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Australia Decoded
'W-6'


Wooroonooran

Wooroonooran National Park, Queensland
by LecomteB (Own work) [GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons



woollies—1. warm, knitted woollen clothing. 2. (cap.) Woolworths supermarket.

woolly—unclear, clouded thinking.

woolly—unclear, clouded thinking.

woolly buttEucalyptus longifolia, a large, fast-growing tree to 35m from coastal New South Wales, usually near water in moist, heavy clay soil. It is a single-trunk tree with a broad crown and is thus a good shade-provider. Adult and juvenile leaves are dull green to gray-green, flowers are white. The bark is rough, leading to its common name. The timber is used in general building construction.

woolly tea treeLeptospermum lanigerum, a shrub of wet places. This species grows in sandy swamps in south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania. It is very attractive in flower, covered in white, five-petalled flowers. The fruit are hard, woody capsules, retained on the shrub. In this species, the capsules have a woolly coating, giving rise to the common name. It is usually a large, spreading shrub, but in wet swamps can grow to be a tall, slender tree of up to 18m. It is common in cultivation. Found in sub-alpine woodland.

woollybutt grassEragrostis eriopoda, an erect perennial grass that grows in dense tufts to 35cm. It is coarse and wiry and has distinctive, white "woolly butts" at the base of the plant. It grows on very infertile, red, loamy sands of sandplains and dune fields, coarse to medium textured red earths, sandy alluvial soils, limestone slopes and rises on shallow sandy soils. Seeding of woollybutt occurs after summer rain, with the seeds remaining on the plant for one or two months. The seed from this plant is an important traditional staple food for the Antakarinja people. The small, reddish seeds can be easily collected by rubbing the seeds heads. It is first winnowed, then ground to a flour and made into damper.

Woolool Wooloolni Aboriginal Place—an Aboriginal reserve and sacred site of the Bundjalung people, regarded as a centre of spiritual power (djuravehl). A Wuyangali or 'Clever Man' called Woollool Woollool had exclusive rights to this djuravehl. Aboriginal people believed that when the possessor of a djuravehl died, his spirit would return to that place and cause some physical change. It is said that when Woollool Woollool died, a rock on top of the present balancing rock fell off. This event indicated that Woollool Woollool's spirit had returned and that it would now be safe for anyone to approach the site. The 370ha reserve is located in Tenterfield, New South Wales.

Woolshed Falls—a spectacular waterfall which once was the centre of the richest goldfields in Victoria, with more than 8000 gold miners living along the banks of this small stream. Here, the miners of old chopped a gash through solid rock to divert the creek so they could get at the gold at the bottom of the falls. Located 5km from Beechworth, Victoria.

Woolshed goldfields—Charles Cropper when droving his sheep from Manaroo to Laceby on the King River in 1838, camped by a stream and, as his sheep were in very poor condition, he was compelled to shear them. Cropper erected a temporary wooden structure, a woolshed. Eventually, the entire valley was referred to as the Woolshed. In 1854 when gold was discovered a miner called John Barton pulled the woolshed apart and used the wood to secure the sides of his claim. He earnt the name of Woolshed Jack, which stuck fast. About a year after the woolshed had been erected, a well was sunk close to the end of the building for the purpose of obtaining cool water. The well was only three metres deep. After the woolshed diggings broke out, a claim was taken out on the well and the surrounds, and at a depth of 4.5 metres, 180 ounces of gold was found. It turned out to be one of the richest alluvial goldfields in Victoria. Opened in 1852, and not exhausted in 1856, when there were 6000—7000 persons digging between Reids Creek Falls and Sebastopol. The Woolshed township was 2-1/2 miles long. Many beautiful stones as well as gold occurred in the washed dirt: rock crystal, citrine, morion, amethyst, jasper, corundum, lydionite, agates, quartzites, diamonds, saphire, topaz, garnet and zircon.

woolsorter's disease—anthrax. One form of the infection is acquired by inhalation of dust containing Bacillus anthracis; initial symptoms (chill and cough and dyspnea and rapid pulse) are followed by extreme cardiovascular collapse. Pulmonary anthrax is spread by inhalation of spores in workers handling contaminated wool. It is now a rarity; formerly, it was particularly prevalent in the nineteenth century. Clinically, it is a severe disease with a high mortality rate; in fact, it was virtually always fatal before antibiotics. It is characterised by fever, increasing respiratory distress and death. Anthrax was called the woolsorter's disease because the skin form of the disease could be contracted from handling raw wool.

