This part of the Kimberley was not settled until relatively late. While the coast had been explored by the Dutch and the English in the 1600s, the inland exploration was not begun until 1837, and settlement not attempted until the 1860s. Stocking did not really begin until 1879, and in the 1880s Lillimooloora station was founded.
Initial contact with the local clans was hospitable, but as the reality of the land takeover became apparent, resistance grew. As with most regions up here, working stock would not have been possible without the assistance of the local Aboriginal population, both for local knowledge, skills and labour. Jandamarra showed initial talent as a stockman at 14, and was soon a crack shearer, horseman and with a rifle.
He did retain his aboriginal clan heritage, and was initiated by the elders of his clan. I believe during this time he reverted to a traditional life, but was arrested three years later for spearing stock. In recognition of his skills, he was returned to working at the Lillimooloora station. Being comfortable in white society, he befriended Richardson, a white stockman, and when Richardson joined the police, Jandamarra became his tracker.
By 1886, the difficulties of raising stock in this country stressed the settlers and created suspicions between the parties. The whites believed the local aboriginal population either were responsible directly for taking stock, or brought bad luck in more nebulous ways. In any event, pressure from the settlers led to round-ups by the police of the local aborigines. As a policeman, Jandamarra was involved in action against his own people.
One particularly successful campaign resulted in the capture of most of the clan elders of Jandamarra’s own people. Richardson, revelling in his success, imprisoned the elders in the police outpost at Lillimooloora station. He took their prisoner ration entitlement and held them for seven days. During this time, the elders worked on Jandamarra while he watched over them at night. Eventually the old clan ties won over and Jandamarra shot Richardson in his sleep and freed his clan members, all of them hiding out in Windjana Gorge.
In the ensuing days, the outlaws (or freedom fighters) killed two of a new settling party before a heavy police reinforcement from Derby came out and fought a day-long battle at the gorge. Jandamarra was seriously wounded, but the settlers believed he had been killed. In the coming days, hundreds of clan members were rounded up and killed during an effective open season as the government rules on race relations were “relaxed”.
Jandamarra fought on, hiding out at Tunnel creek some 20km away. Using guns and ammunition captured from the settlers, he ran a campaign leading the police away from his people and for three years fought a losing battle as they were slowly captured or killed. The success of this campaign led people on both sides to believe he had magical powers, but in reality he was only using his extensive local knowledge and working with his land.
By April 1897 the last of his free clan members had been captured, and in a desperate attempt at freeing them, was shot near Tunnel Creek. The shot was fired by Mongo Mick, another aboriginal tracker whose magical power was elevated to the same position as that previously occupied by Jandamarra.
Now it is a commonly held truism that the winners get to write the history books.
Thanks daddy :)
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