Derrimut (also spelt Derremart or Terrimoot) ( – 20 April 1864), was a headman or

arweet Arweet/Ngarweet is an important tribal position in the Boonwurrung and Wathaurong peoples of the Indigenous Australian Kulin alliance who live from Western Port, Port Phillip, Geelong to Ballarat.Carolyn Briggs, Boon wurrung Arweets Carolyn Briggs ...

of the

Boonwurrung The Boonwurrung people are an Aboriginal people of the Kulin nation, who are the traditional owners of the land from the Werribee River to Wilsons Promontory in the Australian state of Victoria. Their territory includes part of what is now the c ...

(Bunurong) people from the

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

area of Australia.Ian D. Clark,
"You have all this place, no good have children ..." Derrimut: traitor, saviour, or a man of his people?
', in the ''Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society'', 1 December 2005. Accessed 8 November 2008 Derrimut was born around 1810, before European settlement of the

colony of Victoria In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...

. In October 1835 he informed the early European settlers of an impending attack by "up-country tribes". The colonists armed themselves, and the attack was averted. Benbow from the Bunurong and

Billibellary Billibellary (c. 1799–10 August 1846) was a song maker and influential ngurungaeta of the Wurundjeri-willam clan during the early years of European settlement of Melbourne. He was known by various names including Billi-billeri, Billibellary, Jik ...

, from the

Wurundjeri The Wurundjeri people are an Australian Aboriginal people of the Woiwurrung language group, in the Kulin nation. They are the Traditional Owners of the Birrarung (Yarra River) Valley, covering much of the present location of Narrm (Melbourne ...

, also acted to protect the colonists in what is perceived as part of their duty of hospitality. He fought in the late 1850s and early 1860s to protect Boonwurrung rights to live on their land at

Mordialloc Reserve Mordialloc is a beachside suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 24 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Kingston local government area. Mordialloc recorded a population of 8,886 at the . ...

. When the reserve was closed in July 1863, his people were forced to unite with the remnants of

Woiwurrung The Woiwurrung, also spelt Woi Wurrung, Woiwurrong, Woiworung, Wuywurung, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Woiwurrung language group, in the Kulin people, Kulin alliance. The Woiwurrung people's territory in Central Victoria (Austral ...

and other

Victorian Aboriginal Aboriginal Victorians, the Aboriginal Australians of Victoria, Australia, occupied the land for tens of thousands of years prior to European settlement. Aboriginal people have lived a semi-nomadic existence of fishing, hunting and gathering, a ...

communities to settle

Coranderrk Coranderrk was an Aboriginal reserve run by the Victorian government between 1863 and 1924, located around north-east of Melbourne. The residents were mainly of the Woiwurrung, Bunurong and Taungurong peoples, and the first inhabitants chose ...

Mission station, near

Healesville Healesville is a town in Victoria, Australia, 52 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district, located within the Shire of Yarra Ranges local government area. Healesville recorded a population of 7,589 in the 2021 census. He ...

. Derrimut became very disillusioned and died at the Melbourne Benevolent Asylum at the age of about 54 years on 20 April 1864. In his honour, over his body, interred in the

Melbourne General Cemetery The Melbourne General Cemetery is a large (43 hectare) necropolis located north of the city of Melbourne in the suburb of Carlton North. The cemetery is notably the resting place of four Prime Ministers of Australia, more than any other nec ...

according to European rather than Aboriginal rites, a tombstone was erected. The text of his tombstone reads: "This stone was erected by a few colonists To commemorate the noble act of the native Chief Derrimut who by timely information given October 1835 to the first colonists Messrs Fawkner, Lancey, Evans, Henry Batman and their saved them from massacre, planned by some of the up-country tribes of Aborigines. Derrimut closed his mortal career in the Benevolent Asylum, May 28th 1864 ; aged about 54 Years" The Melbourne suburb of

Derrimut Derrimut is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Brimbank Local government area. Derrimut recorded a population of 8,651 at the 2021 census. Located on the l ...

is named after him.

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Further reading