Coonabarabran High revives ancient Gamilaraay language
Just 20 years ago the Gamilaraay language was on the verge of extinction, but thanks to one local high school, the ancient tongue has returned. Find out how the kids in Coona brought it back
READING LEVEL: GREEN
Students at a regional school in NSW have been breathing new life into an ancient language on the verge of extinction.
Only 20 years ago the Gamilaraay* language, like so many Indigenous dialects*, was at risk of being lost to future generations due to few fluent speakers.
Back then, only a handful of those who remembered Gamilaraay were keeping it alive. In 2006 it was estimated that there were just 35 speakers of the language. Fast-forward to 2025 and the Year 7 class at Coonabarabran High School has been speaking in the ancient language once more.
Craig Ashby, the school’s Indigenous language teacher and a linguistic* expert originally from Walgett some 230km away, has captured the imagination of the school’s students.
Mr Ashby has taught languages at some of Sydney’s most prestigious schools before returning to the bush to share his knowledge of the traditional, local language with both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students at Coonabarabran High.
His approach is teaching traditional linguistics methods to breathe life into an almost forgotten, complex language.
The students have been tackling the challenge as if on an adventure to decode an ancient mystery.
While the language is considered endangered, you may be surprised to learn just how many Gamilaraay words have crept into everyday Australian English.
Bindi-eye, galah, budgerigar, brolga – have all come from this ancient, northwestern NSW First Nations dialect.
As with any language, understanding the complexities of Gamilaraay isn’t always easy.
School principal Duncan Graham has been impressed by the students’ raw enthusiasm and engagement, as well as Mr Ashby’s dynamic teaching style.
“It’s magic,” he said. “You pitch high and they’ll meet you. What they’re learning is university stuff.”
Which is what the school principal has been aiming for – Indigenous students excelling academically to complete their Higher School Certificate, a qualification one Year 11 student said she would be the first in her family to achieve.
But academic achievement won’t be at the expense of the students losing their cultural identity, the school’s Indigenous Education teacher Alison Stanton said.
Like so many locals, Ms Stanton has traced her ancestry back to the Indigenous folklore hero Mary Jane Cain (1844-1929), who single-handedly secured a parcel of land in Coonabarabran granted by Queen Victoria, becoming the much-loved matriarch* of the Indigenous community and earning the title “Queenie Cain”.
In her later years, Queenie Cain recorded her life history and included a list of Gamilaraay words which helped to preserve what was, until then, oral history.
“Queenie Cain was my grandmother’s grandmother,” Ms Stanton said.
POLL
GLOSSARY
- Gamilaraay: an Indigenous Australian language spoken by the Gamilaraay, a First Nations people whose land stretched from northwestern NSW to southern Queensland and were one of the four largest Indigenous nations of Australia
- dialect: a form of language belonging to a specific region
- linguistic: the study of language and how it is formed
- matriarch: a woman who is the head of a family or tribe
EXTRA READING
NAIDOC Week: You are the future
Australia’s oldest Ice Age cave
50 years of NT bilingual learning
QUICK QUIZ
1. How many known speakers of Gamilaraay were there in 2006?
2. Why is it a big deal that students at Coonabarabran High School are learning the Gamilaraay language?
3. What positive effect is learning the language having on students at the school?
4. Who was Queenie Cain?
5. How did she help to preserve the Gamilaraay language?
LISTEN TO THIS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. What’s the point of language?
Why do you think keeping languages alive is important for communities? Create a mind map or brainstorm of as many ideas and reasons as you can.
Time: allow at least 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Personal and Social Capability
2. Extension
Design a special memorial to Queenie Cain. This can be in any form you want. The purpose of the memorial is to symbolise her achievements and contribution to her local community but also to Australia.
Time: allow at least 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, History
VCOP ACTIVITY
Vocabulary recycle
There is some vivid vocabulary being used in the article, and I am not just talking about the glossary words. Go through the article and highlight the high-level language that you are impressed by in yellow.
See if you can borrow two of these wow words to reuse in your own way.
Remember vocabulary is a great way to connect with the audience, but you need to think about who your audience is so you make great word choices.
Who will the audience be in your recycled sentences?
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Australia’s oldest Ice Age cave
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