Walbunja

The Walbunja, also spelt Walbanga, Walbunga and Wulbunja, are an Aboriginal Australian people of New South Wales, part of the Yuin nation.

Language

The Walbunja language may be a dialect of Dhurga.

Country

The Walbunja people are a subgroup of the Yuin nation.
Walbunja Country covers a region from Cape Dromedary northwards to the vicinity of Ulladulla. Their inland extension is as far as the Shoalhaven River. Braidwood, Araluen and Moruya all lie on what is Walbunja land. The Wandandian peoples lay on their northern boundary, and to their south are the Djiringanj and Thaua.

Alternative names

Alternative spellings include Walbanga, Walbunga, and Wulbunja.
According to Norman Tindale, alternative names included:

Thurga
Thoorga
Bugellimanji
Bargalia
''Moruya tribe''
Walbunja Rangers

The Walbunja Rangers Programme was established by the Batemans Bay Local Aboriginal Land Council in response to the Black Summer fires in 2019–20. The group comprises 10–15 young Indigenous rangers who undertake cultural burning, pest eradication, and monitoring species monitoring on Country. In March 2024 the group won the Marie Byles Award for the most inspiring community action initiative in the NSW Environment Awards, a group of awards given by the Nature Conservation Council of New South Wales.

Notable people

In 2023, Aunty Maryanne Nye, a member of the Walbunja community, was given the Paul Harris Fellow Award for her work at the Boomerang Meeting Place in Mogo, New South Wales.