Warwan

The Warrwa, also spelt Warwa, were an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Their country, estimated at roughly 9,800 square kilometres, followed the eastern shore of King Sound and reached inland to the upper Logue River; they also lived around Derby and north of Meda. Their speech was an eastern Nyulnyulan language so close to Nyikina that it was often classified as a Nyikina dialect.

Before European contact the Nyikina pushed down the Fitzroy River and split the Warrwa clans into a western ‘little Warrwa’ and an eastern ‘big Warrwa’ around Derby and Meda. The first European to explore their coast was William Dampier, who entered King Sound aboard the Cygnet in 1688.