WoolungasaurusWoolungasaurus glendowerensis, an elasmosaur (a long-necked type of plesiosaur) that lived in Australia's Eromanga inland sea 110 million years ago (early Cretaceous) and ate fish. Woolungasaurus was 9.5m (head to tail). Its amazing neck was about the same length as its body. Plesiosaurs are not dinosaurs, but a separate group of aquatic reptiles. There are two kinds: the long-necked elasmosaurs such as Woolungasaurus and the short-necked pliosaurs. Fossils of most of the skeleton and skull of Woolungasaurus have been found at Richmond in central Queensland. Woolungasaurus may have given birth to live young in the water, or it may have lumbered out of the water to lay its eggs on the land, as marine turtles do today.

woomera—an Aboriginal implement used to propel a spear, a spear-thrower or throwing-stick.

Woomera Prohibited Area—the rocket testing range, which extended across the Great Victorian Desert into Western Australia, encompassing some 270,000sq km. Establishment of this area, and the Woomera Village which housed the working staff, was a joint venture between the Australian and British governments. Woomera was the result of British anxiety regarding its nuclear weapons capability, following a number of attacks during the closing stages of WWII. The two governments collaborated to develop their own long-range ballistic missiles. The big rockets to come out of this project are known as Black Arrow, Redstone, Blue Streak and Europa. Permits are required from the Area Administrator Woomera to travel through the area, with the exception of the Stuart Highway and the Coober Pedy William Creek Road, which are excluded.

Woomera-Maralinga—town in the state of South Australia near Lake Torrens. It is the site of a missile-testing range used by Australia and its allies. Australia's first earth satellite was launched there in 1967. Nearby is a U.S. space tracking station.

Woop Woop—any remote, backward, sparsely populated area; a long way away.

Woorabinda—an Aboriginal word meaning 'the place where the kangaroo sits down', is today a thriving Aboriginal community about 170km south-west of Rockhampton in Queensland's central highlands. In 1927, when the community was established, the people of Woorabinda had no prospects and no future; the majority of inhabitants collected social welfare. In the mid 1980s things began to change. In 1985 the town's population of 600 elected, for the first time, a five-member local council. Today, the population of Woorabinda exceeds 1600 and is growing. Woorabinda is emerging from the almost non-existent profile of its time as a reserve into a community with a reputation for development and self-management, much of which is due to its involvement in the CDEP scheme. The Woorabinda community is the only Deed Of Grant In Trust (DOGIT) community within the central Queensland region.

Wooramel seagrass bed—the largest area of seagrasses in the world, it is found in Shark Bay, Western Australia. It covers 1000sq km, has taken 5000 years to develop and supports 10,000 dugongs, which feed exclusively on seagrasses. Seagrasses also produce pollen just like flowering plants on land. The pollen drifts in water currents until it meets another seagrass flower and pollinates it.

