Location: Inland from Maryborough; north to Childers and Hervey Bay; south to near head of Mary River and Cooroy; west to Burnett and Coast Ranges and Kilkivan; at Gympie; not originally on Fraser Island although Curr (1886) mentions them as there. Mathews (1910) refers to fifteen local groups or hordes shared between his two language areas, Kabi and Wakka, excluding his Patyala, which are the Batjala of Fraser Island, a separate tribe. Kabikabi country is essentially a rain forest environment with open areas cleared by firing the scrub. Dry forest country of their neighbors was called ['naran], literally 'outside.' The Hervey Bay folk under the hordelike name Dundubara behaved much like a separate tribe, Dundu:ra was seemingly the tribal form of their name. Members of this tribe were disturbed by the arrival of strangers of many surrounding tribes in the years of the ripening of bunya pine seeds.
Co-ordinates: 152°25'E x 25°45'S
Area: 3,700 sq. m. (9,600 sq. km.)
References: Russell, 1845; Lang, 1861; Ridley, 1866, 1875; Howitt, 1884, 1904 (horde names only); Curr, 1886; Mathew in Curr, 1887; Meston, 1892; Lauterer, 1898; Mathews, 1898 (Gr. 6444), 1900 (Gr. 6566), 1910 (Gr. 6429, 6470); Mathew, 1910, 1914; Tindale, 1940 and MS; Bull, 1948; Winter-botham, 1955; Reeves and Miller, 1964.
Alternative Names: Kabi (['kabi] = no), Cabbee, Karbi, Karabi, Carby-carbery, Kabbi, Kahby, Carby, Gabigabi, Dippil (general term embracing several tribes with languages akin to Kabikabi in southeastern Queensland), Dipple, Maiba (river chestnut people), Dundu:ra, Doondoora, Dundubara, Doondooburra (Hervey Bay people), Dowarburra (horde north of Kilkivan).