Aboriginal associations with the park area Barrington Tops
National Park and State Conservation Area overlie the
territories of several Aboriginal groups: - the eastern side is
the traditional country of the Worimi and Biripi people - the
southern valleys were occupied by the Gringai clan of the Worimi
people - the western side is Wonnarua country. The Biripi took
in the area between Tuncurry, Taree and Gloucester. Worimi
territory extended from Barrington Tops and Forster in the north
to Maitland and the Hunter River in the south. The Worimi,
Biripi and Wonnarua were divided into a number of nurras or
clans. Nurras were local groups within tribes, each occupying a
definite part of the tribal territory. Both the Worimi and
Biripi spoke the Kattang language. Aboriginal people were
hunters and gatherers who moved throughout their territory in
response to the seasonal availability of food. This meant that
the land's resources were naturally replenished. Clans occupied
the valleys year round, visiting the plateau