Yagan (; – 11 July 1833) was an
Aboriginal Australian
Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait I ...
warrior from the
Noongar
The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian peoples who live in the South West, Western Australia, south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton, Western Au ...
people. Yagan was pursued by the local authorities after he killed Erin Entwhistle, a servant of farmer Archibald Butler. It was an act of retaliation after Thomas Smedley, another of Butler's servants, shot at a group of Noongar people stealing potatoes and fowls, killing one of them. The government offered a
bounty
Bounty or bounties commonly refers to:
* Bounty (reward), an amount of money or other reward offered by an organization for a specific task done with a person or thing
Bounty or bounties may also refer to:
Geography
* Bounty, Saskatchewan, a g ...
for Yagan's capture, dead or alive, and a young settler, William Keats, shot and killed him. He is considered a legendary figure by the Noongar.
After his shooting, settlers removed Yagan's head to claim the bounty. Later, an official sent it to London, where it was exhibited as an "
anthropological
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...
curiosity" and eventually given to a museum in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
. It held the head in storage for more than a century before burying it with other remains in an unmarked grave in Liverpool in 1964. Over the years, the Noongar asked for repatriation of the head, both for religious reasons and because of Yagan's traditional stature. The burial site was identified in 1993; officials
exhumed the head four years later and
repatriated
Repatriation is the process of returning a thing or a person to its country of origin or citizenship. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as to the pro ...
it to Australia. After years of debate within the Noongar community on the appropriate final resting place, Yagan's head was buried in a traditional ceremony in the
Swan Valley in July 2010, 177 years after his death.
Biography
Early life
A member of the
Whadjuk
Whadjuk, alternatively Witjari, are Noongar (Aboriginal Australian) people of the Western Australian region of the Perth bioregion of the Swan Coastal Plain.
Name
The ethnonym appears to derive from ''whad'', the Whadjuk word for "no".
Countr ...
Noongar people, Yagan belonged to a
tribe
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confl ...
of around 60 people whose name, according to
Robert Lyon, was ''
Beeliar''. Scholars now believe that the Beeliar people may have been a family subgroup (or
clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship
and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, mea ...
) of a larger tribe whom
Daisy Bates called ''Beelgar''.
According to Lyon, the Beeliar people occupied the land south of the
Swan
Swans are birds of the family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Som ...
and
Canning
Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container ( jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, althoug ...
rivers, as far south as
Mangles Bay
Mangles Bay () is a bay of Cockburn Sound in Western Australia which opens out to the Indian Ocean. The town of Rockingham is on its coast, and the causeway to Garden Island runs along its southern edge. The bay was named for the Mangles fami ...
. The group had customary land usage rights over a much larger area than this, extending north as far as
Lake Monger and northeast to the
Helena River
The Helena River is a tributary of the Swan River in Western Australia. The river rises in country east of Mount Dale and flows north-west to Mundaring Weir, where it is dammed. It then flows west until it reaches the Darling Scarp.
It passes ...
. The group also had an unusual degree of freedom to move over their neighbours' land, possibly due to kinship and marriage ties with neighbouring groups.
Yagan is thought to have been born around 1795. His father was
Midgegooroo
Midgegooroo (died 22 May 1833) was an Aboriginal Australian elder of the Nyungar nation, who played a key role in Aboriginal resistance to white settlement in the area of Perth, Western Australia. Everything documented about Midgegooroo (variou ...
, an
elder
An elder is someone with a degree of seniority or authority.
Elder or elders may refer to:
Positions Administrative
* Elder (administrative title), a position of authority
Cultural
* North American Indigenous elder, a person who has and ...
of the Beeliar people; his mother was one of Midgegooroo's three wives.
Yagan was probably a ''Ballaroke'' in the
Noongar classification In the tribal law of the Noongar, an indigenous Australian people, a kinship classification system determined descent and inheritance, and enforced restrictions on intermarriage between certain groups.
Types
'' Western Australia: An atlas of human ...
.
Marriage and family
According to the historian Neville Green, Yagan had a wife and two children.
A report in the ''
Perth Gazette'' in 1833 gives the names of his children as "Naral", age 9, and "Willim", age 11;
but most other sources state that the warrior was unmarried and childless. When his entry in the ''
Australian Dictionary of Biography
The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...
'' was rewritten in 2019, Reece suggested those said to have been his sons may have been his younger brothers.
Described as taller than average with an impressive burly physique, Yagan had a distinctive tribal tattoo on his right shoulder, which identified him as "a man of high degree in tribal law".
He was generally acknowledged to be the most physically powerful of his tribe, and was said to have been able to spear another stick from a distance of or penetrate a tree from a distance of .
Relations with settlers
Yagan would have been about 35 years old in 1829 when
British settlers landed in the area and established the
Swan River Colony
The Swan River Colony, also known as the Swan River Settlement, or just Swan River, was a British colony established in 1829 on the Swan River, in Western Australia. This initial settlement place on the Swan River was soon named Perth, and it ...
. For the first two years of the colony, relations between settlers and Noongar were generally amicable, as there was little competition for resources. The Noongar welcomed the white settlers as nys , Djanga , label=none , the returned spirits of their dead. Historical reports noted the two groups shared fish. As time passed, conflicts between the two cultures gradually became more frequent. The settlers incorrectly thought that the Noongar were nomads who had no claim to the land over which they roamed. Colonists fenced off land for grazing and farming according to their traditional practices of land use.
As the colonists fenced off more land, the Noongar were increasingly denied access to their traditional hunting grounds and
sacred sites. In search of food, the Noongar raided the settlers' crops and killed their cattle. They also developed a taste for the settlers' supplies, and began to take flour and other food, which became a serious problem for the colony. In addition, the Noongar practice of
firestick farming
Fire-stick farming, also known as cultural burning and cool burning, is the practice of Aboriginal Australians regularly using fire to burn vegetation, which has been practised for thousands of years. There are a number of purposes for doing this ...
