Pemulwuy

Pemulwuy
Nationality Eora
Other names Pimbloy, Pemulvoy, Pemulwoy, Bimblewove, Bumbleway, Pemulwuy
Occupation Political leader
Known for Resistance to British occupation of Sydney area
Movement Aboriginal resistance
Children Tedbury
Website http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/AS10389b.htm

Pemulwuy (also rendered as Pimbloy, Pemulvoy, Pemulwoy, Pemulwye, or sometimes by contemporary Europeans as Bimblewove or Bumbleway)[1] (c. 1750 – 2 June 1802) was an Aboriginal Australian man born around 1750 in the area of Botany Bay in New South Wales. He is noted for his resistance to the European settlement of Australia which began with the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788.[2] He is believed to have been a member of the Bidjigal (Bediagal) clan of the Eora people.[3]. The Bidjigal[4] people were the original inhabitants of Toongabbie and Parramatta in Sydney.

Pemulwuy lived near Botany Bay.[5] Pemulwuy may have been a carradhy (healer). Pemulwuy would hunt meat and provide it to the food-challenged new colony in exchange for goods. However, in 1790 Pemulwuy began a twelve-year guerilla war against the British, which continued until his assassination.[6][7]

When Pemulwuy grew into manhood he became Bembul Wuyan, which represents "the earth and the crow". According to historian Richard Green "he wasn't very impressed with the mix of cultures. He preferred that we stayed within our own peoples." . [6] Another name for him was "Butu Wargun" which means "crow".[6]

Early life

Pemulwuy was born with a turned eye[6] or other blemish in his left eye.[1] According to historian Eric Willmot:

Normally, a child that showed an obvious deformity would've been, well, people would have expected that child to be sent back, to be reborn again. It was generally thought that humans, like everything, came from the land. And that a woman, the actual act of conception, was a woman being infected by a child's spirit from the land. And that child grows within her. And so he was different and he became more different. He became better than everybody else. Whatever anyone else could do, Pemulwuy did it better. He could run further, he was one of the best, he could use a spear like no-one else could. And so, around him, was created an aura of difference. So much so that he was said to be a clever man. In an Aboriginal society, clever man is often a man who deals with the spiritual nature of things and sorcery even.[6]

His contemporary Colebe said that Pemulwuy's left foot was distinctive as it had been damaged by a club, perhaps to mark him as a carradhy ("clever man" or healer).[1] The Kurdaitcha (ritual executioners and lawmen) of Central Australia similarly have a foot deliberately mutilated.[1][6]

Conflict with the Europeans

Pemulwuy's War
Date1790-1802
LocationBotany Bay, Liverpool, Parramatta, Hawkesbury River, New South Wales
Result British victory, Pemulwuy's death
Belligerents
Kingdom of Great Britain British colonists Aboriginal Australians
Commanders and leaders
Kingdom of Great Britain Governor Arthur Phillip (1790 - 1792)
Kingdom of Great Britain Governor John Hunter (1795 - 1800)
United Kingdom Governor Philip Gidley King (1800 - 1802)		 Pemulwuy †

Origin of Conflict: Spearing of McIntyre

On 9 December 1790, a shooting party left for Botany Bay, including a sergeant of marines and three convicts, including Governor Phillip's gamekeeper John McIntyre. According to Watkin Tench:

About one o’clock, the sergeant was awakened by a rustling noise in the bushes near him, and supposing it to proceed from a kangaroo, called to his comrades, who instantly jumped up. On looking about more narrowly, they saw two natives with spears in their hands, creeping towards them, and three others a little farther behind. As this naturally created alarm, McIntyre said, “don’t be afraid, I know them,” and immediately laying down his gun, stepped forward, and spoke to them in their own language. The Indians, finding they were discovered, kept slowly retreating, and McIntyre accompanied them about a hundred yards, talking familiarly all the while. One of them now jumped on a fallen tree and, without giving the least warning of his intention, launched his spear at McIntyre and lodged it in his left side. The person who committed this wanton act was described as a young man with a speck or blemish on his left eye. That he had been lately among us was evident from his being newly shaved.[8]

The group was pursued by the settlers with muskets, but they escaped. McIntyre was taken back to the settlement, gravely wounded. Tench suspected that McIntyre had previously killed Aboriginal people, and noted the fear and hatred that the Aboriginal people, including Bennelong (an Aboriginal man who Governor Phillip had captured, in hopes of interaction with the Aboriginals) showed towards him.[9]

Governor Phillip's Military Expeditions

An irate Governor Phillip ordered Lieutenant Tench to gather his company of marines and lead an expedition against the Bidjigal in retaliation for Pemulwuy's attack on McIntyre. He ordered that two Bidjigal were to be captured and ten killed; these ten were then to be beheaded and the heads returned to the settlement. Tench swiftly suggested an alternative and less bloodthirsty plan, that six Bidjigal be captured and brought to Sydney Cove but that none be killed out of hand.[10]

