So who was Yemmerrawanyea?
All Australians should know about this man, and what happened to him. Our settlement of his land was extremely traumatic, and his death foretold the deaths of thousands upon thousands of men, women, and children, so we can live in their footsteps.
Yemmerrawanyea had the misfortune of being the first Indigenous Australian to die in Britain, although, it has to be said, he was far from the first to die as a result of the white incursion. As far as could be told at the time, Yemmerrawanyea was believed to be only 19 years old when he died, on 18 May, 1794, at the home of Edward Kent (about whom next to nothing is known for certain), in the Kentish village of Eltham. His body was buried at the St John the Baptist Anglican Church, in Eltham.
The image on the previous page is said to be the only "from life" image of the young man. It was produced by William Wentworth, the man with whom Yemmerrawanyea and Bennelong boarded when in London. He also produced a much more detailed image of Bennelong.
Yemmerrawanyea had the misfortune of being the first Indigenous Australian to die in Britain, although, it has to be said, he was far from the first to die as a result of the white incursion. As far as could be told at the time, Yemmerrawanyea was believed to be only 19 years old when he died, on 18 May, 1794, at the home of Edward Kent (about whom next to nothing is known for certain), in the Kentish village of Eltham. His body was buried at the St John the Baptist Anglican Church, in Eltham.
The image on the previous page is said to be the only "from life" image of the young man. It was produced by William Wentworth, the man with whom Yemmerrawanyea and Bennelong boarded when in London. He also produced a much more detailed image of Bennelong.