, or lighting
the bush
"The bush" is a term mostly used in the English vernacular of Australia and New Zealand where it is largely synonymous with '' backwoods'' or ''hinterland'', referring to a natural undeveloped area. The fauna and flora contained within this a ...
to flush out game and encourage germination of undergrowth for sustainability, threatened the settlers' crops and houses.
In December 1831 Yagan and his father led the first significant Aboriginal resistance to white settlement in Western Australia. Thomas Smedley, a servant of farmer Archibald Butler, ambushed some natives who were raiding a potato patch, and killed one of Yagan's family group. A few days later, Yagan, Midgegooroo and others stormed the farmhouse and, finding the door locked, began to break through the mud-brick walls. Inside were Butler's servant Erin Entwhistle and his two sons Enion and Ralph. After hiding his sons under the bed, Entwhistle opened the door to
parley and was killed by Yagan and Midgegooroo. Noongar tribal law required that murders be avenged by the killing of a member of the murderer's tribal group, not necessarily the murderer. The Noongar considered servants and employees to be part of the settlers' groups. Historians believe the Noongar attack on Entwhistle was retribution under their tribal law.
Not understanding tribal law (and unlikely to agree with its concepts), the white settlers took the killing to be an unprovoked murder and dispatched a force to arrest Yagan's group, without success.
In June 1832 Yagan led a party of Noongar in attacking two labourers sowing a field of wheat alongside the Canning River near
Kelmscott
Kelmscott is a village and civil parish on the River Thames in West Oxfordshire, about east of Lechlade in neighbouring Gloucestershire. Since 2001 it has absorbed Little Faringdon, which had been a separate civil parish. The 2011 Census rec ...
. One of the men, John Thomas, escaped, but the other, William Gaze, was wounded and later died as a result. The settlement declared Yagan an outlaw and offered a reward of £20 for his capture. He avoided capture until early October 1832. A group of fishermen enticed Yagan and two companions into their boat, then pushed off into deep water. The fishermen took the three Noongar men to the Perth guardhouse, from which they were transferred to the
Round House at
Fremantle
Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...
. Yagan was sentenced to death, but he was saved by the intercession of settler
Robert Lyon. Arguing that Yagan was defending his land against invasion, Lyon said Yagan should not be considered a criminal but a
prisoner of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of ...
and suggested he should be treated as such. At the recommendation of
John Septimus Roe
John Septimus Roe (8 May 1797 – 28 May 1878) was the first Surveyor-General of Western Australia. He was a renowned explorer, a member of Western Australia's legislative and executive councils for nearly 40 years, but also a participant in ...
, the
Surveyor-General of Western Australia
The Surveyor General of Western Australia is the person nominally responsible for government surveying in Western Australia.
In the early history of Western Australia, the office of surveyor general was one of the most important public offices. ...
, Yagan and his men were exiled on
Carnac Island under the supervision of Lyon and two soldiers.
Lyon thought he could teach Yagan British ways and convert him to Christianity. He hoped to gain his cooperation and use his tribal stature to persuade the Noongar to accept colonial authority. Lyon spent many hours with Yagan learning his language and customs. After a month, Yagan and his companions escaped by stealing an unattended
dinghy
A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or towed by a larger vessel for use as a tender. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor. Some are rigged for sailing but they differ from sailing dinghies, whic ...
and rowing to
Woodman Point on the mainland. The Government did not pursue them; apparently its officials considered they had been sufficiently punished.
In January 1833 two Noongar, Gyallipert and Manyat, visited Perth from
King George Sound
King George Sound ( nys , Menang Koort) is a sound on the south coast of Western Australia. Named King George the Third's Sound in 1791, it was referred to as King George's Sound from 1805. The name "King George Sound" gradually came into use ...
, where relations between settlers and natives were amicable. Two settlers, Richard Dale and George Smythe, arranged for the men to meet a party of local Noongar to encourage friendly relations in the Swan River Colony. On 26 January Yagan led a group of ten formally armed Noongars in greeting the two men near Lake Monger. The men exchanged weapons and held a ''
corroboree
A corroboree is a generic word for a meeting of Australian Aboriginal peoples. It may be a sacred ceremony, a festive celebration, or of a warlike character. A word coined by the first British settlers in the Sydney area from a word in the ...
'', though the groups did not appear to share a language. Yagan and Gyallipert competed at spear throwing. As an example of his prowess, Yagan struck a walking stick from a distance of .
Gyallipert and Manyat remained in Perth for some time. On 3 March, Yagan obtained permission to hold another corroboree, this time in the Post Office garden in Perth. The Perth and King George Sound men met at dusk, chalked their bodies, and performed a number of dances including a
kangaroo
Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern ...
hunt dance. ''
The Perth Gazette'' wrote that Yagan "was master of ceremonies and acquitted himself with infinite grace and dignity".
During February and March, Yagan was involved in a series of minor conflicts with settlers. In February William Watson complained that Yagan had pushed open his door, demanded a gun, and taken
handkerchief
A handkerchief (; also called a hankie or, historically, a handkercher or a ) is a form of a kerchief or bandanna, typically a hemmed square of thin fabric which can be carried in the pocket or handbag for personal hygiene purposes such as wi ...
s. Watson had to give him and his companions flour and bread. The following month, Yagan was among a group who received biscuits from a military contingent under Lieutenant Norcott; when Norcott tried to restrict his supply, Yagan threatened him with his spear.
Later that month, Yagan was with a group of Noongar who entered Watson's house while he was away. The group left after Watson's wife called on neighbours for help. The next day Captain Ellis lectured the Noongar about their behaviour. The frequent incidents prompted ''The Perth Gazette'' to remark on "the reckless daring of this desperado who sets his life at a pin's fee ... For the most trivial offence ... he would take the life of any man who provoked him. He is at the head and front of any mischief."