Wooroonooran (Bellenden Ker) National Park—the tropical coast of north Queensland features dense, tropical rainforest-clad mountains and many sizeable waterfalls fed by very heavy rainfall. a World Heritage-listed area encompassing genetically ancient plant forms, unchanged for millions of years. Elsewhere on the tops, wind prunes the vegetation. The effects of altitude are very clear on the slopes—e.g., the steady decrease in the height of the trees. A vast number of plant species, including epiphytes and ferns, have been recorded in the park. Near the summit there is low scrub and a little open grass. Vines are common, particularly on open patches of hillside rainforest known as cyclone forest. The forest contains many surprises, such as giant moths with up to a 250mm wingspan, and caterpillars and frogs up to 200mm long. On the forest floor is the scrub python, the fourth largest snake on earth, growing up to 8m long. It hunts small animals. Butterflies are common, including the brilliant blue Ulysses butterfly. Fruit bats are noisy at night. Most of the park is undeveloped forest. The summits of Mount Bartle Frere and nearby Mount Bellenden Ker are very craggy and forest grows there only in the lee of rocks. It is one of Queensland's largest parks, covering 79,500ha and extending more than 60km from Gordonvale in the north to inland of Innisfail. Rain is abundant here—one year the region received over 10,000mm of rain. Rainstorms are prevalent in this area all year round and can make camping impossible in some parts. The park is divided into two sections: Josephine Falls and Palmerston, the latter being home to white water rafting along the North Josephine River and canoeing and camping in the rainforest. The Josephine Falls section is home to the highest mountains in the State—Mount Bartle Frere (Choreechillum) (1622m) and Mount Bellenden Kerr (1592m). Entrance to this section is via unsealed road and the climb to the peaks is for experienced mountain climbers only.

wop-wops—any remote town or place.

word up—inform, alert, especially beforehand: e.g., Someone must have worded up the police about the gang.

words fail me—an expression of disbelief, dismay, etc.

Worimi—an Aboriginal people from the Great Lakes region of coastal New South Wales. Before European settlement, their people extended from Port Stephens in the south to Forster/Tuncurry in the north, and as far west as Gloucester. The Worimi is made up of several tribes: Buraigal, Gamipingal and the Garawerrigal. The Wallamba of the Wallis Lake area had one central campsite, now known as Coomba Park, which they used until 1843. The middens around the Wallis Lake area suggest that there was abundant food from the lake and sea, along with wallabies, kangaroos, echidnas, waterfowl and fruit bats. Fire was an important feature of life, both for campsites and the periodic 'burning' of the land. The people now number fewer than 200 and from these families, in the main, come the Tobwabba artists. In their work, they express images of their environment, their spiritual beliefs and the life of their ancestors. The name Tobwabba means 'a place of clay' and refers to a hill on which the descendants of the Wallamba now have their homes. They make up a 'mission' called Cabarita with their own Land Council to administer their affairs.

work a ready—do an illegal, illicit act of deception, trickery.

work back—work overtime.

Work Choices Act 2005—(Work Choices) an industrial relations reform package designed to implement a national system. The federal government intends to override the states’ industrial relations systems, or part of these systems, with legislation based on the corporations power conferred by the Australian Constitution. Major changes are set to be made to workplace agreements, awards, the safety net of minimum conditions, termination of employment, the role of unions, and the role of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission. A new body, the Australian Fair Pay Commission, will take over the certification of collective agreements, increases in minimum rates, and a number of other key workplace conditions. The changes will override and replace the industrial relations systems in each of the states other than Victoria, which has already referred its industrial relations powers to the federal government. An appeal to the High Court against the federal government’s use of the corporations powers to override state industrial laws has been launched by the NSW Labor government. Victoria is the only state that has not joined the High Court challenge. The federal government has announced that the operative date for most provisions of the Work Choices Act will be some time in March of 2006.

work like Jackie—to work very hard.

work off a dead horse—work to pay back a debt.

work stoppage—strike.

work to rule—as a form of protest, to follow the rules of one's occupation with pedantic precision in order to reduce efficiency.

working-man's paradise—Australia.