Tench's proposal was accepted, and the expedition set out on 14 December in search of Pemulwuy and the Bidjigal tribe. The expedition was the largest military operation since the founding of the colony, comprising Tench, Lieutenants William Dawes and John Poulden, and 46 marines. However, despite three days of searching there was no sign of the Bidjigal. On 17 December Tench ordered a return to Sydney Cove to gather supplies.[10] [11]

Resistance

Pemulwuy persuaded the Eora, Dharug and Tharawal people to join his campaign against the newcomers. From 1792 Pemulwuy led raids on settlers from Parramatta, Georges River, Prospect, Toongabbie, Brickfield and Hawkesbury River. His most common tactic was to burn crops and kill livestock.[6] In May 1795, Pemulwuy or one of his followers speared a convict near present-day Chippendale.[12]

In December 1795, Pemulwuy and his warriors attacked a work party at Botany Bay which included Black Caesar. Caesar managed to crack Pemulwuy's skull and many thought he had killed him, but the warrior survived and escaped. But this critically injured him afterwards.[13][14][15][16][17]

Escape

Despite still having buckshot in his head and body, and wearing a leg-iron, Pemulwuy escaped from the hospital. This added to the belief that he was a carradhy.[18]

Pemulwuy recommenced his fighting against the British by November 1797. However his injuries had affected his ability as a fighter and his resistance was on a smaller and more sporadic scale for the rest of his life.[19]

Convicts William Knight and Thomas Thrush escaped and joined the aboriginal resistance.[12]

According to Richard Green, "with simple spears, rocks, boomerangs, stones, he [Pemulwuy] defeated the British army that they sent here. Every single soldier except for Watkin Tench, that they sent in pursuit of Pemulwuy either walked back into the community with their saddle over their shoulders or they didn't make it back."[6]

Death

Governor Philip Gidley King issued an order on 22 November 1801 for bringing Pemulwuy in dead or alive, with an associated reward. The order attributed the killing of two men, the dangerous wounding of several, and a number of robberies to Pemulwuy.[20]

On 2 June 1802 Pemulwuy was shot and killed by a blinded British sailor Henry Hacking, the first mate of the English ship Lady Nelson.[12]

"After being wounded, all the people believed that he was immune to British bullets," says Richard Green. "So he'd stand out in front and, you know, stand right out in front of them and take them on, you know? So after 12 years, his time ran out. He got his shot and he took it."[19]

Following the death of Pemulwuy, Governor King wrote to Lord Hobart that on the death of Pemulwuy he was given his head by the Aboriginal people as Pemulwuy "had been the cause of all that had happened". The Governor issued orders with immediate effect to not "molest or ill-treat any native", and to re-admit them to the areas of Parramatta and Prospect from which they had been forcibly excluded.[21]

Pemulwuy's head was preserved in spirits.[22] It was sent to England to Sir Joseph Banks accompanied by a letter from Governor King, who wrote: "Although a terrible pest to the colony, he was a brave and independent character."[23]

Pemulway's son Tedbury continued the struggle for a number of years before being killed in 1810.

Skull

Repatriation of the skull of Pemulwuy has been requested by Sydney Aboriginal people. It has not yet been located in order to be repatriated. In 2010 Prince William announced he would return Pemulwuy's skull to his Aboriginal relatives.[24]

Legacy

The Sydney suburb of Pemulwuy, New South Wales is named after him,[25] as well as Pemulwuy Park in Redfern, New South Wales.[26]

In the 1980s the band Redgum composed a song about Pemulwuy entitled "Water and Stone".[27]

The first song on James Asher's 1996 new age album Feet In The Soil is entitled "Pemulwuy", and the last song is entitled "Pemulwuy Returns". Both feature didgeridoos.

Australian composer Paul Jarman composed a choral work entitled Pemulwuy. It has become an Australian choral standard, and was performed by the Biralee Blokes in their victory in the ABC Choir of the Year 2006.

In 1987 Weldons published "Pemulwuy: The Rainbow Warrior" by Eric Willmot, a best-selling novel providing a fictionalised account using early colonial documents as source. Matilda Media re-released the book in 1994 [28]

The redevelopment of The Block in the Sydney suburb of Redfern by the Aboriginal Housing Company has been called the Pemulwuy Project.[29]

In 2008 Marlene Cummins released an eponymous song about Pemulwuy. This was later presented to Prince William along with a petition to bring Pemulwuy's head back to his people.[30]

In 2009 a remote boxing game for the Wii console, Pemulwuy Dream Team, was developed.