Wanted dead or alive
On the night of 29 April, a party of Noongar broke into a Fremantle store to steal flour and they were shot at by the caretaker Peter Chidlow. Domjum, a brother of Yagan, was badly injured and died in jail a few days later. The rest of the party moved from Fremantle to
Preston Point
Preston Point (''Niergarup'' in Noongar) is a small point in the Swan River, Western Australia. It is located in the Perth bordering the suburbs of East Fremantle, and Bicton about south west of the city centre. On the other side of the river ...
, where Yagan reportedly vowed vengeance for the death. Between 50 and 60 Noongar gathered at
Bull Creek, where they met a party of settlers who were loading carts with provisions. Later that day, the group ambushed the lead cart, killing two settlers, Tom and John Velvick. Tribal law required only a single death for vengeance. Some historians have speculated that the Velvicks were targeted because they had previously been convicted for assaulting Aboriginal people and coloured seamen.
Alexandra Hasluck
Dame Alexandra Margaret Martin Hasluck, Lady Hasluck, (née Darker; 26 August 1908 – 18 June 1993), also known as Alix Hasluck, was an author and social historian from Western Australia. She was the wife of Sir Paul Hasluck, Governor-Gen ...
has also argued that stealing provisions was an important motive in the attack, but this has been refuted elsewhere.
For the killing of the Velvicks, the Lieutenant-Governor
Frederick Irwin
Lieutenant-Colonel Frederick Chidley Irwin, KH (22 March 1794 – 31 March 1860)
was acting Governor of Western Australia from 1847 to 1848.
Born in 1794 in Drogheda, Ireland, Frederick Chidley Irwin was the son of Reverend James Irwin. Some ...
declared Yagan, Midgegooroo and Munday to be outlaws, offering rewards of £20 each for the capture of Midgegooroo and Munday, and a reward of £30 for Yagan's capture, dead or alive. Munday successfully appealed against his proscription. Midgegooroo, Yagan and their group immediately moved from their territory north towards the Helena Valley. On 17 May, Midgegooroo was captured on the Helena River. After a brief, informal trial, he was executed by
firing squad
Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are ...
. Yagan remained at large for over two months.
Late in May,
George Fletcher Moore
George Fletcher Moore (10 December 1798 – 30 December 1886) was a prominent early settler in colonial Western Australia, and "one fthe key figures in early Western Australia's ruling elite" (Cameron, 2000). He conducted a number of exploring ...
reported seeing Yagan on his property and talking with him in
pidgin
A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a grammatically simplified means of communication that develops between two or more groups of people that do not have a language in common: typically, its vocabulary and grammar are limited and often drawn from s ...
English. Moore wrote in the ''Perth Gazette'':
Yagan asked Moore whether Midgegooroo was dead or alive. Moore gave no reply, but a servant answered that Midgegooroo was a prisoner on Carnac Island. Yagan warned, "White man shoot Midgegooroo, Yagan kill three."
[ Facsimile Edition published in 1978 by Nedlands, Western Australia: University of Western Australia Press. .] Moore reported the encounter but made no attempt to restrain Yagan. He later wrote, "The truth is, every one wishes him taken, but no one likes to be the captor ... there is something in his daring which one is forced to admire."
Death
On 11 July 1833, two teenage brothers named William and James Keates were herding cattle along the Swan River north of
Guildford
Guildford ()
is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...
when a group of Noongar approached while en route to collect flour rations from
Henry Bull's house. The Keates brothers suggested Yagan remain with them to avoid arrest. While he was staying with them during the morning, the brothers decided to kill the warrior and claim the reward. When the natives were ready to depart, the Keateses took their last opportunity. William Keates shot Yagan, and James shot Heegan, another native, in the act of throwing his spear. The brothers ran away, but other Noongar overtook William and speared him to death. James escaped by swimming the river. Shortly afterward he returned with a party of armed settlers from Bull's estate.
When the party of settlers arrived, they found Yagan dead and Heegan dying. Heegan "was groaning and his brains were partly out when the party came, and whether humanity or brutality, a man put a gun to his head and blew it to pieces." The settlers cut Yagan's head from his body, and skinned his back to obtain his tribal markings as a trophy. They buried the bodies a short distance away.
James Keates claimed the reward, but his conduct was widely criticised. ''The Perth Gazette'' referred to Yagan's killing as "a wild and treacherous act ... it is revolting to hear this lauded as a meritorious deed."
However,
Daisy Bates understood that "he was killed in self-defence by the young lad." Keates left the colony the following month; it is possible that he left from fear of being murdered in tribal retaliation.
Yagan's head
Exhibition and burial
Yagan's head was initially taken to Henry Bull's house. Moore saw it there and sketched the head a number of times in his unpublished, handwritten diary, commenting that "possibly it may yet figure in some museum at home." The head was preserved by smoking.
In September 1833,
Governor Irwin sailed for London, partly to give his own account of the events leading up to the killing. This was an unusual measure, especially given his regiment was about to leave for a tour of duty in India. The Colonial Office indicated satisfaction with Irwin's administration of the colony.
Travelling with Irwin was Ensign
Robert Dale
Lieutenant Robert Dale (1810–20 July 1853) was the first European explorer to cross the Darling Range in Western Australia.
Robert Dale was born in Winchester, England in November 1810, son of Major Thurston Dale and Helen Matthews. Throug ...
, who had somehow acquired Yagan's head. According to the historian Paul Turnbull, Dale appears to have persuaded Irwin to let him have the head as an "anthropological curiosity".
After arriving in London, Dale tried to sell the head to scientists, approaching a number of
anatomists and
phrenologists
Phrenology () is a pseudoscience which involves the measurement of bumps on the skull to predict mental traits.Wihe, J. V. (2002). "Science and Pseudoscience: A Primer in Critical Thinking." In ''Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience'', pp. 195–203. ...
