Jimmy Clements ( – 28 August 1927) was an

Aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

elder from the Wiradjuri tribe in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, and was present at the opening of the

Provisional Parliament House Parliament House, also referred to as Capital Hill or simply Parliament, is the meeting place of the Parliament of Australia, and the seat of the legislative branch of the Australian Government. Located in Canberra, the Parliament building is ...

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

on 9 May 1927. He explained that he was there to demonstrate his "sovereign rights to the Federal Territory", making this the first recorded instance of Aboriginal protest at the Parliament. He was also known as "King Billy" and also as Nangar or Yangar. Clements and another Wiradjuri man, John Noble, had walked for nearly a week over the mountains from Brungle Mission near Gundagai, New South Wales. The two men were the only Indigenous people to attend the first opening of parliament. Clements was initially told to move on by police at the ceremony due to his attire but due to popular support from other members of the crowd he was among prominent citizens who were presented to the Duke and

Duchess of York Duchess of York is the principal Courtesy titles in the United Kingdom, courtesy title held by the wife of the duke of York. Three of the eleven dukes of York either did not marry or had already assumed the throne prior to marriage, whilst two of ...

. Clements died on 28 August 1927, aged 80, in Queanbeyan, New South Wales near

. The newspaper report noted that he was buried in Queanbeyan cemetery "outside consecrated ground". (Indigenous Australians were not buried in consecrated ground at the time.)

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Photograph of Jimmy Clements and his dog outside Parliament House
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clements, Jimmy 1847 births 1927 deaths Australian Aboriginal elders Wiradjuri people