Workplace Relations Act 1996—the Workplace Relations and Other Legislation Amendment Act 1996, an amendment to the Industrial Relations Act that created significant changes in the federal industrial relations system. Primary responsibility for industrial relations and agreement-making was transferred from the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) to the enterprise and workplace levels, thereby reducing the power of trade unions. Introduction of the “individual contract” has rendered the industrial relations process more amenable to enterprise bargaining. Under the Act, employers and employees can choose whether they prefer AWAs, a certified agreement with a union, a certified agreement with employees, or to remain under an award. It is also possible to have a combination of these at the same workplace. The role of the AIRC is reduced to making rulings on certain workplace matters (mainly pay, work hours and closely related issues), and its earlier rulings on matters outside these areas ceased effect in 1998. The jurisdiction of the Industrial Relations Court was transferred to other courts, primarily the Federal Court of Australia, and industrial intervention was limited, largely to circumstances deemed to have a potential to "cause significant damage to the Australian economy".

Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices) Act 2005—an industrial relations reform package designed to implement a unitary national system. The government intends to override the states’ industrial relations systems, or part of these systems, with legislation based on the corporations power conferred by the Australian Constitution. Major changes are set to be made to workplace agreements, awards, the safety net of minimum conditions, termination of employment, the role of unions, and the role of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission. A new body, the Australian Fair Pay Commission, will take over the certification of collective agreements, increases in minimum rates, and a number of other key workplace conditions. The changes will override and replace the industrial relations systems in each of the states other than Victoria, which has already referred its industrial relations powers to the federal government. An appeal to the High Court against the federal government’s use of the corporations powers to override state industrial laws has been launched by the NSW Labor government. Victoria is the only state that has not joined the High Court challenge. The federal Government has announced that the operative date for most provisions of the Work Choices Act will be some time in March of 2006.

Workplace Relations and Other Legislation Amendment Act 1996—an amendment to the Industrial Relations Act (AIRC) that created significant changes in the federal industrial relations system. Primary responsibility for industrial relations and agreement-making was transferred from the AIRC to the enterprise and workplace levels, thereby reducing the power of trade unions. Introduction of the "individual contract" has rendered the industrial relations process more amenable to enterprise bargaining. Under the Act, employers and employees can choose whether they prefer AWAs, a certified agreement with a union, a certified agreement with employees, or to remain under an award. It is also possible to have a combination of these at the same workplace. The role of the AIRC is reduced to making rulings on certain workplace matters (mainly pay, work hours and closely related issues), and its earlier rulings on matters outside these areas ceased effect in 1998. The jurisdiction of the Industrial Relations Court was transferred to other courts, primarily the Federal Court of Australia, and industrial intervention was limited, largely to circumstances deemed to have a potential to "cause significant damage to the Australian economy".

World Heritage Area—a specific site (such as a forest, mountain range, lake, desert, building, complex or city) that has been nominated for the international World Heritage program administered by UNESCO. The program aims to catalogue, name and preserve sites of outstanding importance, either cultural or natural, to the common heritage of humankind (exact criteria). Listed sites can obtain funds from the World Heritage Fund under certain conditions. The program was founded with the Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage that was adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO on 16 November 1972. As of 2003, a total of 754 sites have been included in the list.

World Heritage Committee—identifies, protects and preserves properties that qualify for the World Heritage List. The Committee implements the World Heritage Convention, defines the use of the World Heritage Fund and allocates financial assistance upon requests from States Parties. It has the final say on whether a property is inscribed on the World Heritage List. The committee conducts rigorous assessment of the nominated properties, in collaboration with international non-government organisations such as the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). The committee assesses the conditions of the listed sites, decidse on specific programme needs and resolves recurrent problems.

World Heritage Convention—an international treaty adopted by UNESCO in 1972. The purpose of the treaty is to encourage member nations to identify, protect and preserve sites of cultural and natural heritage around the world that are deemed to be of outstanding value to humanity. The Convention defines the kind of natural or cultural sites that can be considered for inscription on the World Heritage List, and stipulates the obligation of States Parties to report regularly to the World Heritage Committee on the state of conservation of their World Heritage-listed properties. These reports are crucial to the work of the Committee as they enable it to assess the conditions of the sites, decide on specific programme needs and resolve recurrent problems. While the World Heritage Committee does not have the power to dictate how the listed sites are managed, signatories to the convention have an obligation to observe the ethic of the listing. The Convention states that a World Heritage Committee 'will establish, keep up-to-date and publish' a World Heritage List of cultural and natural properties, submitted by the States Parties and considered to be of 'outstanding universal value'. The Convention, formally known as the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, was adopted in November 1972 at the 17th General Conference of UNESCO. Australia is a signatory to the World Heritage Convention to which 127 countries are party.