. His price of £20 failed to find a buyer, so he made an agreement with
Thomas Pettigrew
Thomas Joseph Pettigrew (28 October 1791 – 23 November 1865), sometimes known as "Mummy" Pettigrew, was a surgeon and antiquarian who became an expert on Ancient Egyptian mummies. He became well known in London social circles for his private ...
for the exclusive use of the head for 18 months. Pettigrew, a surgeon and antiquarian, was well known in the London social scene for holding private parties at which he unrolled and
autopsied ancient
Egyptian mummies. He displayed the head on a table in front of a
panoramic view of King George Sound reproduced from Dale's sketches. For effect, the head was adorned with a fresh corded headband and feathers of the
red-tailed black cockatoo.
Pettigrew had the head examined by a phrenologist. Examination was considered difficult because of the large
fracture
Fracture is the separation of an object or material into two or more pieces under the action of stress. The fracture of a solid usually occurs due to the development of certain displacement discontinuity surfaces within the solid. If a displ ...
across the back of the head caused by the gunshot. His conclusions were consistent with contemporary European opinion of Indigenous Australians.
Dale published these in a pamphlet entitled ''
Descriptive Account of the Panoramic View &c. of King George's Sound and the Adjacent Country'',
which Pettigrew encouraged his guests to buy as a
souvenir
A souvenir (), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and transported home by the traveler as a m ...
of their evening. The frontispiece of the pamphlet was a hand-coloured
aquatint
Aquatint is an intaglio (printmaking), intaglio printmaking technique, a variant of etching that produces areas of tone rather than lines. For this reason it has mostly been used in conjunction with etching, to give both lines and shaded tone. ...
print of Yagan's head by the artist
George Cruikshank
George Cruikshank (27 September 1792 – 1 February 1878) was a British caricaturist and book illustrator, praised as the "modern Hogarth" during his life. His book illustrations for his friend Charles Dickens, and many other authors, reache ...
.
Early in October 1835, Yagan's head and the panoramic view were returned to Dale, then living in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
. On 12 October he presented them to the
Liverpool Royal Institution, where the head may have been displayed in a case along with some other preserved heads and wax models illustrating cranial anatomy. In 1894 the Institution's collections were dispersed, and Yagan's head was lent to the
Liverpool Museum
World Museum is a large museum in Liverpool, England which has extensive collections covering archaeology, ethnology and the natural and physical sciences. Special attractions include the Natural History Centre and a planetarium. Entry to the ...
; it is thought not to have been put on display there. By the 1960s Yagan's head was badly deteriorated. In April 1964 the museum decided to dispose of it. It arranged burial of the head on 10 April 1964, together with a
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
vian mummy and a
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
head. They were buried in
Everton Cemetery
Everton Cemetery, is in Long Lane, Fazakerley, Liverpool which opened in July 1880.
History
The site for the cemetery was bought in 1876/7, and John Houlding's building company was contracted to develop the site with its three mortuary chapel ...
's General Section 16, grave number 296. In later years a number of burials were made around the grave. For example, in 1968 a local hospital buried directly over the box, 20
stillborn
Stillbirth is typically defined as fetal death at or after 20 or 28 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the source. It results in a baby born without signs of life. A stillbirth can result in the feeling of guilt or grief in the mother. The ter ...
babies and two infants who died soon after birth.
Lobbying for repatriation
For many years beginning in the early 1980s, a number of Noongar groups sought the return of Yagan's head to Australia.
At the time, there was no historical trail for the head after Pettigrew passed it on. Tribal elders entrusted the Aboriginal leader
Ken Colbung with the search. In the early 1990s, Colbung enlisted the aid of
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...
archaeologist
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...
Peter Ucko
Peter John Ucko FRAI FSA (27 July 1938 – 14 June 2007) was an influential English archaeologist. He served as Director of the Institute of Archaeology at University College London (UCL), and was a Fellow of both the Royal Anthropological ...
. One of Ucko's researchers, Cressida Fforde, conducted a literature search for information on the head. Fforde successfully traced the head in December 1993. The following April, Colbung applied to exhume the remains under Section 25 of the
Burial Act 1857
The Burial Act 1857 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is one of the Burial Acts 1852 to 1885. Its purpose is to regulate burial grounds. It regulates where and how deceased people may be buried, and provides for the exhumati ...
.
Home Office regulations required
next of kin
A person's next of kin (NOK) are that person's closest living blood relatives. Some countries, such as the United States, have a legal definition of "next of kin". In other countries, such as the United Kingdom, "next of kin" may have no legal d ...
consent before disturbing the remains of the 22 infants. Colbung's solicitors requested waiver of this condition on grounds that the exhumation would be of great personal significance to Yagan's living relatives, and great national importance to Australia.
Meanwhile, divisions in the Noongar community in Perth began to develop. Some elders questioned Colbung's role and one Noongar registered a complaint with the
Liverpool City Council
Liverpool City Council is the governing body for the city of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. It consists of 90 councillors, three for each of the city's 30 wards.
The council is currently controlled by the Labour Party and is led by Mayor ...
over his involvement. Media reports indicated acrimonious debate within the Noongar community about who had the best cultural qualifications to take possession of the head. The academic
Hannah McGlade
Hannah McGlade CF (born 6 June 1969) is an Australian academic, human rights advocate and lawyer. She is a Kurin Minang Noongar woman of the Bibulman nation and is an associate professor at Curtin University's law school. She was appointed Sen ...
claims that these divisions were largely manufactured by the media, particularly ''
The West Australian
''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...
'', which "aimed to and successfully represented the Nyungar community in terms of disharmony and dissent". She alleges that one ''West'' reporter contacted Noongar who were known to be in disagreement, and quoted one to the other, so as to elicit provocative responses. The disputes were "trumpeted" by ''The West'', allowing it to "preach" against the infighting.
