Midgegooroo
Encyclopedia
Midgegooroo was an Indigenous Australian of the Nyungar nation, who played a key role in Indigenous resistance to white settlement in the area of Perth, Western Australia
. Best known as the father of Yagan
, Midgegooroo was executed by white settlers in 1833.
Midgegooroo's family had customary land usage rights over a large area of what is now southern metropolitan Perth
, and were able to move freely about an even larger area, presumably due to kinship ties with neighbours.
The following month, Midgegooroo appeared in Fremantle, Western Australia
. He was given biscuits from Lionel Samson's store, but demanded more. Samson's servant then drove him out of the shop with a pickaxe, but Midgegooroo wrestled it off him, threatened him with it, then threw it down the well before leaving.
The first significant Indigenous resistance to white settlement in Western Australia
occurred in July or December 1831 when a farmer's servant ambushed some natives who were raiding a potato
patch, shooting dead a member of Midgegooroo's family. Shortly afterwards, Midgegooroo led an attack on the farmhouse and speared the occupant, another servant, to death. In response to this, Midgegooroo and his son Yagan were declared outlaws, each with a reward of £20 offered for his capture.
In May 1832, Midgegooroo was reported as having committed a number of offenses. First he broke into the Fremantle home of settler Charles Bourne, throwing two spears. Later he was reported as having tried to take provisions from Thomas Hunt at his sawpit on the Canning River
. Finally, he was reported as having set his dingo
s on a settler's pig
s.
Midgegooroo next appears in April 1833. A family member, Domjun, had been shot whilst trying to take flour from a Fremantle store, and had died in jail three days later. Vowing revenge, Midgegooroo and Yagan gathered together about sixty Noongars at Bull Creek
. The following day, the group attacked and killed two white settlers who were carting flour along the road from Fremantle to Kelmscott
. Midgegooroo, Yagan and another Noongar named Munday were then again pronounced outlaws, and a reward of £20 was offered by Governor Frederick Irwin
for the capture of Midgegooroo dead or alive.
area, and jailed in Perth. A few days later he was sentenced to execution, although it appears there was never any formal trial. The same day, he was blindfolded and bound to the outer door of the jail, then shot by a firing squad from the 63rd Regiment of Foot
.
Midgegooroo's land rights passed to his son Yagan, then to his other son Narral. Munday assumed responsibility for his older wife, and his younger wife Ganiup became the wife of a Noongar named Dommera.
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
. Best known as the father of Yagan
Yagan
Yagan was an Australian Aboriginal warrior from the Noongar tribe who played a key part in early indigenous Australian resistance to British settlement and rule in the area of Perth, Western Australia. After he led a series of burglaries and robberies across the countryside, in which white...
, Midgegooroo was executed by white settlers in 1833.
Early life
Nothing is known of Midgegooroo's life prior to the arrival of white settlers in 1829. At that time, Midgegooroo was already an old man, and a senior authority in his family group. Described as having long hair and a distinctive bump on his forehead, Midgegooroo had two wives: one an old, toothless woman, and the other a young woman named Ganiup. He is known to have had four sons, Yagan, Narral, Billy and Willim.Midgegooroo's family had customary land usage rights over a large area of what is now southern metropolitan Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, and were able to move freely about an even larger area, presumably due to kinship ties with neighbours.
Conflicts with white settlers
In December 1830, Midgegooroo was camping by Lake Monger when two white labourers who were passing by stopped to shake hands with a group of indigenous women. When the two men returned later that day, Midgegooroo scared them off by threatening to spear one of them.The following month, Midgegooroo appeared in Fremantle, Western Australia
Fremantle, Western Australia
Fremantle is a city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829...
. He was given biscuits from Lionel Samson's store, but demanded more. Samson's servant then drove him out of the shop with a pickaxe, but Midgegooroo wrestled it off him, threatened him with it, then threw it down the well before leaving.
