Tweed Heads
The largest town in Bundjalung Country, twinned with Coolangatta at the NSW/Queensland border.
Northern Rivers and south-east Queensland
Bundjalung Country
Bundjalung Country runs from the Logan and Albert rivers in south-east Queensland south to the Clarence, and inland from the coast to the Border Ranges. These pages cover its towns, its clan groups, its language and its place names — plainly, with sources, and without pretending this website speaks for anyone.
What Bundjalung Country is
Bundjalung is a nation and a language group: many clan groups, each with their own country and their own dialect, across what is now called the Northern Rivers of New South Wales and the neighbouring part of south-east Queensland. Tweed Heads, Byron Bay, Ballina, Lismore, Casino, Kyogle, Grafton and Iluka all sit within or on the edge of it, along with the Gold Coast hinterland, Beaudesert and Logan to the north.
The edges are approximate on purpose. Country was held by families and followed rivers, ridgelines and coast rather than survey lines, and around the Clarence in the south Bundjalung Country meets Yaegl Country without a crisp boundary. None of the mapped lines you can look up — local government areas, land council areas, national park boundaries — were drawn to describe Country, and none of them should be read as though they were.
What this site is not. Bundjalung.au is a small domain project that provides email addresses and web hosting. It is not a land council, native title body, government agency or cultural authority, and nothing on these pages is a ruling about boundaries, groups, language or belonging. Everything here comes from public records, and every page points at the organisations that actually hold the knowledge.
New to words like Country, clan group or native title? The home page has short explanations of the key terms used across these guides.
Guides to Bundjalung Country
Seven plain guides to the things people most often come here looking for. They are written to be read in order, but each one also stands on its own.
Bundjalung Country map
Where Bundjalung Country runs, why no single map is official, and who holds the boundaries.
Clans and groups
Arakwal, Githabul, Bandjalang, Widjabal, Nyangbal, Yugambeh and the other names you will meet.
Bundjalung language
Dialects, why spellings differ, and the language centres that actually teach and publish.
Place names
Which Northern Rivers town names come from Bundjalung language, and which came from Britain.
Bundjalung National Park
The coastal park between Iluka and Evans Head, its campgrounds, and the Iluka rainforest.
History: reserves and land rights
The Protection Board years, the reserves and stations, and where to look for family records.
Parks, sacred places and walks
Jointly managed parks, places custodians ask you to treat with care, and Aboriginal-led walks.
Towns and cities across Bundjalung Country
There is a short page for each of the largest towns and cities across Bundjalung Country, from Tweed Heads on the Queensland border down to the Clarence River. Each has notes on the town itself, plus local email hosting, web hosting, and an open invitation for local Bundjalung artists, makers and business owners to request a listing — nothing about anyone is published without their own request.
Lismore
The region's university city on the Wilsons River, rebuilding since the 2022 floods.
Ballina
Richmond River mouth town and regional airport gateway, home of the Big Prawn.
Grafton
Clarence River city famous for its jacaranda trees, near the Bundjalung/Yaegl boundary.
Casino
The self-declared Beef Capital of Australia, built around its cattle saleyards.
Murwillumbah
Tweed Valley art town looking straight up at Wollumbin/Mount Warning.
Byron Bay
Cape Byron/Walgun and Arakwal Country, the most easterly point of mainland Australia.
Kingscliff
Fast-growing Tweed Coast surf beach town between Cudgen Headland and Salt.
Pottsville
Quieter Tweed Coast village at the mouth of Cudgera Creek, near Black Rocks.
Yamba
Clarence River mouth beach town, close to Yaegl Country and Angourie's surf reserve.
Ocean Shores
A 1970s planned coastal community between Brunswick Heads and New Brighton.
Mullumbimby
The "Biggest Little Town in Australia," known for music and heritage streetscapes.
Kyogle
Gateway to the Border Ranges rainforests and the historic Border Loop railway.
Bangalow
Federation-era hinterland village known for its monthly markets.
Evans Head
Fishing village between Broadwater and Bundjalung National Parks.
Maclean
The Scottish Town of Australia on the lower Clarence, near Yaegl Country.
Brunswick Heads
Small river-mouth fishing town between Byron Bay and the Tweed.
Iluka
Gateway to Bundjalung National Park itself, beside Yaegl Country.
Nimbin
Village shaped by the 1973 Aquarius Festival and the counterculture that followed.
For teachers and learners
Prefer resources developed with the relevant Aboriginal community. Use national curriculum material as supporting context, not as a substitute for local Bundjalung voices.
- Bundjalung learning resources from SharingStories
- Watch: Bundjalung Mullet Season — Bundjalung knowledge shared by Delta Kay and Kris Cook.
- Narragunnawali curriculum resources
- AIATSIS resources for teachers
Research and archives
Some collections contain names, images or voices of people who have died, and some material has cultural or access restrictions. Read the holding institution’s access conditions before viewing, sharing or reproducing material.
Walks and on-Country experiences
Gidjuum Gulganyi Walk — check NSW National Parks for current safety advice, closures and bookings before travelling.
Publishing about Bundjalung Country respectfully
A short, specific, maintained web page helps people find the right artist, service, project, reunion, event or business without depending on a social platform that may not be there next year. Static pages also load fast, archive cleanly and move between hosts. That is most of why this project exists. A few principles it works to:
- Get consent before publishing names, images, recordings, stories or family material.
- Do not publish restricted cultural information on a public page — indexing is hard to undo.
- Say plainly who runs a page and how to ask for a correction.
- Credit collaborators and link to the relevant community-controlled organisations.
- Check language words and place names with a language centre before they go live.
See community websites for how that works in practice, or web hosting and email hosting for the services themselves.
Frequently asked questions
What is Bundjalung Country?
Bundjalung Country is the Country of the Bundjalung nation: the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales and the adjoining part of south-east Queensland, commonly described as running from the Logan and Albert river catchments in the north south to the Clarence River, and inland from the coast to the Great Dividing Range and the Border Ranges. Those edges are approximate. Local land councils, native title bodies and community organisations are the authorities on boundaries, groups and cultural protocols.
Is there a map of Bundjalung Country?
There is no single official one. Every map in circulation, including the widely reproduced AIATSIS Map of Indigenous Australia, is an approximation, and AIATSIS says so itself. For a boundary that has to be right — a Welcome to Country, a heritage assessment, a land claim — go to the relevant Local Aboriginal Land Council or registered native title body.
Is Bundjalung a tribe, a nation or a language?
All three words get used, for slightly different things. Bundjalung is a language with many dialects, and a nation made up of many clan groups who speak them — Arakwal, Githabul, Bandjalang, Widjabal, Nyangbal, Minyangbal, Yugambeh and others. “Tribe” is a colonial-era term community members rarely use about themselves.
Where can I find Bundjalung language resources?
Bundjalung.au does not teach or document language. Bundjalung language programs, dictionaries and learning resources are maintained by community language centres, schools and Aboriginal corporations closer to Country — Muurrbay and the Many Rivers Aboriginal Language Centre on the NSW north coast, and the Yugambeh Museum in south-east Queensland, are the places to start.
Is Bundjalung.au an official Bundjalung organisation or land council?
No. Bundjalung.au is a small community-focused domain project that provides email addresses and static web hosting. It is not a land council, native title body, government agency, or cultural authority, and it does not decide cultural or family belonging.
How do I get a Bundjalung email address or website?
Eligible community members can request a bundjalung.au email address or free static website through the contact form on this site. A flexible identity check is used to reduce impersonation before an address or site is set up.