Windradyne (c1800-21 March 1829) was an Aboriginal warrior of the Wiradjuri nation, central-western New South Wales, Australia.[1]
Windradyne, also known as "Saturday", led his people in the resistance movement against the invasion of their lands.[1][2]
In December 1824 Windradyne met with Governor Brisbane in an attempt to "make friends". He attended the annual gathering convened by the New South Wales Governor with the words 'peace' on his hat. He had travelled nearly 200 kilometres (124 mi) to attend the gathering. Brisbane reported the meeting to Earl Bathurst, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies and Brisbane's superior: I am most happy to have it in my power to report to Your Lordship that Saturday their great and most warlike chieftain, has been with me to receive his pardon, and that he with most of this tribe, attended the Annual Conference.[3]
Details of Windradyne's death in 1829 are vague, though it is believed that he was injured in a tribal fight and was sent to Bathurst Hospital, whereupon he removed his bandages and discharged himself, returning to his homeland where he died of gangrene. Windradyne is said to have been buried on "Brucedale" Station[4] and this gravesite has been recognised as being of state significance.[5]
An anonymous author writing from "B-------e" in 1829 sent a biography of "Saturday" to the The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser that was published on 21 April of that year. Of his death it says: ... he fell in a sharp fight ... on the banks of the Macquarie, with a tribe from the South. ... The wound which caused Windrodine's death, was a very severe one on his knee, which quickly mortified, and terminated in death after a few hours. He continued talking to his countrymen, till life was extinct, in the hospital at Bathurst, near which place he was buried, his body wrapped in his mantle, and his weapons deposited in that grave ...". It concluded with a Latin quotation from Terence that means "I am a man, I consider nothing human as alien to me." An editorial comment added: "This quotation from the Roman dramatist contains a fine sentiment for those persons who think no more of man in a state of nature than they do of a wild animal."[6]
Commemoration
A suburb of Bathurst is named after him.[1]
Windradyne was one of two Indigenous Australians commemorated as part of an installation in 2004 in the New South Wales Parliament Buildings in Sydney. The other man commemorated was Pemulwuy who fought against European settlement in the Sydney district. Two cloaks representing each of the fighters were on display. The inscription for the cloak representing Windradyne read:
This leader became notorious during the period of expansion over the Blue Mountains into the Western Plains of NSW. He led the resistance around Bathurst for many years, gathering together the Wiradjuri tribes.
In 1825 he went to Sydney to meet Governor Macquarie[7] but the war continued until he was killed in an ambush.[8]
References
- ^ a b c Windradyne (c. 1800 - 1829) Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 2007-05-03.
- ^ National Museum of Australia National Museum of Australia] Retrieved 2007-05-03.
- ^ Coe, Mary (1989). Windradyne A Wiradjuri Koorie. quoted in "Grave of Windradyne: Database Number: 5051560". State Heritage register search. New South Wales Heritage Office. Gazetted 2006. http://www.heritage.nsw.gov.au/07_subnav_02_2.cfm?itemid=+5051560. Retrieved 2007-09-19.
- ^ W. H. Suttor, Australian Stories Retold and Sketches of Country Life (Bathurst, NSW, 1887)
- ^ "Grave of Windradyne: Database Number: 5051560". State Heritage register search. New South Wales Heritage Office. Gazetted 2006. http://www.heritage.nsw.gov.au/07_subnav_02_2.cfm?itemid=+5051560. Retrieved 2007-09-19.
- ^ Obituary at the National Library of Australia/
- ^ note this inscription has apparently some errors: it was not Macquarie but Brisbane who was governor in 1825 and it was apparently not 1825 but 1824
- ^ "Permanent 'Wall of Reconciliation' NSW Parliament House, Macquarie St, Sydney". NSW Reconciliation Council Inc. 2004. http://www.nswrecon.com/wall_reconciliation/index.html. Retrieved 2007-09-19.
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