Yarri (Wiradjuri)

Yarri (c1810 – 24 July 1880) was an Australian Aboriginal man of the Wiradjuri language group who rescued 49 people from the flooded Murrumbidgee River in Gundagai on the night of 24 June 1852.

Yarri's traditional name of Coonong Denamundinna indicates he was of the Coonong pastoral property near Tumblong, Adelong N.S.W. which was also associated with the Coonong region downstream of Wagga Wagga in New South Wales.

Yarri, and other Aboriginal men saved as many as 49 people in the Murrumbidgee floods at Gundagai, New South Wales on 25 June 1852, which killed either 78 or perhaps 89 people, out of the town's population of 250; it is one of the largest natural disasters in Australia's history. Local Aboriginal men, Yarri, Jacky Jacky, Long Jimmy and one other played a role in saving many Gundagai people from the 1852 floodwaters, rescuing many people using bark canoes.^[1] Yarri and Jacky Jacky were honored with bronze medallions for their efforts, and were allowed to demand sixpences from all Gundagai residents, although Yarri was maltreated on at least one occasion after the flood.^[2] Long Jimmy died not long after his rescues, possibly from the effects of being exposed to the freezing cold and wet conditions.^[3]

Memorial to Yarri in the Gundagai cemetery

Yarri also saved John Hargreaves in 1844, and remained a friend of the family for many years, living on their Tarrabandra farm until his death. A nulla-nulla and shield believed to belong to Yarri, was presented to the Gundagai Historical Society by John Hargreaves grandson Dallas.^[4]

Yarri was also known as Yarree or Coonong Denamundinna, and is believed to have killed John Baxter on the Edward John Eyre expedition in 1841,^[5] and also to have killed a young part Aboriginal woman 'Sally McLeod' near Gundagai in 1852. Warrants for Yarri/Yarree's arrest were issued by NSW Police after Brungle Aboriginal people reported him to the police over the Sally McLeod murder.^[6]

Yarri's wife, known as Black Sally, died in March 1873, while Yarri himself died on 24 July 1880 and is buried in the Catholic Section of the North Gundagai General Cemetery.^[7]

Memorials

There are several tributes to Yarri in the Gundagai area including a town memorial, sundial, marble plaque and black marble headstone.^[8][9] A mural painted around the walls of the lounge bar in the Criterion Hotel in Gundagai depicts the scene.^[10] Yarri Park, a recreation area below the main street in Gundagai, commemorates his feat,^[11] and a sundial was erected in his honour by descendents of Fred Horsley, one of the people he saved.^[7]

John Warner has composed a Song & Verse Cycle titled Yarri of Wiradjuri.^[12]

References

1. Mr Carr (Maroubra—Premier, Minister for the Arts, and Minister for Citizenship) (25 June 2002). "Gundagai Flood Sesquicentenary". NSW Legislative Assembly Hansard; Ministerial statement. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 2006-01-14.
2. Gundagai Times, 29 June 1879, as cited in Bodie Asimus (22 September 2003). "Yarri - a Frontier Story". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2006-10-05.
3. Yarri: hero of Gundagai / [A.A.C.]. Crooks, Allen (Allen A.) Published Gundagai, N.S.W. 1986 http://trove.nla.gov.au/version/10213623
4. How an Aborigine Saved Our Australian Branch Was He Yarri?
5. EYRE'S JOURNEY ACROSS THE GREAT AUSTRALIAN BIGHT
6. "SYDNEY POLICE COURT.—TUESDAY.". The Empire. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 15 September 1852. p. 2. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
7. Bodie Asimus, NSW, Lateline ABC
8. Zeppel, Heather (1999). "Hidden histories: Aboriginal cultures in NSW regional tourism brochures". CAUTHE 1999: Delighting the Senses; Proceedings from the Ninth Australian Tourism and Hospitality Research Conference.: 86–98. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
9. "Yarri Headstone". Monument Australia. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
10. LEODESTRAVELOZZ blog Ozzie Travel Nov 2011 Sunday, December 30, 2012 Gundagai
11. Gundagai Shire Council Website Gundagai Parks
12. A Song & Verse Cycle by John Warner