World Heritage Fund—the program aims to catalogue, name, and preserve sites of outstanding importance, either cultural or natural, to the common heritage of humankind. Listed sites can obtain funds from the World Heritage Fund under certain conditions. The program was founded with the Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage that was adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO on 16 November 1972. As of 2004, a total of 788 sites have been included in the list (611 cultural, 154 natural and 23 mixed properties), of which 15 are in Australia.

World Heritage List—a register of sites deemed by the World Heritage Committee to be of outstanding universal value and that satisfy at least one of four natural and/or six cultural and/or one cultural landscape criteria for selection are accepted onto the World Heritage List. Criterion for selection as a world heritage area consist of the any one or more of the following: (i) outstanding examples representing the major stages of the earth's evolutionary history; Criterion (ii) outstanding examples representing significant ongoing geological processes, biological evolution and man's interaction with his natural environment; Criterion (iii) contain unique, rare or superlative natural phenomena, formations or features of exceptional natural beauty; Criterion (iv) contain the most important and significant habitats where threatened species of plants and animals of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science and conservation still survive. Only countries that have signed the World Heritage Convention, pledging to protect their natural and cultural heritage, can submit nomination proposals for properties on their territory to be considered for inclusion in UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

World Heritage List (Australian sites)—comprise fifteen Australian properties: the Great Barrier Reef, the Tasmanian Wilderness, the Wet Tropics of Queensland, and Shark Bay meet all four World Heritage criteria for natural heritage. Kakadu National Park, Uluru-Kata Tjuta Wet Tropics and the National Park, Willandra Lakes region are listed for both natural and cultural criteria. The Australian Fossil Mammal Sites (Naracoorte/Riversleigh), Lord Howe Island group, Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves of Australia, Fraser Island, Macquarie Island, Heard and McDonald Islands, the Greater Blue Mountains Area, and Purnululu National Park are listed under the World Heritage criteria for natural heritage.

World Heritage Site—a specific site (such as a forest, mountain range, lake, desert, building, complex or city) that has been nominated for the international World Heritage program administered by UNESCO. The program aims to catalogue, name and preserve sites of outstanding importance, either cultural or natural, to the common heritage of humankind (exact criteria). Listed sites can obtain funds from the World Heritage Fund under certain conditions. The program was founded with the Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage that was adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO on 16 November 1972. As of 2003, a total of 754 sites have been included in the list.

world-beater—an exceptionally good person or thing.

Worora—an Aboriginal people of Western Australia.

worry along/through—manage to advance by persistence in spite of obstacles.

worry for—(in Aboriginal English) be concerned about or preoccupied with; e.g., He worries for his country.

worry oneself—(usually in the negative) take needless trouble.

worry out—obtain the solution to a problem etc by dogged effort.

worry-guts—a person who habitually worries unduly.

worse luck!—unfortunately: e.g., I didn't win the raffle, worse luck!

worth a few bob—expensive; worth a lot of money.

