Gringai

The Gringai people, a group of indigenous people of Australia, are those Australian Aborigines that were united by a common language, strong ties of kinship and survived as skilled hunter–fisher–gatherers in family groups as a clan of the Worimi people, whose traditional land is now known as the Port Stephens of New South Wales, Australia.^[1]

Gringai lands are mostly in the Williams River in the Manning Valley,^[2] and include what is now known as Dungog, Paterson, Gresford, Brookfield,^[3] Tocal,^[4] to the headwaters of the Williams and Chichester rivers.^[3] Gringai land also includes the southern valleys of the Barrington Tops.^[5]

Two people of the Gringai are known by that name as a result of their arrest and subsequent trials. Wong-ko-bi-kan and Charley were both arrested within a year or so of each other in the 1830s. Wong-ko-bi-kan was sentenced to be transported to Tasmania for manslaughter after spearing a John Flynn, where he died soon after. Charley was the only man to be hanged in the town of Dungog on the Williams River, as a demonstration to his fellow Gringai.^[6] Another was Jack Cook Maloogat (born 1830, Cobark Station NSW, died 1925), Captain Thunderbolt's horse boy. Maloogat was also one the last of his tribe to have gone through the last known Keepara - Kiapara ceremony or Boombit (from boy to man) where he got his name (Maloogat-son of thunder).{{}}

One of the Bora rings, initiation grounds of the local tribe, was in the Bulliac-Tugrabakh area, 4 miles (6 km) from Gloucester. Another two Bora rings where they used to camp and hold their corroborees are located where the Gloucester Public School now stands; one ring was used by the women and the other used by the men.Template:Where the Gloucester School stands Reg site

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