Places, Names, and Characters of History
Wadawurrung Place Names

Meaning of Wadawurrung

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The Meaning of Wadawurrung/Wathaurong and the Power of Indigenous Names

Wathaurong (also written Wadawurrung, Watharung, Watarung) names one of the five nations of the Kulin confederacy in central Victoria. As with many Indigenous names, its meaning reaches beyond a simple label: names encode language, law, place, and kinship. Understanding Wadawurrung opens a door into how Indigenous communities in Victoria—and globally—define themselves through names inseparable from Country, Dreaming, and law (Broome 2005).

What “Wadawurrung/Wathaurong” Means

Linguist Barry Blake traces Wathaurong to a composite of wathaw (a root for speech/language) and urrung (people/belonging)—often glossed as “people who speak the Wadawurrung language” (Blake 1991). Like many Indigenous ethnonyms, it describes a linguistic and cultural community rather than a bounded “tribe.” To say “we are Wadawurrung” is to declare: we are people of this tongue, this Country, these laws.

Wadawurrung Country stretches across Geelong/Djilang, Ballarat, the Bellarine Peninsula, and the Werribee Plains (Clark 1990). Within this territory, place-names carry precise meanings and ecological instruction. For example, Djilang (Geelong) is thought to mean “tongue of land” or “cliffs,” while Kunuwarra (Lake Connewarre) means “black swan,” a key seasonal and ceremonial species (Clark 1990; Wadawurrung Traditional Owners 2023).

Naming within the Kulin Nations

Across the Kulin confederacy—Woiwurrung/Wurundjeri, Boon Wurrung, Wadawurrung, Taungurung, Dja Dja Wurrung—names link communities to ancestors, law, and ecological zones (Clark 1990; Broome 2005).

  • Woiwurrung: commonly interpreted as “people of the wurrung (river/creek).”

  • Boon Wurrung: often rendered “people of the bay,” referring to Port Phillip.

  • Taungurung: “people of the Taungurung tongue,” tied to the Goulburn valleys.

  • Dja Dja Wurrung: “people of the Dja Dja tongue,” central Victoria.

These ethnonyms operate as identifiers and law codes. Together with moiety systems (e.g., Bunjil the wedge-tailed eagle and Waa the crow), they regulate marriage, ceremony, and responsibilities to Country (Broome 2005).

Indigenous Names across Australia (and Beyond)

Indigenous ethnonyms frequently derive from language, landscape, or totems:

  • Yolŋu (NT): “people,” organised into Dhuwa/Yirritja moieties.

  • Arrernte (Central Australia): “people,” with Dreaming tracks embedded in Country.

  • Noongar (SW WA): “person/man,” tying identity to place and kin.

  • Palawa (Tasmania): a modern reclamation of identity following colonial erasure (Ryan 2012).

Parallel logics appear worldwide: Dakota (“allies”), Haudenosaunee (“people of the longhouse”), Ngāti Toa (“descendants of Toa”)—names that weave ancestry, ecology, and polity into a single term.

Place-Names across Wadawurrung Country

Wadawurrung landscapes are mapped through names that encode story and science:

  • Djilang (Geelong) — “tongue of land/cliffs.”

  • Wurdi Youang (You Yangs) — “big hill”; adjacent stone arrangements align with solstices/equinoxes, evidencing sky knowledge (Norris, Hamacher & Abrahams 2013).

  • Ballaarat (Ballarat) — often interpreted as “resting place” (Clark 1990).

  • Moorabool — from murrabul, “ghost/shadow,” reflecting spiritual presence along the river (Clark 1990).

Each name is a memory device: a compact record of topography, seasonality, resources, and law.

Revival of Naming: Wadawurrung and Wider Movements

On Wadawurrung Country

  • Dual naming: public use of Djilang/Geelong and Narrm/Melbourne is growing, guided by Traditional Owners and language authorities (Wadawurrung Traditional Owners 2023).

  • Kunuwarra (Lake Connewarre): renewed recognition links black swan cycles to seasonal calendars.

  • Interpretive signage at Wurdi Youang and Brisbane Ranges integrates language, plants, and stories (Wadawurrung Traditional Owners 2023).

  • Cultural tourism and education: on-Country programs teach meanings, plants, and protocols.

Victorian & Australian examples

  • Coranderrk: named for the native coranderrk plant, a symbol of endurance and political advocacy (Barwick 1998).

  • Budj Bim (Gunditjmara): “High Head,” a UNESCO World Heritage aquaculture landscape and creation site.

  • Uluru: restoration of the original name formally displaced “Ayers Rock,” setting a national precedent.

Why revival matters

  • Sovereignty: Names assert that Country was never ceded (Broome 2005).

  • Education: They transmit ecological and seasonal knowledge.

  • Healing: Re-naming counters colonial erasure and supports cultural wellbeing.

  • Science: Place-names often encode phenology—e.g., Kunuwarra (swans) aligning with flooding cycles.

Conclusion

Wadawurrung/Wathaurong is more than an ethnonym; it is a statement of belonging—to language, land, and law (Blake 1991; Clark 1990). Names such as Djilang, Kunuwarra, and Wurdi Youang reveal the indivisibility of ecology and story. Across Australia and globally, Indigenous names bind people to ancestors, totems, and landscapes.
Reviving these names through dual naming, signage, and on-Country learning demonstrates resilience, continuity, and truth-telling. Place-names are not just labels; they are law, story, and science written into the land.

References

  • Barwick, D. (1998) Rebellion at Coranderrk. Canberra: Aboriginal History Monograph.

  • Blake, B. (1991) Wathawurrung and the Colac Language of Southern Victoria. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.

  • Broome, R. (2005) Aboriginal Victorians: A History Since 1800. Sydney: Allen & Unwin.

  • Clark, I. D. (1990) Aboriginal Languages and Clans: An Historical Atlas of Western and Central Victoria, 1800–1900. Melbourne: Monash Publications in Geography.

  • Norris, R., Hamacher, D. & Abrahams, R. (2013) ‘Wurdi Youang: An Australian Aboriginal Stone Arrangement with Possible Solar Indications’, Rock Art Research, 30(1), 55–65.

  • Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation (2023) Our Country, Our Language. Geelong: WTOAC.

Written, Researched and Directed by James Vegter (22 September 2025)

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Magic Lands Alliance acknowledges the Traditional Owners, Custodians, and First Nations communities across Australia and internationally. We honour their enduring connection to the sky, land, waters, language, and culture. We pay respect to Elders past, present, and emerging, and to all First Peoples’ communities and language groups. This article draws only on publicly available information; many cultural practices remain the intellectual property of their respective communities.