On 25 July a public meeting was held in Perth. All parties agreed to put aside their differences and co-operate to ensure that the repatriation was a "national success". A Yagan Steering Committee was established to co-ordinate the repatriation, and Colbung's application was allowed to proceed. In January 1995 the Home Office advised Colbung that it was unable to waive the requirement to obtain next of kin consent for the exhumation. It contacted the five relatives whose addresses were known, and received unconditional consent from only one. Accordingly, on 30 June 1995, Colbung and the other interested parties were advised that the application for exhumation had been rejected.
Meeting on 21 September, the Yagan Steering Committee decided to lobby Australian and British politicians for support. In 1997 Colbung was invited to visit the United Kingdom at the British government's expense and he arrived on 20 May. His visit attracted substantial media coverage, and increased the political pressure on the British Government. He secured the support of the
Prime Minister of Australia
The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the Australian Government, federal government of Australia and is also accountable to Parliament of A ...
,
John Howard
John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the s ...
, after
gate crashing
Gate crashing, gatecrashing, or party crashing is the act of entering, attending, or participating in an event without an invitation nor ticket.
The person doing the gate crashing is known as a gate crasher or party crasher.
Motivations for g ...
the Prime Minister's June visit to the United Kingdom.
Exhumation
While Colbung was in the United Kingdom, Martin and Richard Bates were engaged to undertake a
geophysical
Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. The term ''geophysics'' som ...
survey of the grave site. Using
electromagnetic
In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge. It is the second-strongest of the four fundamental interactions, after the strong force, and it is the dominant force in the interactions of a ...
and
ground penetrating radar
Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is a Geophysics, geophysical method that uses radar pulses to Geophysical imaging, image the subsurface. It is a non-intrusive method of surveying the sub-surface to investigate underground utilities such as concrete, ...
techniques, they identified an approximate position of the box that suggested it could be accessed from the side via the adjacent plot. A report of the survey was passed to the Home Office, prompting further discussions between the British and Australian Governments.
Of concern to the Home Office were an undisclosed number of letters that it had received objecting to Colbung's involvement in the repatriation process; it therefore sought assurances from the Australian Government that Colbung was a correct applicant. In response Colbung asked his elders to ask the
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) (1990–2005) was the Australian Government body through which Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders were formally involved in the processes of government affecting ...
(ATSIC) to tell the British Home Office that he was the correct applicant. ATSIC then convened a meeting in Perth at which it was again resolved that Colbung's application could proceed.
Colbung continued to press for the exhumation, asking that it be performed before the 164th anniversary of Yagan's death on 11 July, so that the anniversary could be the occasion of a celebration. His request was not met, and on the anniversary of Yagan's death, Colbung conducted a short memorial service at the burial plot in Everton. He returned to Australia empty-handed on 15 July.
The
exhumation of Yagan's head
The exhumation of Yagan's head was the result of a geophysical survey and archaeological dig at a grave site in the Everton Cemetery, Liverpool in 1997. Yagan was an aboriginal warrior who was murdered in 1833 by British colonists in Perth, d ...
eventually proceeded, without Colbung's knowledge, by excavating down the side of the grave, then tunnelling horizontally to the location of the box. Thus the exhumation was performed without disturbing any other remains. The following day, a
forensic
Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to Criminal law, criminal and Civil law (legal system), civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standard ...
palaeontologist
Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...
from the
University of Bradford
The University of Bradford is a Public university, public research university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. A plate glass university, it received its royal charter in 1966, making it the 40th university to be creat ...
positively identified the
skull
The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, the ...
as Yagan's by correlating the fractures with those described in Pettigrew's report.
The skull was then kept at the museum until 29 August, when it was handed over to the Liverpool City Council.
Repatriation
On 27 August 1997, a delegation of Noongars consisting of Ken Colbung,
Robert Bropho
Robert Charles Bropho (9 February 1930 – 24 October 2011) was a Ballardong Noongar Australian Aboriginal, rights activist and convicted serial child sex offender from Perth, Western Australia.
Bropho was leader of the Swan Valley Nyung ...
, Richard Wilkes and Mingli Wanjurri-Nungala arrived in the UK to collect Yagan's head. The delegation was to have been larger, but Commonwealth funding was withdrawn at the last minute. The handover of Yagan's skull was further delayed when a Noongar named Corrie Bodney applied to the
Supreme Court of Western Australia
The Supreme Court of Western Australia is the highest state court in the Australian State of Western Australia. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters (although it usually only hears matters involving sums of A$750,00 ...
for an injunction against the handover. Claiming that his family group has sole responsibility for Yagan's remains, Bodney declared the exhumation illegal and denied the existence of any tradition or belief necessitating the head's exhumation and removal to Australia. On 29 August, Justice Henry Wallwork rejected the injunction application, on the grounds that Bodney had previously agreed to the current arrangements, and on the evidence of another Noongar elder (Albert Corunna, who claimed to be a closer relation of Yagan) and anthropologist Pat Baines, both of whom refuted Bodney's claim to sole responsibility.
Yagan's skull was handed over to the Noongar delegation at a ceremony at
Liverpool Town Hall
Liverpool Town Hall stands in High Street at its junction with Dale Street, Castle Street, and Water Street in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed build ...
on 31 August 1997. In accepting the skull, Colbung made comments that were interpreted as linking Yagan's death with the
death of Diana, Princess of Wales
In the early hours of 31 August 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales died from injuries sustained earlier that day in a car crash in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris, France. Dodi Fayed, Diana's partner, and Henri Paul, their chauffeur, were found d ...
, earlier that day:
That is how nature goes ... Nature is a carrier of all good things and all bad things. And because the Poms did the wrong thing, they now have to suffer.
Colbung's comments prompted a media furore throughout Australia, with newspapers receiving many letters from the public expressing shock and anger at the comments. Colbung later claimed that his comments had been misinterpreted.
Throughout the repatriation process, many sections of the international media treated the story as a joke. For example, ''
U.S. News & World Report'' ran a story under the headline ''Raiders of the Lost Conk'', in which Yagan's head was referred to as a "pickled curio", and Colbung's actions were treated as a publicity stunt.
