Robert Hamilton Mathews

“ In all the languages treated in this article, in every part of speech subject to inflexion, there are double forms of the first person, of the dual and plural, similar in character to what have been reported from many islands in Polynesia and Melanesia, and the tribes of North America. Separate forms for "we two," and "he and I," were observed by Rev. James Günther among the pronouns of the Wiradyuri natives at Wellington, [5] but as he does not mention anything of the kind in the plural, we may conclude that he did not observe it. ”

“ The Wiradyuri language is spoken over a greater extent of territory than any other tongue in New South Wales, and the object of the present monograph is to furnish a short outline of its grammatical structure. I have included a brief notice of the Burreba-burreba language, which adjoins the Wiradyuri on the west. A cursory outline is also given of the language of the Ngunawal tribe, which bounds the Wiradyuri on a portion of the east. The Kamilaroi tribes, whose language I recently reported to this Institute, [4] adjoin the Wiradyuri on the north. ”

“ After that he returned to his own people, who were all very glad to learn that he had avenged the death of their friends, and he became a chief man in the tribe, and had four young wives. All the old men assembled in council, and decided that in future no man should go alone, either hunting game, or to search for missing friends, or on a hostile expedition, but that two or more should always proceed together, a custom which has been followed to the present time.
R. H. Mathews. ↑ The wallaroo is a large mountain kangaroo, and the padamelon, or paddy-melon, is a small bush marsupial. ”

“ The native tribes speaking the Wiradyuri language occupy an immense region in the central and southern portions of New South Wales. For their eastern and northern boundaries the reader is referred to the map accompanying my paper to the American Philosophical Society in 1898. ”

“ These demonstratives are very numerous—many of them being used as pronouns of the third person, and are declined for number, person, and case. They also vary according to the position of the object referred to in regard to the speaker, and likewise change with the relative position of the object to the person addressed.
In all parts of aboriginal speech, words are occasionally met with so closely alike in pronunciation that it is almost impossible for any one but a native to detect the difference.
Notes ↑ "Initiation Ceremonies of Australian Tribes," Proc. Amer. Philos. ”

“ The nominative-agent requires a suffix to the noun, as, gibirru womburan dhê, a man an opossume ate. Bullâdyerudu dhurung bumê, a woman a snake struck (or killed) . Inarru wille dharalgiri, a woman an opossum will eat. ”