Wotjobal—the Wotjobal people today are descended from a number of closely related local groups or sub-tribes which inhabited central-western Victoria for many thousands of years. Hartmann listed eleven known hordes. They ranged west into part of the country regionally known as the Tatiara or Tjatijala. Clashes between the Wotjobal and the European invaders became inevitable, as both culture and commercial interests collided. The Wotjobal country had been encroached upon by white squatters who brought with them thousands of head of sheep to graze the lands. The majority died in armed clashes. Many of the surviving remenants were forced onto the Ebenezer Mission Station, where they eventually united and called themselves 'Wotjobal', which is a general term for 'All the People'. Mathews arbitrarily used the term as a language name.

wouldn't be in it—wouldn't have anything to do with it.

wouldn't give you the sleeves out of his vest—(of a person) extremely mean with money; lacking in generosity or compassion; niggardly; miserly.

wouldn't in a pink fit—wouldn't under any circumstances.

wouldn't know (someone) from a bar of soap—wouldn't recognise or know (someone).

wouldn't read about it—expression of incredulity: e.g., Fancy winning the lottery three times in a row—you wouldn't read about it!

wouldn't say boo to a goose—(of a person) extremely shy.

wouldn't say shit for a shilling—(of a person) wouldn't swear or use bad, vulgar language.

wouldn't shout if a shark bit (him/her)—(of a person) miserly; tight with money.

wouldn't stop a pig in a hallway/poke—pertaining to someone's bandy legs.

wouldn't that rip the crutch out of your nightie!—expression of annoyance, frustration, anger, dismay, disgust.

wouldn't use (someone) for shark-bait—declaration of one's contempt for (someone).

wouldn't work in an iron lung—(of a person) lazy.

wowser—1. person who doesn't drink alcohol or gamble; teetotaller. 2. spoilsport; killjoy; person who dampens enthusiasm.

woylie—(see: brush-tailed bettong).

wrap—enthusiastic recommendation or praise.

wrap (one's) laughing gear around (something)—1. to place (something) in (one's) mouth. 2. to eat.

wrap-up—enthusiastic recommendation or praise.

wrapped—delighted; pleased; enthusiastic about.

wrapped in (somebody/something)—totally infatuated, in love with; wildly enthusiastic about.

Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community—Booderee is home to the people of Wreck Bay who have cared for the land and waters of the Jervis Bay area for many generations. The people of the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community are proud of this association—passing on their special knowledge and ancestral and creation stories to their families. Booderee, in the Dhurga language of the region, means 'plentiful bay'. It is the name chosen by the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community for the former Jervis Bay National Park and Jervis Bay Botanic Gardens (now Booderee National Park) following the handback of the area to the traditional owners. The extensive Koori knowledge of natural resources around the Jervis Bay area continues to expand. Wreck Bay people use the bush as a natural classroom for younger people. The bush is also for collecting foods and medicines, learning stories and interpreting indicators of seasonal and climatic change. The opportunities for visitor education about local Koori culture are among Booderee's most important assets. The Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community has vast experience in cultural interpretation. Booderee Botanic Gardens are the only Aboriginal-owned botanic gardens in Australia. Booderee Botanic Gardens are becoming known as a centre for interpreting plant uses by local Aboriginal people. Much of the existing natural environment in Australia is a result of Aboriginal land management over tens of thousands of years. From archaeological sites, including middens and axe-grinding grooves, together with oral history, we can learn about traditional land use.

wrinklies—aged people.

wrong in the head—crazy; mad; insane.

wrong-headed—perverse and obstinate.

wrong'un—a person of bad character.

Wujal Wujal—an Aboriginal community that began in 1886 as the Bloomfield River Mission. The site was abandoned in 1902 and the people dispersed to makeshift camps within the area. By the 1950s the Queensland state government attempted to move the people to Cooktown, but was met with protests against the plan by local residents. A consequent plan to move the people to Hope Vale also did not eventuate. In 1980 the Aboriginal Council was formed and the area regained its traditional name, Wujal Wujal. The people are Guugu Yalanji.

Wuna—Aboriginal people from near Darwin in the Northern Territory.

