|
PEMULWUY was another famous Aboriginal who was born near Botany Bay and whose name means “earth” in his Dharug language. Pemulwuy is said to have been thought by colonists as “’a most active enemy to the settlers, plundering them of their property, and endangering their personal safety'. Raids were made for food, particularly corn, or as 'payback' for atrocities: Collins suggested that most of the attacks were the result of the settlers' 'own misconduct', including the kidnapping of Aboriginal children. “
(Source: manly.nsw.gov.au) |
To his people, Pemulwuy is known as a ‘clever man’ - a warrior with mystic powers. To the British, he is a terrorist and rebel. Pemulwuy’s band of resistance fighters have been burning a path across the colony. Click the video to the right to watch the story of Pemulwoy from Channel 7's Australia: The Story of Us.
|
|
Click on the below images to access more information on Pemulwuy
|
|
Pemulwuy of the Eora from Skwirk.com.au
The Aboriginal peoples did not have big armies to fight the British invaders. Instead, they worked in small groups to harass the settlers and organise surprise raids on the settlements and camps, commonly called guerrilla tactics. One of the earliest Aboriginal men to lead a group of warriors and resist the invasion of the British settlers around Sydney was a man named Pemulwuy.
PemulwuyPemulwuy was an Aboriginal that lived in the Sydney area between the coast and Castle Hill in the Eora language group. He was born in about 1760, died in 1802 and saw the British as invaders of Aboriginal land. Refer Image 1
Pemulwuy first came to the attention of the British when he speared and killed the governor's gamekeeper, John McIntyre, in 1790. McIntyre was believed to have killed a number of Aboriginal people in the area. Governor Phillip ordered a punitive expedition to revenge the death of the gamekeeper, but the troops failed to capture Pemulwuy. He was then declared an outlaw under British law.
Organising raidsPemulwuy was responsible for organising small groups of Aboriginal warriors to attack British farms, small towns and troops around Parramatta and Toongabbie. Many settlers abandoned their properties as the raids continued. Refer Image 2
Soldiers were soon ordered to patrol farming areas and protect the settlers. Pemulwuy and his warriors then began using fire as a weapon. They lit fires in the hope of destroying the British farms, fences, crops, stock, houses and supplies. The British responded by organising revenge attacks against the Eora people. The Eora camps were attacked while the men were away hunting. Elderly people, women and children were shot and either wounded or killed.
Capture and death of PemulwuyAfter several years of organising resistance against the settlers, Pemulwuy was shot and seriously wounded during an attack on Parramatta in 1797. He was captured and imprisoned. Despite his injuries, Pemulwuy somehow escaped. The Eora people believed he turned into a crow and flew through the bars of his prison cell.
For 12 years, Pemulwuy and his warriors fought against the British; although he found it increasingly difficult to find strong warriors to make the raids. Many Aboriginal people were dying from the European diseases and in battles with the settlers. In 1802 a patrol shot Pemulwuy dead in an ambush. His head was cut off and it was sent to Sir Joseph Banks in London for research and display in a British museum.Refer Image 3
The governor at the time, Lieutenant Philip King, wrote: 'Although a terrible pest to the colony, he was a brave and independent character.' With the death of Pemulwuy the large scale resistance to the European invasion around the Sydney region ended, but Aboriginal resistance continued in most other areas as the British settlement spread.
The guerrilla tactics used by Pemulwuy were the same used by many Aboriginal groups on the frontier. There were other warriors, including Yagan in Perth, that have become well known; but Pemulwuy was the first to show the British settlers that the Aboriginal peoples were going to resist the invasion.
The Aboriginal peoples did not have big armies to fight the British invaders. Instead, they worked in small groups to harass the settlers and organise surprise raids on the settlements and camps, commonly called guerrilla tactics. One of the earliest Aboriginal men to lead a group of warriors and resist the invasion of the British settlers around Sydney was a man named Pemulwuy.
PemulwuyPemulwuy was an Aboriginal that lived in the Sydney area between the coast and Castle Hill in the Eora language group. He was born in about 1760, died in 1802 and saw the British as invaders of Aboriginal land. Refer Image 1
Pemulwuy first came to the attention of the British when he speared and killed the governor's gamekeeper, John McIntyre, in 1790. McIntyre was believed to have killed a number of Aboriginal people in the area. Governor Phillip ordered a punitive expedition to revenge the death of the gamekeeper, but the troops failed to capture Pemulwuy. He was then declared an outlaw under British law.
Organising raidsPemulwuy was responsible for organising small groups of Aboriginal warriors to attack British farms, small towns and troops around Parramatta and Toongabbie. Many settlers abandoned their properties as the raids continued. Refer Image 2
Soldiers were soon ordered to patrol farming areas and protect the settlers. Pemulwuy and his warriors then began using fire as a weapon. They lit fires in the hope of destroying the British farms, fences, crops, stock, houses and supplies. The British responded by organising revenge attacks against the Eora people. The Eora camps were attacked while the men were away hunting. Elderly people, women and children were shot and either wounded or killed.
Capture and death of PemulwuyAfter several years of organising resistance against the settlers, Pemulwuy was shot and seriously wounded during an attack on Parramatta in 1797. He was captured and imprisoned. Despite his injuries, Pemulwuy somehow escaped. The Eora people believed he turned into a crow and flew through the bars of his prison cell.
For 12 years, Pemulwuy and his warriors fought against the British; although he found it increasingly difficult to find strong warriors to make the raids. Many Aboriginal people were dying from the European diseases and in battles with the settlers. In 1802 a patrol shot Pemulwuy dead in an ambush. His head was cut off and it was sent to Sir Joseph Banks in London for research and display in a British museum.Refer Image 3
The governor at the time, Lieutenant Philip King, wrote: 'Although a terrible pest to the colony, he was a brave and independent character.' With the death of Pemulwuy the large scale resistance to the European invasion around the Sydney region ended, but Aboriginal resistance continued in most other areas as the British settlement spread.
The guerrilla tactics used by Pemulwuy were the same used by many Aboriginal groups on the frontier. There were other warriors, including Yagan in Perth, that have become well known; but Pemulwuy was the first to show the British settlers that the Aboriginal peoples were going to resist the invasion.
Background information about Pemulwuy from http://www.jaconline.com.au/
The Bidjigal warrior Pemulwuy, sometimes called the Rainbow Warrior, belonged to the Eora language group (the area surrounding Sydney). Between 1790 and 1802, he led many attacks against colonial farms and settlements, some of which were highly organised, large-scale guerrilla operations. He and his men fought so fi ercely in a battle in 1797 that he almost gained control of the newly settled town of Parramatta.
Governor King became increasingly frustrated by Pemulwuy. He offered rewards, including a free pardon, to any convict who would bring him his head. That happened in 1802; Pemulwuy was murdered. His decapitated head was sent to England to be studied by scientists. They had heard a lot about the native Australians, but had never seen one. Although glad he was dead, Governor King had a grudging respect for Pemulwuy. He said of him: ‘Altho’ a terrible pest to the colony, he was a brave and independent character and an active, daring leader of his people’.
Governor King became increasingly frustrated by Pemulwuy. He offered rewards, including a free pardon, to any convict who would bring him his head. That happened in 1802; Pemulwuy was murdered. His decapitated head was sent to England to be studied by scientists. They had heard a lot about the native Australians, but had never seen one. Although glad he was dead, Governor King had a grudging respect for Pemulwuy. He said of him: ‘Altho’ a terrible pest to the colony, he was a brave and independent character and an active, daring leader of his people’.