Preparations for reburial
On its return to Perth, Yagan's head continued to be a source of controversy and conflict. Responsibility for reburial of the head was given to a "Committee for the Reburial of Yagan's Kaat", headed by Richard Wilkes. The reburial was delayed by disputes between elders over the burial location, mainly due to uncertainty of the whereabouts of the rest of his body, and disagreement about the importance of burying the head with the body.
A number of attempts were made to locate the remains of Yagan's body, which were believed to be on Lot 39 West Swan Road in the outer Perth suburb of
Belhus.
A
remote sensing
Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon without making physical contact with the object, in contrast to in situ or on-site observation. The term is applied especially to acquiring information about Earth ...
survey of the site was carried out in 1998, but no remains were found. An archaeological survey of the area was undertaken two years later, but this also was unsuccessful. Disputes then arose over whether the head could be buried separately from the body. Wilkes has claimed that it can, so long as it is placed where Yagan was killed, so that
Dreamtime
The Dreaming, also referred to as Dreamtime, is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal mythology, Australian Aboriginal beliefs. It was originally used by Francis Ja ...
spirits can reunite the remains.
In 1998 the Western Australian Planning Commission and the
Department of Aboriginal Affairs
The Department of Aboriginal Affairs was an Australian government department that existed between December 1972 and March 1990.
History
The Department had its origins in the Office of Aboriginal Affairs (OAA), which was established ...
jointly published a document entitled ''Yagan's Gravesite Master Plan'', which discussed "matters of ownership, management, development and future use" of the property on which Yagan's remains are believed to be buried. Under consideration was the possibility of turning the site into an Indigenous burial site, to be managed by the Metropolitan Cemeteries Board.
Yagan's head spent some time in storage in a bank vault before being handed over to forensics experts who reconstructed a model from it. After that it was held in storage at Western Australia's state
mortuary
A morgue or mortuary (in a hospital or elsewhere) is a place used for the storage of human corpses awaiting identification (ID), removal for autopsy, respectful burial, cremation or other methods of disposal. In modern times, corpses have cus ...
. Plans to re-bury the head were repeatedly deferred, causing ongoing conflict between Noongar groups.
[Philip, Martin (2006). "Yagan waits for final resting place." ''The West Australian'', 26 June 2006.] In September 2008 it was reported that Yagan's head would be reburied in November, and a
Yagan Memorial Park
Yagan (; – 11 July 1833) was an Aboriginal Australian warrior from the Noongar people. Yagan was pursued by the local authorities after he killed Erin Entwhistle, a servant of farmer Archibald Butler. It was an act of retaliation after ...
created as a projected cost of A$996,000; but in November it was announced that the reburial had been rescheduled for July 2009 because of logistical problems. In March 2009, it was announced that the
Department of Indigenous Affairs had given the
City of Swan
The City of Swan is a local government area of Western Australia. It is in the eastern metropolitan region of Perth and includes the Swan Valley and 42 suburbs. It is centred approximately 20 km north-east of the Perth central business d ...
more than A$500,000 to develop the park.
Reburial
The head was finally buried in a private ceremony attended only by invited
Noongar
The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian peoples who live in the South West, Western Australia, south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton, Western Au ...
elders, on 10 July 2010, the anniversary of the last full day he lived and one day before the end of
NAIDOC Week
NAIDOC Week ( ) is an Australian observance lasting from the first Sunday in July until the following Sunday. The acronym NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee, which was originally National Aborigines Day ...
2010.
The site in
Belhus was chosen as it is believed to be near to where the rest of Yagan's body was buried.
[
] The burial coincided with a ceremony to mark the opening of the Yagan Memorial Park, which was attended by around 300 people, including Noongar elders and state government representatives.
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of governm ...
Colin Barnett
Colin James Barnett (born 15 July 1950) is a former Australian politician who was the 29th Premier of Western Australia. He concurrently served as the state's Treasurer at several points during his tenure and had previously held various other po ...
described the occasion as "a wonderful day for all West Australians".
The art works for the Yagan Memorial Park were designed by Peter Farmer, Sandra Hill, Jenny Dawson and Kylie Ricks. Dawson and Hill created an entry wall of Yagan's story; Farmer designed the park entry statements and Ricks the female
coolamon.
Legacy
In the ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Reece wrote that Yagan "was not the brutal, indiscriminate killer most settlers thought him to be", but sought to enforce the Noongar system of retributive justice "as the only basis for a resolution of conflict between Noongars and colonists."
Yagan was a lone actor in this regard:
Yagan cannot properly be described as a ‘resistance leader’ when the Noongars offered no organised and sustained opposition to the settlers. He was more of a maverick, a bold and courageous warrior whose actions on behalf of his people and their rights made him notorious.
The repatriation of Yagan's head increased the Aboriginal leader's notability. He is considered a famous historical figure throughout Australia, with material about him appearing in such publications as the ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'',
and Western Australia's school
curriculum
In education, a curriculum (; : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view ...
.
He is of greatest significance to the Noongar people, for whom he is "a revered, cherished and heroic individual ... patriot and visionary hero of WA's South-West".
The return of his head was likened by some Indigenous Australians to the November 1993 ceremonial repatriation from
Gallipoli
The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...
of Australia's
unknown soldier.
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
The Australian Human Rights Commission is the national human rights institution of Australia, established in 1986 as the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) and renamed in 2008. It is a statutory body funded by, but opera ...
(2001). ''Corunna v West Australian Newspapers'' (2001) EOC 93–146. 12 April 2001.
The former Upper Swan Bridge, which carries the
Great Northern Highway
Great Northern Highway is an Australian highway that links Western Australia's capital city Perth with its northernmost port, Wyndham. With a length of almost , it is the longest highway in Australia, with the majority included as part of the ...
over the Swan River at
Belhus, was renamed the Yagan Bridge in 2010.