Wunambal-Gaambera—the Balanggarra and Wunambal-Gaambera people are the traditional landowners in the north Kimberley. They have recently undertaken an ethnoecology and land-sea management planning project, with the assistance of the Kimberley Land Council, funded by the TS-CRC. Balanggarra and Wunumbal-Gaambera country stretches from Wyndham to Prince Frederick Harbour in the north Kimberley and includes the Mitchell Plateau, a region of about 60 000km² . An Aboriginal population of some 800 people is resident in two main communities, Kalumburu and Oombulgurri. The region is predominantly Aboriginal tenure, and includes four pastoral leases and the Drysdale River National Park.

wurley—gunyah.

Wurundjeri—the Aboriginal people who occupied the Melbourne area prior to European settlement were the Woiwurrung language group, specifically the Wurundji people. They are the traditional owners of a large part of the land of inner and outer Melbourne. There are a number of identified significant sites, in particular those found near the Yarra and Maribyrnong Rivers and Merri Creek. In traditional times, a place of great gathering occurred at the Bolin Bolin billabong in Bulleen, where sacred and social interaction between the clans would take place. The Wurundjeri would also gather with other members of the Kulin nation on the land where the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MGC) now stands. Featuring prominently in the Wurundjeri story is William Barak, the last traditional Ngurungaeta, or leader, of the clan, who witnessed the signing of the 'treaty' between Woiwurrung and Boonerwrung Elders and John Batman. The Ngurungaeta of the Wurundjeri clan at that time was his father, Bebejern, from whom Barak inherited the title. The two moeity totems of the Wurundjeri people are Bunjil the Eaglehawk and Waang the Crow.

Wuywurung—an Aboriginal people of Victoria.

Wybalenna—a 126ha settlement established in 1834 on the west coast of Flinders Island by George Augustus Robinson with about 200 Tasmanian Aborigines. The aim of the settlement was to protect Aborigines and teach them to abandon their traditions and adopt a European way of life. The name was taken from two Aboriginal words: wyba (black) and lenna (house, hut or place). The plan was doomed to fail. European motives varied from the well-meaning Christian to the self-seeking cynical, but the result was that the Aborigines were destroyed. They suffered homesickness, starvation and disease. Supervisors at the settlement were often incompetent, drunkards, corrupt or cruel. By 1838 the community was reduced to 95 and by 1847 to 47: 22 women, 15 men and 10 children. They were shipped to a new settlement at Oyster Cove, south of Hobart. Some of the Wybalenna site remains, including the burial ground, a Victorian farmhouse (later modernised), the foundations of the superintendant's cottage, and the chapel, built in the Georgian style in 1836. It is a sacred site which lives in the memories of Tasmania's Aborigines as a place that needs to be preserved to show future generations the consequences of cultural conflict. The first petition calling for recognition of land rights for Aboriginal people was sent from Wybalenna in 1845. On the 15th of November 1996, Wybalenna was turned over to the Aboriginal Land Council. The deaths of over 100 Aborigines is commemorated on a plaque in the nearby cemetery, erected by the local Young Farmers club. In 1973, the chapel was purchased and restored by the Flinders Island branch of the National Trust. Located at Settlement Point on Flinders Island, Tasmania.

Wyperfeld National Park—encloses and protects a chain of lake beds connected by Outlet Creek, the northern extension of the Wimmera River. The lakes only fill when the Wimmera River over-supplies Lake Hindmarsh. When it rains the semi-arid landscape is transformed by tiny desert plants that sprout from long-dormant seeds, carpeting the ground with clusters of flowers. Mallee covers most of the eastern section of the park. There are about 450 species of plants native to the park. River red gum and black box woodlands cover the floodplains of Outlet Creek and the lakes. Cypress-pine woodlands grow on dunes near the lakes, but the large areas once covered by the pines have been decimated by bushfires and rabbits, which eat the pine seedlings. The park is home to a variety of animals, including the desert silky mouse, Mitchell's hopping mouse, sand goanna,dragons, skinks and geckos, emus and western grey kangaroos. More than 200 bird species, including sulphur-crested cockatoos, mallee ringneck parrots, red-rumped parrots, galahs, eagles and the malleefowl.

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