Tommy Windich
Tommy Windich (* 1840 in Mount Stirling , Kellerberrin , Victoria , Australia ; † 1876 in the Esperance Bay , Western Australia ) was an Aborigine the Kokar , a tracker (tracker) and expedition members.
Life
Tommy Windich may have been abandoned by his tribe in the Bunbury area because of a contagious disease . He had learned to survive in the bush from the Aboriginal elders and how to keep horses from the whites. Therefore, from 1866 onwards, on Charles Hunt's expedition, he was of great importance for the early European settlers and for the state surveyors and was involved in two expeditions from Perth to Adelaide . He was also successful in finding escaped convicts and fugitive murderers in the bush.
Windich had good connections with John and Alexander Forrest , both great explorers in Western Australia. Windich accompanied John on three expeditions in 1869, 1870 and 1874 and Alexander in 1871. Windich's main daily tasks during the expeditions were to find drinking water and horse fodder. He was also a good marksman, tracker, and hunter. He enjoyed great recognition and esteem from the government and the Forrest brothers.
Afterlife
The Forrest brothers erected a tombstone on the place where he died. He died while accompanying the laying of a telegraph line as a tracker. This tomb is now in the museum. There are two bronze plaques on his tomb in Port Authority Park in Esperance . The text on a badge reads:
"Erected by John and Alexander Forrest in memory of Tommy Windich. Born near Mt. Stirling 1840 Died at Esperance Bay 1876. He was an aboriginal of Western Australia of great intelligence and fidelity who accompanied them on exploring expeditions into the interior of Australia - two of which were from Perth to Adelaide. "Be Ye Also Ready" "
The place Windich Springs was named by John Forrest on May 27, 1874 after Windich.
Web links
- monumentaustralia.org.au : Monument with a bronze plaque by Tommy Windich
Individual evidence
- ↑ adb.edu.au : FK Crowley: Windich, Tommy (1840–1876) , in English, accessed on November 5, 2012
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Windich, Tommy |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Aboriginal explorer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1840 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Kellerberrin , Victoria |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1876 |
| Place of death | Esperance Bay , Western Australia |