First Nations People - Blayney Shire Local & Family History Group Inc.

FIRST NATIONS PEOPLE

The local government area of Blayney Shire was home to at least two clans of the Wiradjuri whose territory covered the land of the Three Rivers - the Murrumbidgee, Lachlan and Macquarie.

A Bathurst settler, George Suttor, in writing to "The Australian" newspaper of 14 October 1826, noted that the Muc-are clan mostly inhabited the Kings Plains (Blayney area). Official returns of later years also name the Mandorama (Mandurama) group.

The arrival of Europeans in the 1820s with herds of cattle and large flocks of sheep severely disrupted the way of life of these clans. It wasn't long before hostitilies broke out between the Europeans and Wiradjuri who had lost both camping and hunting grounds. The declaration of martial law in 1824 led to the killing and dispersal of the local clans, with the Kings Plains being the site of much bloodshed. A way of life that had been followed for thousands of years was destroyed in one short year.

We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we live and gather.
We pay our respects to their Elders - past , present, and emerging.

Below: Looking towards Blayney from the Dungeon Road with the Belubula River crossing what was once called the kings plains - home to the Muc-are clan of the Wiradjuri.

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