Case Study

Jandamarra

Criminal, Outlaw or Freedom fighter

Jandamarra is a legend of theBunuba people who was also known as Pigeon. He grew up in Bunabacountry in the Kimberley in the Oscar and Napier Ranges. (1)

When Jandamarra was growing up European settlers were opening up large parts of the Kimberley. In the process Aboriginal people were driven from their lands, or worse, rounded up, deprived of their freedom and forced to work on the newly established cattle stations. They also could not hunt on their land like they used to so the only alternative for food were the new animals the settlers had brought in. (1)

If Aboriginals were caught spearing the sheep or cattle of the settlers, they were chained around the neck, marched to Derby, and forced to work there in chains.

Jandamarrais remembered as a great warrior, and as a clever and courageous leader who defended Bunabacountry against overwhelming odds. He is also remembered as Jalgangurru, a man bestowed with spiritual powers that flowed from the timeless law of the country, who could disappear, transform into a bird and shield himself from deadly weapons. (2)

Jandamaragrew up on the frontier; a time of violence and great upheavals. He was only in his mid-twenties when he was gunned down, but in his short life he created a legacy that will never be forgotten. (2)

  • Jandamarra was born around 1873. At about the age of 11, he and his mother came in from the bush to live on Lennard River Station, one of the earliest pastoral stations in the Kimberley. (2)
  • Jandamarra became a strong horseman, a crack shot and a competent English speaker. But after this first taste of station life, he returned to join the Bunuba still living a traditional life, outside the control of the stations. (2)
  • During this time he was caught up in a police raid, and served time in Derby in jail for sheep-stealing. (2)
  • Returning to his country, he worked at Lillimooloora Station with Bill Richardson. When Richardson joined the police force, Jandamarra became his tracker. As a tracker, he helped the police capture many of the Bunabaancestors – his own people who were taken away in chains to distant gaols, many never to be seen again. It was in this period that he became known as a reckless womaniser who flouted the kinship and skin laws. (2)
  • Jandamarra’sclose but uneasy friendship with Richardson came to a dramatic end. In late 1894 the pair succeeded in capturing a group which included most of the senior Bunuba leaders and elders. (2)
  • During the night of October 31 1894,Jandamarrashot Richardson, armed theBunuba people and began a guerrilla campaign against the European invaders. (2)
  • Jandamarra’s first major act of war was a direct confrontation – the battle of Windjana Gorge on November 16, 1894 – between 30 armed police and a large group of the Bunuba in which he was very badly wounded. (2)
  • Jandamarra recovered, but the appalling and indiscriminate reprisal killings of Aboriginal people throughout the Fitzroy River valley led him to develop different tactics where the Bunubabegan to target property, crops and stock. They harassed and ‘stalked’ the pastoralists without causing human casualties. In this way they tied down the progress of pastoral expansion for over three years. (2)
  • Jandamarra developed an almost superhuman reputation amongst white settlers and police for his ability to elude them. (1,2)
  • Jandamarrawas finally tracked down and killed on April 1, 1897 when the police brought in another Aboriginal tracker, Mingo Mick, who had equally legendary powers. (2)

Group Discussion
Jandamarra
Criminal, Outlaw or Freedom Fighter?
Discuss Jandamarra’s story from both the perspective of:
1.Being a criminal and or outlaw
2.A Freedom fighter
  • Taking into account what you have learnt about resistance and change do you think Jandamarra was a resistor or change agent or both?
  • Provide a rationale for your answer.

References

  1. Kimberley Australia Travel Guide, (2006-2001), The Story of Jandemarra retrieved 17th June 2012 from:
  1. The Jandamarra Project (2011), Jandamarra the Man, retrieved 17th June 2012 from:

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