustrate Creation of the Hunter Valley, Deadly Firestick Farming, Deadly Community, Deadly Voice, Jimmy and the Water Cart and Baiame Cave and St Clair Mission. She is the recipient of two Mil-Pra Aboriginal Education Consultative Group Indigenous Art Prizes, the Riverwood Youth Art Prize, and her works have been purchased and commissioned by governments, universities, organisations and individuals.

Email: [email protected]

Photo of Uncle James Wilson-Miller

Uncle James Wilson-Miller

James Wilson-Miller is a Senior Elder of the Gringai Clan of the Wonnarua Nation in the Hunter River Valley, NSW.  He has spent his life educating, researching and representing his people at local, state and national levels. He is a renowned Australian Aboriginal historian and the author of the bestselling book Koori: A Will to Win which was the first of its kind synergistically combining Western scientific history methodology with Indigenous oral history. This research helped ignite a proliferation of the documentation of Aboriginal history research and a new generation of Indigenous historians. Evincing his distinguished contributions to Australia he was awarded the Centenary Medal for contribution made to Australian society and an honorary Doctorate of Philosophy from the Australian Catholic University for his contributions to advancing Indigenous education theory, research and practice.

Email: [email protected]

Photo of Charlotte Craven-Miller

Hello girls and boys.

Uncle is what many girls and boys call me to show their respect for older people.

                                     My name is Uncle Jimmy  and I’m a Senior Wonnarua Elder from the Hunter Valley.

Now I’m not your real uncle.

My homeland is in the country not in the city
and it was created a very long, long time ago in a time before time, in what my old people call the Dreaming.

not mean when we are asleep, it means the time when everything was made.

 Now the Dreaming does

My homeland was always there but mountains, trees, flowers, birds, animals and people like you and me were not.

Wow!

yet formed or made.

That's scary hey?

Everything was not

Our all father creator, Baiame created spirits to help him make my Wonnarua homelands for all to live in.

Spirits began opening their eyes, eyes which had been sleeping for a very long time.

really strange reason, all things started moving and shaking.

Now for some

Many of these spirits knew they belonged, others did not.

A lot of these spirits started arguing and pushing each other around, while some went back to sleep again.

They began to shape forms, many, many forms.

When all these spirits settled down and woke up again, they had a big meeting to decide what to do.

They made a decision

to start shaping what was nothing into something.

Now some of these forms began to

fly like birds, bats, flying foxes, insects and beautiful little butterflies.

They also made forms like fish, turtles, eels and frogs.

Some of these forms started to hop like kangaroos and wallabies.

The spirits kept on making more forms and these forms crawled, crept and wriggled such as lizards, goannas and snakes.

They also made animals with four legs like dingoes, wombats and native cats.

By now many spirits began to get very, very tired but there was no time to rest as there were even more forms to make!

Lastly they made forms which walked on two legs - humans, like you and I.

Forms like trees, bushes, grasslands, hills, valleys and mountains for all these forms to live on.

They all went to Baiame to show him what they had made and that their work was completed.

By now the spirits were really, really tired from making all these forms from nothing into something.

He began by creating the sun so every living thing could see during the day.

Baiame was pleased, his creation spirits had done their job and now it was Baiame’s turn to create the finishing touches.

He then made the moon and stars so everyone could see at night.

He passed laws that people could use to live and work by and lores to explain why everything was made for them.

something was still missing, something to keep life going on and on.

But

The land started shaking again but this time more violently than before and the ground parted and a mighty flowing river appeared.

It

Baiame called it the Myan and it has kept Wonnarua homelands, people and animals alive ever since it was created.

continues to help the Wonnarua People to this very day

That, boys and girls, was how my beautiful homeland was created.

Hello girls and boys. My name is Uncle Jimmy and I’m a Senior Wonnarua Elder from
the Hunter Valley. Now I’m not your real uncle. Uncle is what many girls and boys call
me to show their respect for older people.
My homeland is in the country not in the city and it was created a very long, long time
ago in a time before time, in what my old people call the Dreaming. Now the Dreaming
does not mean when we are asleep, it means the time when everything was made.
My homeland was always there but mountains, trees, flowers, birds, animals and
people like you and me were not.
Wow! That’s scary hey? Everything was not yet formed or made.
Our all father creator, Baiame created spirits to help him make my Wonnarua
homelands for all to live in. Now for some really strange reason, all things started
moving and shaking.
Spirits began opening their eyes, eyes which had been sleeping for a very long time.
Many of these spirits knew they belonged, others did not.
A lot of these spirits started arguing and pushing each other around, while some went
back to sleep again.
When all these spirits settled down and woke up again, they had a big meeting to decide what to do. They made a decision to start shaping what was nothing into
something.
They began to shape forms, many, many forms. Now some of these forms began to fly
like birds, bats, flying foxes, insects and beautiful little butterflies.

Creation of Hunter Valley Full Text

Some of these forms started to hop like kangaroos and wallabies.
The spirits kept on making more forms and these forms crawled, crept and wriggled
such as lizards, goannas and snakes.
They also made animals with four legs like dingoes, wombats and native cats.
They also made forms like fish, turtles, eels and frogs.
By now many spirits began to get very, very tired but there was no time to rest as there
were even more forms to make! Forms like trees, bushes, grasslands, hills, valleys and
mountains for all these forms to live on.
Lastly they made forms which walked on two legs - humans, like you and I.
By now the spirits were really, really tired from making all these forms from nothing
into something.
They all went to Baiame to show him what they had made and that their work was
completed.
Baiame was pleased, his creation spirits had done their job and now it was Baiame’s
turn to create the finishing touches.
He began by creating the sun so every living thing could see during the day.
He then made the moon and stars so everyone could see at night.
He passed laws that people could use to live and work by and lores to explain why
everything was made for them. But something was still missing, something to keep life
going on and on.
The land started shaking again but this time more violently than before and the ground
parted and a mighty flowing river appeared.
Baiame called it the Myan and it has kept Wonnarua homelands, people and animals
alive ever since it was created.
It continues to help the Wonnarua people to this very day!
That, boys and girls, was how my beautiful homeland was created.

Credits