Prehistory, First people and Explorers

Prehistory of the Burnett

Over 1 million years ago, a volcano was active in the Bundaberg area - the remains of this cinder cone are seen today at The Hummock. Numerous eruptions between 1,000,000 and 910,000 years ago resulted in the extensive basalt flows and boulders characteristic of the coastal area around Bundaberg.

Indigenous peoples of the Burnett

The first known tribe to live in the Burnett area was the Taribelang, thought to have settled here about 10,000 years ago. Very little information is known about this tribe - local historian Nev Rackemann believes the tribe arrived in the Bundaberg region by crossing a continental land bridge between Asia and Australia. The area inhabited by the Taribelang was thought to cover approximately 5,000 km, from Walla, to Rosedale and along the Kolan River. The Taribelang are also referred to in early documents as Daribelum, Daribalang and Tarribelung. The descendants of this tribe are now known as the Taribelang-Bunda tribe.

The Gureng Gureng, also known as Gooreng Gooreng, inhabited the northern region to Gladstone, and from Monto to Mundubbera. The Waka Waka tribe were further inland, and inhabited an area from the Upper Burnett to Upper Brisbane Rivers.

Early Explorers - Cook and Flinders

On May 23rd, 1770, Captain James Cook landed at Bustard Bay - the Town of 1770 is situated there today. In their first time on land in Queensland, Cook, Banks and Dr Solander came ashore to collect fresh water and explore the area.

On August 7th, 1799, Matthew Flinders, on board The Norfolk, surveyed the coast of Bundaberg and noted a hill covered with scrub - a sloping hummock - in the distance. Flinders almost ran aground off the mouth of the Burnett River, but failed to notice the presence of the waterway, and left the area.