range of hills from Mount Bryant to the Darling near Laidley’s Ponds, and forms in its variations the language of the Darling itself; these tribes meet upon the Murray at Moorunde, and can only communicate to each other by the intervention of the Aiawong dialect, which the north-western or south-eastern tribes are compelled to learn, before they can either communicate with each other, or with the natives of the Murray, at their common point of rendezvous.

To the tables already given, it is thought desirable to add two of the dialects, spoken in the country to the eastward of South Australia, and which were published for the House of Commons, with other papers on the Aborigines, in August 1844.

[Note:  At this point in the book two table appear, with the following headings.  These tables have not been reproduces in this eBook.]

A specimen of the difference of dialects spoken by the native tribes of Port Phillip.

Specimen of five dialects spoken by the aborigines of the north-western district.

Captain Flinders observed the same difference to exist in various parts of New Holland, which he visited, and yet that judicious navigator inclined to the opinion that all the various tribes had originally one common origin.  Vol. ii. p. 213-14, he says,

“I do not know that the language of any two parts of Terra Australis, however near, has been found to be entirely the same; for even at Botany Bay, Port Jackson, and Broken Bay, not only the dialect, but many words are radically different; and this confirms one part of an observation, the truth of which seems to be generally admitted, that although similarity of language in two nations proves their origin to be the same, yet dissimilarity of languages is no proof of the contrary position.

“The language of Caledon Bay (north-west coast) may therefore be totally different to what is spoken on the east and south coasts, and yet the inhabitants have one common origin; but I do not think that the language is absolutely and wholly different, though it certainly was no better understood by Bongarrco (a Sydney native) than by ourselves.  In three instances I found a similarity.  The personal pronoun of Port Jackson, ‘Ngia’ (I), was used here, and apparently in the same sense.  When inquiry was made after the axe, the natives replied ‘yehangeree-py,’ making signs of beating, and py signifies to beat in the Port Jackson language.  The third instance was that of the lad Woga calling to Bongarree in the boat, which after he had done several times without being answered, he became angry, and exclaimed Bongarree-gah in a vehement manner, as Bongarree himself would have done in a similar case.”

Captain Grey, in speaking of the Aborigines of New Holland, says (vol. ii. p. 209),