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The Ngarigu (also Ngarigo) language was spoken on the Monaro Plains in southern NSW at places such as Delegate, Bombala and Jindabyne. It is closely related to languages spoken in the Canberra district and others on the south coast of NSW. Some surviving speakers settled on the Aboriginal Reserve at Delegate in the late 19th century before moving to the...
Learn More ►Jambie Lawson (also known as Jemmy, John or Jack) was born at Croagingalong in eastern Gippsland in about 1850 to Wothango and Loah. He was an important informant to ethnographer A.W. Howitt about Maap people who he said occupied the territory to the east of the Snowy River and as far as the Victorian coast. He may have attended the initiation...
Learn More ►William Rutherford was born at Jimenbuan on the southern Monaro in NSW on 2 February 1892.[ref]Sydney Mail 14 December 1932[/ref] His parents were William and Elizabeth (Bradshaw) Rutherford. William later moved to Delegate with his parents, where he briefly attended school. His father provided the majority of his education. William joined the NSW police force at Delegate in 1909,...
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This website explores the history of Aboriginal trackers in NSW from 1862 when the current NSW Police Force was established through to 1973 when the last tracker, Norman Walford, retired. You can read about the lives of individual trackers and some of the incredible tracking feats they...
There were over 200 NSW police stations that employed Aboriginal trackers between 1862 and 1973. Many were concentrated in the central-west and north-west of the state, the agricultural and pastoral heartland of NSW. This is because one of the main jobs of trackers was to pursue sheep, cattle and horse thieves. Trackers sometimes lived in small huts out the back...
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Pathfinders book Pathfinders, A history of Aboriginal trackers in NSW, written by Dr Michael Bennett and published by NewSouth, is now available from all good bookstores. Click on the link below to order your copy. https://www.abbeys.com.au/book/pathfinders-a-history-of-aboriginal-trackers-in-nsw.do Early History Since the beginning of the colony, government agencies, explorers, surveyors and members of the general public called upon the tracking...
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