Nemarluk
Nemarluk (* probably 1911 ; † August 1940 in Darwin , Northern Territory ) was in the 1930s the leader of a small Aboriginal resistance group in the central region of the Daly River in the Northern Territory, who opposed the intrusion of foreigners into their traditional territory resisted violently.
Nemarluk belonged to the Murrinh-patha language group and was entirely initiated in the 1930s according to the rules of Aboriginal culture . He was six feet tall, muscular and strong. He had five wives, one of whom bore his only son.
His fight against British colonization consisted primarily of attacking isolated settlers in the border area of Western Australia and Northern Territory , stealing their cattle and slaughtering them. In the tradition of his Aboriginal tribe , he had the right to kill unwanted intruders.
In July 1931, the group lured three Japanese fishermen with the help of Aboriginal women. The fishermen were killed days later. After the crime became known in Darwin in October , the group was persecuted, the group members captured and imprisoned. In March 1933, they were found guilty in court and sentenced to death. That sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment.
Nemarluk fled several times until he could be tried and sentenced to death in April 1934. This sentence was also reduced to life imprisonment.
He died in Darwin Hospital in August 1940, presumably of tuberculosis .
Individual evidence
- ↑ kooriweb.org : Nemarluk on the Run. Northern Territory Resistance Hero , accessed October 23, 2012
- ↑ adb.anu.edu.au : Bruce Shaw: Nemarluk (1911–1940) , in English, accessed on October 23, 2012
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Nemarluk |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Aborigines and fighters against British colonization |
| DATE OF BIRTH | around 1911 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Northern Territory |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 1940 |
| Place of death | Darwin , Northern Territory |