An open plaza in the
Perth central business district
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is p ...
, constructed as part of the
Perth City Link
Perth City Link is an urban renewal and redevelopment project in Perth, Western Australia.
The projectbounded by the Mitchell Freeway, Wellington Street, the Horseshoe Bridge and Roe Street is on land that was once the Perth/City railway yar ...
urban renewal project, was named
Yagan Square
Yagan Square is a public space and a component of the Perth City Link in Perth, Western Australia. It is situated between the Horseshoe Bridge and the Perth Busport in the eastern part of the Perth City Link precinct, occupying . Construction o ...
. Featuring the statue "Wirin", the plaza, located adjacent to the
Horseshoe Bridge
The Horseshoe Bridge in Perth, Western Australia is a traffic bridge that connects the Perth CBD to Northbridge, carrying William Street. It was constructed in 1904 to pass over the Fremantle railway line, with the horseshoe shape designed to f ...
, was opened on 3 March 2018.
Cultural references
''Alas Poor Yagan''
On 6 September 1997 ''
The West Australian
''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...
'' published a
Dean Alston
Dean John Douglas Alston (born 1950) is an Australian cartoonist who became the editorial cartoonist of ''The West Australian'' newspaper in 1986.
Biography
Dean Alston was born in South Perth, Western Australia. He grew up in Mount Pleasant ...
cartoon
A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...
entitled ''
Alas Poor Yagan'',
[ Alston, Dean (1997). Alas Poor Yagan. '']The West Australian
''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...
'', 6 September 1997. which was critical of the fact that the return of Yagan's head had become a source of conflict between Noongars instead of fostering unity.
The cartoon was interpreted by some as insulting aspects of Noongar culture, and casting aspersions on the motives and legitimacy of Indigenous Australians with mixed racial heritage.
The content of the cartoon offended many Indigenous Australians, and a group of Noongar elders complained about the cartoon to the
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
The Australian Human Rights Commission is the national human rights institution of Australia, established in 1986 as the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) and renamed in 2008. It is a statutory body funded by, but opera ...
.
The commission ruled that the cartoon made inappropriate references to Noongar beliefs but was not in breach of the
Racial Discrimination Act 1975
The ''Racial Discrimination Act 1975'' (Cth). is an Act of the Australian Parliament, which was enacted on 11 June 1975 and passed by the Whitlam government. The Act makes racial discrimination in certain contexts unlawful in Australia, and als ...
because it was "an artistic work" that was published "reasonably and in good faith", and was therefore exempt.
This ruling was upheld on appeal by the
Federal Court of Australia
The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court of record which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with the exception of family law matters), along with some summary (less serious) and indic ...
.
Federal Court of Australia
The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court of record which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with the exception of family law matters), along with some summary (less serious) and indic ...
(2004)
''Bropho v Human Rights & Equal Opportunity Commission''
2004 FCAFC 16. 6 February 2004. Some academic commentators have since expressed concern that the protections offered under the act have been undermined by the ruling's broad interpretation of the exemptions.
Statue
From the mid-1970s, members of the Noongar community lobbied for the erection of a
statue
A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...
of Yagan as part of the
WAY 1979
WAY 79, also referred to as WAY '79 and WAY 1979, was the official 1979 sesquicentennial (150th anniversary) celebration of the European colonisation of Western Australia.
Planning
Preliminary planning for WAY 79 began shortly after the March 1 ...
sesquicentennial celebrations. Their requests were refused, however, after the
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of governm ...
,
Charles Court
Sir Charles Walter Michael Court, (29 September 1911 – 22 December 2007) was a Western Australian politician, and the 21st Premier of Western Australia from 1974 to 1982. He was a member of the Liberal Party.
Early life
Court's family e ...
, was advised by one prominent historian that Yagan was not important enough to warrant a statue.
Colbung claims "Court was more interested in spending tax payers' money on refurbishing the badly neglected burial place of
Captain James Stirling
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
, WA's first governor."
Despite this setback, the Noongar community persisted, establishing a Yagan Committee and running a number of fund-raising drives. Eventually, sufficient funds were collected to allow the commissioning of Australian sculptor
Robert Hitchcock to create a statue. The result was a life-size statue in
bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
, depicting Yagan standing naked with a spear held across his shoulders. Hitchcock's statue of Yagan was officially opened by Yagan Committee chairperson Elizabeth Hanson on 11 September 1984. It stands on
Heirisson Island
Heirisson Island is an island in the Swan River in Western Australia at the eastern end of Perth Water, between the suburbs of East Perth and Victoria Park. It occupies an area of , and is connected to the two foreshores by The Causeway. The ne ...
in the
Swan River near Perth.
In 1997, within a week of the return of Yagan's head to Perth, vandals beheaded the statue using an
angle grinder
An angle grinder, also known as a side grinder or disc grinder, is a handheld power tool used for grinding (abrasive cutting) and polishing. Although developed originally as tools for rigid abrasive discs, the availability of an interchangeable ...
. Soon after a replacement head was installed and it too was detached and stolen. Credit for the act was anonymously claimed by a "British loyalist" as an act of retaliation for Colbung's comments about
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...
. The
Western Australia Police
The Western Australia Police Force, colloquially WAPOL, provides police services throughout the state of Western Australia, an area of 2.5 million square kilometres, the world's largest non-federated area of jurisdiction, with a population ...
did not succeed in identifying the vandals, nor in recovering the heads, and deemed it infeasible to have the statue fenced off or placed under guard.
Commentary on the beheadings varied widely. One column in ''The West Australian'' found humour in them, referring to the head as a "bonce" and a "noggin", and finished with a pun on "skullduggery".
Stephen Muecke calls this the "satirical trivialising of Aboriginal concerns",
and Adam Shoemaker writes "This is the stuff of light humour and comic relief. There is no sense of the decapitation as being an act of vandalism, even less that it could have been motivated by malevolence ...
e piece has a definite authorising function."
