Cadigal
Encyclopedia
The Cadigal, also spelled as Gadigal, are a group of Aboriginal Australians who originally inhabited the area that they called 'Cadi', part of which later became known as the Marrickville Local Government Area
Marrickville Council
Marrickville Council is a Local Government Area situated in the Inner West region of Sydney, Australia.The area is bounded by Leichhardt to the north, the City of Sydney to the east and north-east, the City of Botany Bay to the south-east, Rockdale to the south, Canterbury to the west, and...

 of Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

. Cadigal territory lies south of Port Jackson
Port Jackson
Port Jackson, containing Sydney Harbour, is the natural harbour of Sydney, Australia. It is known for its beauty, and in particular, as the location of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge...

 and stretches from South Head to Petersham with part of the southern boundary lying on the Cooks River
Cooks River
The Cooks River is a 23 kilometre long urban waterway of south-western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia emptying into Botany Bay. The course of the river has been altered to accommodate various developments along its shore...

. The Cadigal language is a derivative of the Darug
Darug
Darug may refer to:*Darug people*Darug language*Dharruk, New South Wales...

 language.

Soon after his arrival at Port Jackson, Governor Arthur Phillip
Arthur Phillip
Admiral Arthur Phillip RN was a British admiral and colonial administrator. Phillip was appointed Governor of New South Wales, the first European colony on the Australian continent, and was the founder of the settlement which is now the city of Sydney.-Early life and naval career:Arthur Phillip...

 estimated the population of the Sydney district at around 1500 people, although other estimates range from as low as 200 to as high as 4000.

The Cadigal clan was estimated to have 50-80 people.

The occupation of the Sydney area by the British and the subsequent introduction of European diseases including smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...

 decimated the Eora people
Eora
The Eora are the Aboriginal people of the Sydney area, south to the Georges River, north to the Hawkesbury River, and west to Parramatta. The indigenous people used this word to describe where they came from to the British. "Eora" was then used by the British to refer to those Aboriginal people...

 and their neighbours. The disastrous 1789 smallpox epidemic is estimated to have killed about 50% of Sydney's indigenous population, and it has been claimed that only three Cadigal people were left alive by 1791, although archaeological evidence suggests that some Cadigal people may have escaped to the Concord
Concord, New South Wales
Concord is a suburb in the inner west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 15 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Canada Bay....

area and settled there.

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