Man's fight for his country is rewarded, 130 years on

Updated November 7 2012 - 11:18am, first published August 15 2008 - 10:37am
Historian Bob Campbell at the new Wombeech Puyuun Reconciliation Park in Camperdown. 080814GW03 Picture: GLEN WATSON Wombeech Puyuun, the last man of the Liwura Gundidj clan to live in Camperdown.
Historian Bob Campbell at the new Wombeech Puyuun Reconciliation Park in Camperdown. 080814GW03 Picture: GLEN WATSON Wombeech Puyuun, the last man of the Liwura Gundidj clan to live in Camperdown.
Historian Bob Campbell at the new Wombeech Puyuun Reconciliation Park in Camperdown. 080814GW03 Picture: GLEN WATSON Wombeech Puyuun, the last man of the Liwura Gundidj clan to live in Camperdown.
Historian Bob Campbell at the new Wombeech Puyuun Reconciliation Park in Camperdown. 080814GW03 Picture: GLEN WATSON Wombeech Puyuun, the last man of the Liwura Gundidj clan to live in Camperdown.

[FUDROP6]WOMBEECH Puyuun stood in front of the court, proudly declared that Camperdown was "his country" and boldly offered to collect sixpence as an instalment of the rent due by the "white fellows generally, and the magistrate in particular".His comments came after Magistrate Peter McArthur had given Puyuun a "good talking to" and suggested he move to the Framlingham Aboriginal Station after being charged by police.The year was 1877 and, according to a report in the Hampden Guardian at the time, Puyuun had been supplied with intoxicating liquor.He was picked up by police for being noisy and disagreeable: "It was deemed best, in the old fellow's interest, to remove him to the lock-up where he was deposited for the night," the report stated.Puyuun, fondly known as Camperdown George, was a member of the Liwura Gundidj clan - the traditional owners of the country near Camperdown. Born in 1818, he was the last Aboriginal still living on his land until he died of pneumonia in 1883.His name will be immortalised with the opening of the new Wombeech Puyuun Reconciliation Park later this year, on land originally set aside by town surveyors as an Aboriginal reserve in Albert Crescent and Victoria Square.According to local historian Bob Lambell, Puyuun was very well liked and loved around town."He was 20 years old when he saw his first white person," Mr Lambell said."The ups and downs of Camperdown George's life were extensively reported in the newspapers of the time."But what stands out is the superficial nature of this reporting. There is no mention of his family, or of his tribal past and culture - just a record of the way he infringed the white man's rules about how he should live."However, what also stands out from this reporting is Camperdown George's determination to live in his country, and to be free - to come and go as he pleased."Despite pressure, Puyuun refused to move to the Framlingham Aboriginal Station, continuing to live in a hut on the edge of Albert Crescent until his death in 1883 at the age of 65.He was initially buried in an unmarked grave on a swampy site at the town's cemetery.Returning from overseas, local Aboriginal protector James Dawson was horrified and funded an impressive obelisk in a prominent site in memory of his friend. He personally dug up the remains of Camperdown George and placed them beneath the memorial in recognition of the Aboriginals of the Camperdown district.A report in the Sydney Mail described Dawson's actions: "He was so shocked on seeing the spot on which the last of the original owners of that fine country had been buried by a so-called Christian community that he determined to take steps to remove, if possible, a blot from the occupiers of the country of which the Aboriginals had been dispossessed, by raising an obelisk to their memory." The Wombeech Puyuun Reconciliation Park will also mark the site of what could be Australia's first native title claim.According to architectural historian Allan Willingham, a man named Bullenmere, who was one of the district's few remaining Aboriginals, applied to Victorian Governor Charles Hotham in 1854 to have land reserved in Camperdown for use by his family.In his Camperdown heritage study, Mr Willingham said Bullenmere, who was also known as King Alick, explained that large portions of the land had recently been sold by the Government to European settlers.He urged Governor Hotham to reserve an area for his 11-year-old son, known as Prince Albert, "in virtue of his native claims" and to allow him to support the family by cultivating the soil.Three months later surveyor Robert Scott had planned an Aboriginal reserve of six hectares, including nearly two hectares for the future use of Prince Albert.However, Bullenmere died several years later and the land was never gazetted or used as an Aboriginal reserve.This was despite pleas from landowners, including Niel Black of Glenormiston, who said the land intended for King Alick should be put into trust for his son.The land was used for the further expansion of the town.Mr Scott then prepared a plan to subdivide the reserve into small blocks around a crescent and square, patriotically named Albert Crescent and Victoria Square.Prince Albert, who worked as a boundary rider at Meningoort station, is believed to have died of tuberculosis at the age of 16."It is a remarkable coincidence that part of the land he so actively sought at the proposed Aboriginal reserve at Camperdown should be named Albert Crescent in honour of a much more celebrated namesake," Mr Willingham stated.The new reconciliation park, to be opened in November, will feature details of the district's Aboriginal heritage and the story of white settlement.

Subscribe now for unlimited access.

$0/

(min cost $0)

or signup to continue reading

See subscription options

Get the latest Warrnambool news in your inbox

Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date.

We care about the protection of your data. Read our Privacy Policy.