The Legacy - Pemulwuy

The Warrior

The untouched and idyllic world of the Indigenous people is thrown into chaos and flux, as the First Fleet arrives and Colonial oppression forges across a sacred land. As these two worlds collide, precious hunting grounds are compromised, with the Aboriginal population becoming decimated by disease. The strongest and the most feared is the Bidjigal warrior Pemulwuy, a man who rouses the spirits of his ancestors to take the fight to the white invaders, forging a twelve-year war in order to guide his people to safety.

Pemulwuy. The Man. The Legacy.

It was believed throughout the colony that no bullet could kill Pemulwuy and that he had the magical powers of the kurdaitcha (lawman, sharman, medicine-man). Born circa 1750, before the colonial regime, Pemulwuy (Pimbloy, Pemulvoy, Pemulwoy, Pemulwy, Pemulwye) was a Bidjigal man of the Sydney tribes. He is described as a woodsman, a clever man, a warrior, a healer, a leader, a father, a son to a doting mother. From a young age he learned to mimic the fauna of his surroundings, he learned the lore of the land and his people. Known for the defect in his eye, surveyor Watkins Tench described Pemulwuy had a “speck, or blemish, on his left eye.”

In retaliation of colonial invasion, destruction of lands and the loss of his people’s lives from smallpox, murder and removal from their lands, Pemulwuy began raids on settlers’ farms. As Pemulwuy’s guerrilla raids on the colony continued, runaway convicts began to join the native warriors. Pemulwuy looted redcoats homes stealing musket balls, clothes and harvest, cutting off food supplies. Using his own land to his advantage, his ingenuity and courage are his overwhelming traits. He uses the eons of knowledge inherited by his forefathers. His strategy, his ingenuity and courage and his overwhelming determination weighed heavily within the mind of his enemy.

On the 22 March 1797, 100 redcoats with native trackers persued Pemulwuy and his men. Pemulwuy’s men were only armed with spears and boomerangs, a fight ensued, which is known as the ‘Battle of Parramatta’. It was at this time that Pemulwuy was hit by buckshot from a gun used by a settler.

Seven pieces of buckshot entered Pemulwuy through his torso and head. He was captured, restrained and sent to Balmain hospital. At this point the natives and settlers thought he was dead. Gravely wounded and still in shackles Pemulwuy miraculously absconded from the gaol and his raids continued.

As Pemulwuy’s fame grew, it was believed throughout the colony that no bullet could kill him as he had ‘blackfella magic’. Pemulwuy’s fame grew as did the colonists fear of this Indigenous warrior. The heroism of Pemulwuy echoed throughout the colony and Britain. Pemulwuy, with the help of his son Tedbury amassed an army of over three hundred men, and continued raids until his death on 2 June 1802. Pemulwuy was shot and killed by First Fleeter, Henry Hacking.

Today, Pemulwuy’s legacy as the Bidjigal Warrior who fought colonial oppression continues throughout the aural history of the Sydney basin. The Pemulwuy legend has been passed down from generation to generation. Pemulwuy’s name does not appear in any school history lesson but Pemulwuy’s heroism as an Indigenous leader, continues to be a national symbol for the continued fight for justice, sovereignty and for the equality of the Aboriginal people of Australia…who are the rightful owners of this Country.

Always was… Always will be.

Ambassadors

The community elders supporting the Pemulwuy movie descend from the Dharug, Bidjigal and Dharawal communities.

Our Country

Pemulwuy will be produced utilizing the real locations in which we know historically Pemulwuy lived and breathed.

Ancestral Remains

On 2 June 1802, Pemulwuy was killed, bringing an abrupt end to his long-fought battles with encroaching British invaders.