## Boorong

One hundred and forty years ago, a Boorong family at Lake Tyrrell (North-Western Victoria, Australia) told William Stanbridge something of their stories relating to the night sky. Some forty stars, constellations and other celestial phenomena were named and located. He wrote them down and related this information to the Philosophical Institute in Melbourne in 1857. In his paper he wrote down the Aboriginal term and gave its European equivalent. What John Morieson has done is look closely at these celestial phenomena, attempt to satisfactorily identity them and to imitate the way the Boorong people may have seen them. John's interpretation was used to create the constellation figures in Stellarium.

The Boorong were very much acquainted with the night sky, and William Stanbridge wrote in 1857 that they "Pride themselves upon knowing more of Astronomy than any other tribe".

### Constellations and other celestial objects

Name | Explanation | Celestial Clue
Berm-berm-gle | Red-kneed dotterel | Alpha and Beta Centauri
Boorong | Night; small mallee; starry firmament | Starry firmament at night
Bunya | Ring-tail possum | Top star in Southern Cross
Chargee Gnowee | Elder sister, sister of the sun | Venus
Bittur | Larvae of the woodant | —
Collenbitchick | Species of ant | Double star in head of Capricornus
Collowgulloric War | Female crow, wife of War | Eta Carinae
Colowgulloric Warepil | Female eagle, wife of Warepil | Rigel In Orion
Djuit | Red-rumped parrot | Antares
Gellarlec | Pink cockatoo | Aldebaran
Ginabongbearp | Sulphur-crested white cockatoo; pulling up daylight | Jupiter
Gnowee | Day; Sun | Sun
Karik Karik | Spear thrower; Australian Kestrel | Two stars at end of Scorpius
Kourt-chin | Male and female brolga | Clouds of Magellan
Kulkanbulla | Two teenage boys | Belt and Scabbard of Orion
Lamankurrk | Girls, young women | Pleiades
Marpeankurrk | Meat ant; treecreeper | Arcturus
Millee | Murray River | Part of the Milky Way
Mindi | The maned snake | Part of the Milky Way
Mityan | Quoll | Moon
Neilloan | Mallee fowl | Lyra
Nurrumbunguttias | Old man, black faced mallee kangaroo | White aura of the Milky Way
Otchocut | Great fish | Delphinus
Porkelong toute | Loss of tooth | Shooting star
Pupperimbul | Diamond firetail finch or shy hylacola | Carried the emu egg to become the Sun
Purra | Red kangaroo | Capella
Tchingal | The tall one; emu | Dark space near Cross
Totyarguil | Purple crowned lorikeet | Altair
Tourchingboiongerra | Needlewood hakea and willie wagtails | Coma Berenices
Tourte | Star | Any star
Tyrille | Space; night sky | Space; night sky
Unurgunite | Jacky lizard | Sigma Canis Majoris
Wanjel | Long-necked tortoise | Pollux
War | Crow | Canopus
Warepil | Wedge tailed eagle | Sirius
Warring | Galaxy | Milky Way
Weetkurrk | Singing bushlark | Star in Bootes west of Arcturus
Won | Boomerang | Corona Australis
Yerredetkurrk | Owlet nightjar | Achernar
Yurree | Fan-tailed cockatoo | Castor

### Authors

This sky culture was contributed by John Morieson and Alex Cherney.