The first significant Indigenous resistance to white settlement in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
occurred in July or December 1831 when a farmer's servant ambushed some natives who were raiding a potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
patch, shooting dead a member of Midgegooroo's family. Shortly afterwards, Midgegooroo led an attack on the farmhouse and speared the occupant, another servant, to death. In response to this, Midgegooroo and his son Yagan were declared outlaws, each with a reward of £20 offered for his capture.
In May 1832, Midgegooroo was reported as having committed a number of offenses. First he broke into the Fremantle home of settler Charles Bourne, throwing two spears. Later he was reported as having tried to take provisions from Thomas Hunt at his sawpit on the Canning River
Canning River (Western Australia)
The Canning River is a major tributary of the Swan River in south western Western Australia.-Source and route:With headwaters on the Darling Scarp, the Canning meanders through suburbs of Perth on the Swan Coastal Plain, including Cannington, Thornlie, Riverton, Shelley, Rossmoyne and Mount...
. Finally, he was reported as having set his dingo
Dingo
The Australian Dingo or Warrigal is a free-roaming wild dog unique to the continent of Australia, mainly found in the outback. Its original ancestors are thought to have arrived with humans from southeast Asia thousands of years ago, when dogs were still relatively undomesticated and closer to...
s on a settler's pig
Domestic pig
The domestic pig is a domesticated animal that traces its ancestry to the wild boar, and is considered a subspecies of the wild boar or a distinct species in its own right. It is likely the wild boar was domesticated as early as 13,000 BC in the Tigris River basin...
s.
Midgegooroo next appears in April 1833. A family member, Domjun, had been shot whilst trying to take flour from a Fremantle store, and had died in jail three days later. Vowing revenge, Midgegooroo and Yagan gathered together about sixty Noongars at Bull Creek
Bull Creek, Western Australia
Bull Creek is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the local government area of City of Melville.-History:The name was adopted by the City of Melville Council in December 1968. The creek was named after an early settler, Lt Henry Bull to whom a grant of 1.20 km² of nearby land...
. The following day, the group attacked and killed two white settlers who were carting flour along the road from Fremantle to Kelmscott
Kelmscott, Western Australia
Kelmscott is a southeastern suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Armadale, and it is located southeast of Perth along Albany Highway....
. Midgegooroo, Yagan and another Noongar named Munday were then again pronounced outlaws, and a reward of £20 was offered by Governor Frederick Irwin
Frederick Irwin
Lieutenant-Colonel Frederick Chidley Irwin was acting Governor of Western Australia from 1847 to 1848.Born in 1788 in Enniskillen, Ireland, Frederick Chidley Irwin was the son of Reverend James Irwin. In 1808, he was commissioned into the 83rd Regiment of Foot...
for the capture of Midgegooroo dead or alive.
Capture and execution
Later that month, Midgegooroo was captured in the BelmontBelmont, Western Australia
The City of Belmont is a Local Government Area in the inner eastern suburbs of the Western Australian capital city of Perth, located about east of Perth's central business district on the south bank of the Swan River...
area, and jailed in Perth. A few days later he was sentenced to execution, although it appears there was never any formal trial. The same day, he was blindfolded and bound to the outer door of the jail, then shot by a firing squad from the 63rd Regiment of Foot
63rd Regiment of Foot
The 63rd Regiment of Foot known as "The Bloodsuckers", was a British Army regiment in the 18th and 19th centuries.As part of the Childers Reforms, the 63rd and the 96th Regiments of Foot amalgamated in 1881 to form The Manchester Regiment the heritage continuing through to The King's Regiment in...
.
Midgegooroo's land rights passed to his son Yagan, then to his other son Narral. Munday assumed responsibility for his older wife, and his younger wife Ganiup became the wife of a Noongar named Dommera.
Legacy
By June 2008, the Department of Environment and Conservation, Conservation Commission and the Geographic Names Committee approved the renaming of the Canning National Park to Midgegooroo National Park.See also
- Aboriginal History of Western AustraliaAboriginal history of Western AustraliaThe history of the indigenous inhabitants of Western Australia has been dated for tens of thousands of years before European contact.-Western Australian Aboriginal history:...