Bunya Mountains - Indigenous Significance

Indigenous Significance

The Bunya Mountains and neighbouring areas were the focus of major gatherings of Indigenous Australians from South East and Central Queensland to north east New South Wales. The gatherings occurred during the seasons when the bountiful nuts of the bunya pine ripened, from December through to March, and especially during 'bumper crops' which appeared to occur about every three or four years. These were evidently the largest and widest-attended Indigenous gatherings in Australia. Climbers would use a strong vine around their waist and the tree, which can be up to 1.5 m in width and up to 50 m tall, to reach the nuts. Members of the guest tribes were not allowed to climb or collect nuts from the tree. Apart from feasting on bunya nuts, participants engaged in a variety of inter-tribal activities: games and sports, ceremony, trade, knowledge exchange, the arrangement of marriages and the settling of disputes. 1902 was the final known gathering on the range.