On the other hand, academic analysis has treated the act with much more gravity. In 2007, for example, David Martin described the decapitation as "an act which speaks not only to the continuance of white settler racism, but also to the power of
mimesis
Mimesis (; grc, μίμησις, ''mīmēsis'') is a term used in literary criticism and philosophy that carries a wide range of meanings, including ''imitatio'', imitation, nonsensuous similarity, receptivity, representation, mimicry, the act ...
to invigorate our modern memorials and monuments with a life of their own".
In 2002,
Janet Woollard
Janet May Woollard (born 13 February 1955) is an Australian former politician who served as a member for the seat of Alfred Cove in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 2001 to 2013.
Woollard successfully contested the seat in the ...
, the member for
Alfred Cove, called for the statue's
genitalia
A sex organ (or reproductive organ) is any part of an animal or plant that is involved in sexual reproduction. The reproductive organs together constitute the reproductive system. In animals, the testis in the male, and the ovary in the female, a ...
to be covered up. In November 2005, Richard Wilkes also called for the statue's groin to be covered on the grounds that such a depiction would be more historically accurate, as Yagan would have worn a covering for most of the year. Also under consideration is the creation of a new statue with a head shape that accords better with the forensic reconstruction of Yagan's head.
[Kent, Melissa (2005). Yagan centre of cover-up bid. '']The West Australian
''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...
'', 24 November 2005.
Literature and film
Mary Durack
Dame Mary Durack (20 February 1913 – 16 December 1994) was an Australian author and historian. She wrote ''Kings in Grass Castles'' and ''Keep Him My Country''.
Childhood
Mary Durack, born in Adelaide, South Australia, to Michael Patrick ...
published a fictionalised account of Yagan's life in her 1964 children's novel ''The Courteous Savage: Yagan of the Swan River'',
which was renamed ''Yagan of the Bibbulmun'' on reissue in 1976.
The repeated beheading of Yagan's statue in 1997 prompted Aboriginal writer
Archie Weller
Archie Weller (born 13 July 1957) is an Australian writer of novels, short stories and screen plays.
Early life
Archie Weller was born in Subiaco, Western Australia, and grew up on a farm, ''Wonnenup'', near Cranbrook in the Great Southern r ...
to write a short story entitled ''Confessions of a Headhunter''. Weller later worked with film director
Sally Riley to adapt the story into a script, and in 2000 a 35-minute movie, also named ''Confessions of a Headhunter'', was released.
Directed by Sally Riley, the movie won Best Short Fiction Film at the 2000
AFI Awards. The following year the script won the Script Award in the 2001
Western Australian Premier's Book Awards
The Western Australian Premier's Book Awards is an annual book award provided by the Government of Western Australia, and managed by the State Library of Western Australia.
History and format
Annual literary awards were inaugurated by the Wes ...
.
In 2002, the South African-born Australian poet
John Mateer
John Mateer (born 1971) is a South African-born Australian poet and author.
Early life and education
He was born in Roodepoort, South Africa in 1971, and grew up on the outskirts of Johannesburg. He spent some of his childhood in Canada, before ...
published his fourth collection of poems, entitled ''Loanwords''.
The collection is divided into four sections, of which the third, ''In the Presence of a Severed Head'', has Yagan as its subject.
Other cultural references
A section of ''Kullark'', a play by
Jack Davis, explores the deteriorating relationship between Yagan and a settler couple.
In September 1989 an early maturing cultivar of
barley
Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley pr ...
, bred by the Western Australian Department of Agriculture for performance on sandy soils, was released under the name "''Hordeum vulgare'' (Barley) c.v. Yagan".
Commonly referred to simply as "Yagan", the cultivar is named for Yagan, continuing a tradition of labelling Western Australian grain cultivars after historic people of Western Australia.
See also
*
Jandamarra
Jandamarra or Tjandamurra (c. 1873—1 April 1897), known to European settlers as Pigeon,
in: Taylor (2004) w ...
, and the Bunuba War.
*
Musquito
Musquito (c. 1780, Port Jackson – 25 February 1825, Hobart) (also rendered Mosquito, Musquetta, Bush Muschetta or Muskito) was an Indigenous Australian resistance leader, latterly based in Van Diemen's Land.
New South Wales and Norfolk Islan ...
a warrior of the Gai-Mariagal clan
*
Pemulwuy
Pemulwuy (also rendered as Pimbloy, Pemulvoy, Pemulwoy, Pemulwy or Pemulwye, or sometimes by contemporary Europeans as Bimblewove, Bumbleway or Bembulwoyan) (c. 1750 – 2 June 1802) was a Bidjigal man of the Eora nation, born around 1750 in th ...
a warrior and resistance leader of the Bidjigal clan of the Eora people, in the area around Sydney
*
Tunnerminnerwait
Tunnerminnerwait (c.1812–1842) was an Australian Aboriginal resistance fighter and Parperloihener clansman from Tasmania. He was also known by several other names including Peevay, Jack of Cape Grim, Tunninerpareway and renamed Jack Napoleon Ta ...
, an Australian Aboriginal resistance fighter and Parperloihener clansman from Tasmania
*
Windradyne
Windradyne ( – 21 March 1829) was an Aboriginal warrior and resistance leader of the Wiradjuri nation, in what is now central-western New South Wales, Australia; he was also known to the British settlers as Saturday. Windradyne led his peopl ...
, a warrior and resistance leader of the Wiradjuri nation, in what is now central-western New South Wales
*
Australian frontier wars
References
General references
*
*
*
*
{{authority control
1790s births
1833 deaths
Art and cultural repatriation
Australian murderers
Australian outlaws
Deaths by firearm in Western Australia
Escapees from Western Australian detention
History of Western Australia
Noongar people
People from Perth, Western Australia
Resistance to colonialism in Australia
Trophy heads