Yuranigh

Yuranigh (* 19th century near Molong , New South Wales , Australia ; † April 1850 near Malong) was an Aboriginal from the area of ​​Molong. He was an indigenous tracker ( German : tracker ) and explorer.

Life

As a tracker, Yuranigh was instrumental in Thomas Livingstone Mitchell's expedition to central Queensland from December 1845. He was engaged in the search for water, food and paths through the bush, and he was also supposed to arrange peaceful contacts with the local Aborigines.

Mitchell praised Yuaranigh in his diaries for his knowledge of human nature, behavior, and character.

After the expedition was over, Yuranigh and the two other Aborigines involved in the expedition, Dicky and Boree, went to Sydney with Mitchel . There he enjoyed the recognition of the governor, who granted him and the two other Aborigines a small salary that should enable them to live in white society.

However, Yuranigh soon left Sydney for a cattle station in the north, where he worked as a drover. He later went back to his Aboriginal tribe .

Grave site

The government had a tombstone and a fence built for him, and Mitchell had the tombstone inscribed at his expense. In 1900 the government renovated the tombstone as Molong marble and had the grave site fenced in again. The stone bears the inscription:

To Native Courage Honesty and Fidelity. Yuranigh who accompanied the expedition of discovery into tropical Australia in 1846 lies buried here according to the rites of his countrymen and this spot was dedicated and enclosed by the Governor General's authority in 1852.

Afterlife

A lagoon, a stretch of land in Queensland and a brook near Molong bear the name of Yuranigh.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} adb.anu.edu.au : Yuranigh (? - 1850) , in English, accessed on November 9, 2012