Hearing the Music
of Early New South Wales
Fishing Song
In 1798 David Collins published this observation:
​
Having strolled down to the Point named Too-bow-gu-lie, I saw the sister and the young wife of Ben-nil-long coming round the Point in the new canoe which the husband had cut in his last excursion to Parramatta. They had been out to procure fish, and were keeping time with their paddles, responsive to the words of a song, in which they joined with much good humour and harmony. They were almost immediately joined by Ben-nil-long, who had his sister's child on his shoulders. The canoe was hauled on shore, and what fish they had caught the women brought up.
This song was sung by the people of Sydney while fishing at Tubowgule where the Sydney Opera House now stands. The melody and lyrics of their song were written down in several colonial records, including by John Hunter, David Collins and Louis de Freycinet. Bennelong joined in the singing as the women walked along the shore of Woccanmagully (Farm Cove). Bennelong also had an enduring relationship with the first Governor to be installed at the first Government House. That building sat further to the right on Warrane (Sydney Cove).
Fishing Song:
E-i-ah wangewah…
E-i-ah wan-ge-wah, chian-go, wan-de-go
Mang-en-ny-wau-yen-go-nah, bar-ri-boo-lah, bar-re-mah.
​
​
​
References
David Collins, An account of the English colony in New South Wales: with remarks on the dispositions, customs, manners, &c. of the native inhabitants of that country (London: Printed for T. Cadell Jun. and W. Davies, 1798), pp. 692-3.
Graeme Skinner, ‘2 Songs’, Australharmony.
John Hunter, An Historical Journal of the Transactions at Port Jackson and Norfolk Island (London: Printed for John Stockdale, 1793)
Louis de Freycinet, Voyage Autour du Monde: Entrepris par Ordre du Roi ... Exécuté sur les Corvettes de S. M. L'uranie Et La Physicienne, Pendant les Années 1817, 1818, 1819 et 1820 (Paris: Chez Pillet Aîné, Imprimeur-Libraire, 1824-39)
​
Image Credit | Aboriginal woman in canoe fishing with a line | George Charles Jenner, pre-1806 | Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales.
Performances
Performance One
24 November 2022 - Jacinta Tobin and Ceane Towers
Jacinta and Ceane are both Cannemegal women of the Darug dalang (tongue) spoken by those documented singing this song. This is the saltwater dialect of the Darug dalang. Jacinta’s ancestor Maria of the Burubirongal was married to Ben-nil-long’s son Dickie and Ceane’s ancestor Kitty was partnered with Ben-nil-long at the time of colonisation. Both women were at the first Native institute at Parramatta. The performance features a nawee (canoe) shared by Matt Poll from the Maritime Museum and created by Dean Kelly in 2015 through the revitalisation program on nawee (canoe) craftsmanship.
Performance Two
31 October 2023 - Jacinta Tobin
The concert at Warrane/Sydney on 31 October 2023 was opened with songs featuring Jacinta Tobin of the Boorooberongal and Cannemegal (warmuli) freshwater clans and the Darug dalang (tongue).
Further reading:
Jacinta Tobin, Ceane Towers and Amanda Harris, ‘Casting our Nets: singing a women’s fishing song from the past, in the present, for the future’, Music & Practice, forthcoming 2025.
The two performances of this song featured below are the result of Jacinta Tobin’s efforts to sing this song again in performances from 2022 and 2023.
Jacinta Tobin is honoured to learn to sing this song and recreate a time of peace and laughter that once filled the Sydney harbour.