Pemulwuy

This article is about the Aboriginal leader. For the suburb named after him, see Pemulwuy, New South Wales. For the Sydney Harbour ferry named after him, see Emerald-class ferry.

Pemulwuy
Engraving of Pemulwuy, 1804
Bornc. 1750
near Kamay
Diedc. 2 June 1802 (aged 51–52)
Colony of New South Wales
NationalityBidjigal[1]
Other namesPimbloy, Pemulvoy, Pemulwoy, Pemulwy, Bimblewove, Bumbleway, Bembulwoyan
OccupationWarrior
Known forResistance to the British colonisation of Australia
MovementAboriginal resistance
ChildrenTedbury

Pemulwuy[a] (/pɛməlwɔɪ/ PEM-əl-woy;[2] c. 1750 – c. 2 June 1802) was a Bidjigal warrior of the Dharug,[3] an Aboriginal Australian people from New South Wales. One of the most famous Aboriginal resistance fighters in the colonial era, he is noted for his resistance to British colonisation which began with the arrival of the First Fleet in January 1788.[4]

Pemulwuy lived near Botany Bay, which he would have known as Kamay in the Dharug language.[1][5] He is considered to have been a cardio (cleverman), a Dharug spiritual healer and culture keeper.[6] In 1790, Pemulwuy began a twelve-year guerrilla war against the colonists, which continued until his killing.[7][4]

When Pemulwuy grew into manhood, he became Bemul Wagan, which represents "the earth and the crow". According to Indigenous activist Dharug man Uncle Richard Green, "he wasn't very impressed with the mix of cultures. He preferred that we stayed within our own peoples".[7][8] Another name for him was Butu Wagan, which means "crow".[7]

  1. ^ a b c Kohen, J. L. "Pemulwuy (1750–1802)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 18 February 2022. Published first in hardcopy 2005
  2. ^ "How Pemulwuy led a guerrilla war against British invasion | The Australian Wars". NITV. 27 September 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  3. ^ Wendy Lewis, Simon Balderstone and John Bowan (2006). Events That Shaped Australia. New Holland. ISBN 978-1-74110-492-9.
  4. ^ a b Hinkson, Melinda (1 January 2001). Aboriginal Sydney: A Guide to Important Places of the past and Present. Photographer: Alana Harris (First ed.). Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press. p. 140. ISBN 0855753706. OCLC 47152902.
  5. ^ "National Museum of Australia - Kamay – Botany Bay". www.nma.gov.au. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  6. ^ Muir, Aunty Fay; Lawson, Sue (2018). Nganga: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Words and Phrases. Newtown, NSW: Black Dog Books. ISBN 9781921977015.
  7. ^ a b c "Summer Series – Pemulwuy: A War of Two Laws Pt ", Message Stick, Sunday 5 December 2010 accessed 3 March 2014
  8. ^ "Aboriginal activists remember Pemulwuy's legacy". SBS News. Retrieved 3 August 2019.


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