BROWNS Hill is culturally significant to the Biripi and Worimi community because it is a place of cultural survival, independence and forced dispossession.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
What occurred at Browns Hill not only lies in the memory of the descendants but survives through oral transference. The remaining area of Browns Hill is indicative of the history of the Manning Valley and the brutality towards the Biripi and Worimi.
Browns Hill is of historical and cultural importance to Aboriginal cultural history because it is one of the largest original camps dating back to the 1850s and even earlier, where families lived autonomously in the Manning Valley region.
Many Worimi and Biripi were born and raised at the camp and it was the place where instrumental Elders and community members have lived and derive from. It is the place where many families faced discrimination and dispossession by the enactment of the NSW Aboriginal Protection Act. Long after, it is the place where many families reconnected after segregation and assimilation.
Browns Hill was specifically chosen as a campsite for its position in the landscape. An elevated area connecting to Kananga Drive was occupied by Aboriginal families as a vantage point, allowing them to see white fellas approaching. Equally, within the top area of the park a series of fresh waterholes still exist today. It was the main source of fresh water to our ancestors and to the families living in this area. Not many Taree residents know about the existence of these waterholes, as it endures within oral histories and families stories.
We believe that Browns Hill should be recognised as an Aboriginal Place to ensure our heritage and the memory of the Biripi and Worimi are preserved. Browns Hill (Ruprecht Park) is the only remaining area that is visible and accessible to the public. My current family home, where my family have lived for the past 22 years is situated only metres away from where my family had lived all those years ago. It was more than a campsite; it was a way of life. It was home.