Sites of Aboriginal significance

Curiosity Rocks – Jindabyne

Ngarigo people are the original inhabitants of the lands we know as the Snowy Monaro region. They have an unbreakable connection to the Country and maintain strong spiritual and cultural bonds.

The declaration of Curiosity Rocks as an Aboriginal Place is in recognition of the cultural, spiritual, and historical significance of the area to the local Aboriginal people, The area is gazetted and protected under the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Act.

Curiosity Rocks is significant to Aboriginal culture because it is in sight on Kalkite Mountain and adjacent to a camping area and ceremonial grounds situated along the traditional travel pathways up the Snowy River to the Mt Twynam area.

This place is rich in stone resources and sites providing widespread evidence of long occupation and use of the area by the Ngarigo ancestors. The area holds a deep spiritual connection for these ancestors to the Ngarigo lands and waters, the knowledge of which continues to be passed down across generations through the stories of the Elders to the community of today.

The Ngarigo people continue to acknowledge the cultural integrity of this place and the importance of protecting its cultural values for future generations.

Coolamatong – Lambie Gorge

Coolamatong is the name given to a Dreaming story about the snake, frog and turtle, which is associated with the local rainmaker spirit ancestor named Dyillagamberra.

The place is important because of its spiritual link to this Dreaming story, and is named after it. The specific details of the sacred Dreaming story are secret and known only by a privileged few. However, it is widely known that Aboriginal people value Coolamatong Aboriginal Place as the site of the birthing of a Dreaming story.

Coolamatong was a traditional campsite for Ngarigo Aborignal people well before the arrival of Europeans in the area. The site’s spiritual nature made it an important meeting and ceremonial place.

Aboriginal people gathered here for ceremonies, to tell stories, and to teach younger generations about the Dreaming stories and spiritual value of the place. Evidence of the old campsite can be found in the many artefacts on the site.

Today, Coolamatong Aboriginal Place is visited by local Aboriginal people to maintain their connection to the area, and to pass on knowledge of its significance to younger generations. Coolamatong is used as a place to share knowledge; a place where children are taught about Aboriginal culture and Coolamatong’s cultural significance.

Delegate Reserve

The Delegate Aboriginal Reserve, also known as the Delegate Aboriginal Mission to ‘The Common’, is an area of land formerly gazetted as a NSW Government Aboriginal Reserve.

It was gazetted in 1892 and revoked in 1957. Prior to being gazetted as an Aboriginal Reserve, the area had been regularly occupied by Aboriginal people.

Camping along the Delegate River was a regular practice for Monaro, Omeo, Bidawal and Maap people who travelled between eastern Gippsland and the Monaro and between the Far South Coast and the Delegate area.

Camping locations beside the Delegate River had access to water and a wide variety of plans and animals for food, medicine and tool-making.

In addition, the area of the former reserve is in sight of Delegate Mountain, a significant landmark in the Ngarigo landscape.

After the Delegate Aboriginal Reserve was officially declared in 1892 it was settled at various times by Monaro, Ngarigo, and other Aboriginal people.

As the reserve did not operate as a mission station, there was no supervision of settlement residents and people were free to travel and take any available work (for example, as stockmen, brumby musterers, and housekeepers). After people left the reserve in the 1950s, the houses slowly deteriorated.

Aboriginal people today continue to visit and use the former reserve to maintain their social and cultural connection with the landscape and to pass on knowledge of its culture and history. They share creation (Dreaming) stories and cultural practices and they value local fauna and flora species and minerals for their association with. Past cultural practices and ceremonies. The former reserve is regarded as a place where spiritual and cultural values link people with ancestors.

Information courtesy of the information booklet

‘Ngarigo People, Ngarigo Country’. Booklets provide detailed information of the Ngarigo People’s connect to the Snowy Monaro region. The booklets are available in the region’s visitor centres.