Fanny Balbuk

Group portrait of Noongar men, women, and children, Fanny Balbuk seated on the right in the white dress. State Library of WA 253420PD

Fanny Balbuk (1840-1907) was a prominent Noongar Whadjuk woman who lived in Perth, Western Australia during the early years of the Swan River Colony. Fanny Balbuk (sometimes recorded as 'Yooreel') was born on Matagarup (Heirisson Island) in the Derbal Yaragan (Swan River)[1] and her boodja (country) included the swamps and wetland in the area currently occupied by the Perth Railway Station and Perth Cultural Centre. She is remembered for her fierce commitment to land rights, and her reactions to the buildings, fences and homes which quickly replaced her boodja (land) as the Swan River Colony expanded at the cost of Noongar peoples' land, language and lives.[2]

Early life

Fanny Balbuk was born to Joojeebal (Doodyep) and Coondenung on Matagarup in 1840. Her father Coondenung was an accomplished hunter and her mother Joojeebal was known for "cheeky" sense of humour.[3]

Life

Fanny Balbuk was born near the causeway on Noongar Whadjuk country and would collect Gilgies and vegetables from the swampy areas around Perth. She was a descendant of Yellagonga and her traditional country covers the Perth CBD area.

Map showing Noongar language areas

Balbuk was well known among the colonists who had grown up around her, Balbuk at a young age had travelled around to places like Northam ,Moore River and Dandaragan and attended a friendship ceremony where she was given the name Yooreel at Moore river ,she was remembered for her unwavering commitment to maintaining her land rights in the earliest days of the Frontier Wars in Western Australia. Balbuk would walk the track between her birth site and the Railway Station, regardless of any new obstacles, buildings or fences which would spring up in her path as the colony grew. Daisy Bates herself wrote one of her favourite annoyances was to stand at the gates of Government House, reviling all who dwelt within, in that the stone gates guarded by a sentry enclosed her grandmother's burial ground.[4]

Noongar Elder Noel Nannup tells a similar story: That was her songline, her dreaming. She just kept going and didn’t take any notice of the new city going up. That’s a story of defiance and determination.[5]

Death

Fanny Balbuk died in 1907[6] leaving no descendants.

References

  1. ↑ national museum of australia First Australians
  2. ↑ "Fanny Balbuk Yooreel". Nyoongar Tent Embassy. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  3. ↑ "First Australians: Fanny Balbuk". National Museum of Australia. National Museum of Australia. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  4. ↑ Bates, Daisy (2004). My natives and I. Hesperian Press. p. 65.
  5. ↑ "Fighting for families, Country, rights and recognition" (PDF). City of Perth. City of Perth. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  6. ↑ Bates, Daisy (1 June 1907). "Fanny Balbuk-Yooreel". The Western Mail. p. 44. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
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