Tinonee is a small town on the banks of the Manning River, near Taree on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales in Mid-Coast Council, Australia. Tinonee was founded in 1854 and in the late 1980s became part of Greater Taree City. At the , Tinonee had a population of 734 people. Tinonee is on a road that previously served as the main road from Sydney to Brisbane, which is now called Bucketts Way. A punt, first built, owned and operated by David Scott Targett, licensee of the "Ferry Inn", once crossed the Manning River between Tinonee and Taree Estate. Tinonee was once one of the earliest settlements and major commercial hubs on the Manning River. Name The name Tinonee is believed to come from the local aboriginal Biripi people's word "Tinobi" which means "big shark", or "Tinobah" meaning "place of sharks". History The Biripi area takes in such towns as Taree, Wingham, Nabiac, and Tinonee. The Biripi people travelled around their country according to the seasons and the availability of their food sources. They also traded with other Nations for tools, food, and useful equipment. During their travels they harvested the native plants and utilized them for their survival and their traditional practices. These practices were orally handed down over the generations and it is this information has helped to form the basis of this web site. The Australian Aboriginal culture is the oldest living culture in the world. The Indigenous people of Australia have inhabited this region for well over 60,000 years. Their history and knowledge is one of an oral nature with the knowledge and wisdom of the very first inhabitants of this land handed down over the millennia so that it still exists today. Aboriginal people have lived in a harmonious way with nature, caring for it and surviving on it. By ensuring nature's survival the Aboriginal people have ensured their own survival. The cultural, spiritual and philosophical beliefs may vary between tribes and the knowledge of a group may vary from time to time. With the arrival of European settlers into this area much of the knowledge and customs of the Aboriginal people were slowly changed and some things have been lost or forgotten. Scientists have had to work over recent decades to bridge this gap in Indigenous knowledge. Enormous inroads have been made in creating a better understanding of the traditional Indigenous knowledge