In 2015 the National Museum of Australia installed a plaque honouring his role in Australian history as part of the Defining Moments[31] project.[32]

In 2017 a Sydney Ferries Emerald-class ferry was named Pemulwuy.[33]

See also

  • Kurdaitcha, who are also marked through deliberate damage to the foot

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Kohen, J. L. Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
  2. ↑ Studies., Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (2001-01-01). Aboriginal Sydney : a guide to important places of the past and present. Aboriginal Studies Press. p. 140. ISBN 0855753706. OCLC 47152902.
  3. ↑ Wendy Lewis, Simon Balderstone and John Bowan (2006). Events That Shaped Australia. New Holland. ISBN 978-1-74110-492-9.
  4. ↑ Keith Vincent Smith (2010). "Pemulwuy". Dictionary of Sydney. Dictionary of Sydney Trust. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  5. ↑ "Pemulwuy". Biography of Pemulwuy. Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Summer Series - Pemulwuy: A War of Two Laws Pt ", Message Stick, Sunday 5 December 2010 accessed 3 March 2014
  7. ↑ Studies., Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (2001-01-01). Aboriginal Sydney : a guide to important places of the past and present. Aboriginal Studies Press. p. 140. ISBN 0855753706. OCLC 47152902.
  8. ↑ Watkin Tench, The Settlement at Port Jackson, Chapter Eight accessed 3 March 2014
  9. ↑ Tench, Watkin, "Chapter viii", A Complete Account of the Settlement at Port Jackson
  10. 1 2 Moore 1987, pp. 117-118
  11. ↑ Moore 1987, pp. 118-119
  12. 1 2 3 Keith Vincent Smith, "Australia's oldest murder mystery", Sydney Morning Herald 1 November 2003 accessed 26 February 2014
  13. ↑ Shane Moloney, "Pemulwuy & Black Caesar", The Monthly March, 2013 accessed 26 February 2014
  14. ↑ Dale, David (16 February 2008). "WHO WE ARE: The man who nearly changed everything". "The Sun Herald".
  15. ↑ J Henniker Heaton, Australian Dictionary of Dates and Men of the Time, Sydney, 1873
  16. ↑ Al Grassby and Marji Hill, Six Australian Battlefields, North Ryde: Angus &Robertson, 1988:99.
  17. ↑ "Pemulwuy".
  18. ↑ "Pemulwuy". Dictionary of Sydney. www.dictionaryofsydney.org. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
  19. 1 2 "Pemulwuy: A War of Two Laws Part 2", Message Stick Sunday 16 May 2010, 1:30pm ABC1 accessed 3 March 2014
  20. ↑ F. M. Bladen (ed.), "Government and General Order. 22 November 1801.", Historical Records of New South Wales, IV — HUNTER AND KING, p. 629, archived from the original on 6 April 2011
  21. ↑ F. M. Bladen (ed.), "Governor King to Lord Hobart. 30 October 1802", Historical Records of New South Wales, IV — HUNTER AND KING, p. 868, archived from the original on 6 April 2011
  22. ↑ Studies., Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (2001-01-01). Aboriginal Sydney : a guide to important places of the past and present. Aboriginal Studies Press. p. 141. ISBN 0855753706. OCLC 47152902.
  23. ↑ F. M. Bladen (ed.), "Governor King to Sir Joseph Banks. 5 June 1802.", Historical Records of New South Wales, IV — HUNTER AND KING, p. 783, archived from the original on 6 April 2011
  24. ↑ "Prince William takes up search for lost Aboriginal skull". The Times]. 2010-02-04.
  25. ↑ "Pemulwuy". Geographical Names Register (GNR) of NSW. Geographical Names Board of New South Wales. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
  26. ↑ "Pemulwuy Park, Redfern". City of Sydney. Archived from the original on 16 March 2011. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
  27. ↑ Redgum - Water and Stone on YouTube
  28. ↑ "Pemulwuy: The Rainbow Warrior". Google Books. Google. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  29. ↑ "Redevelopment News". Aboriginal Housing Company. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  30. ↑ "Local Heroes: Marlene Cummins". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  31. ↑ "Defining Moments in Australian History". National Museum Australia. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  32. ↑ Maher, Louise. "Pemulwuy: Commemorating Australia's first Aboriginal resistance leader at the National Museum". ABC news. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  33. ↑ Pemulwuy arrives in Sydney Transport for New South Wales 30 August 2017

Sources

  • Moore, John (1987). The First Fleet Marines. University of Queensland Press. ISBN 0702220655.
  • Taylor, Gail (1999). Pemulwuy. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521776257.

Further reading

  • Willmot, E., 1987, Pemulwuy – The Rainbow Warrior, Weldons. A fictionalised recount using early colonial documents as source.
  • Dark, Eleanor, 1947, The Timeless Land, also uses early colonial documents as source, including a recount of unsuccessful search for Pemulwuy by Arthur Phillip's officers.
  • Richards, D. Manning (2012). Destiny in Sydney: An epic novel of convicts, Aborigines, and Chinese embroiled in the birth of Sydney, Australia. First book in Sydney series. Washington DC: Aries Books. ISBN 978-0-9845410-0-3
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