Yarramundi, Colebee and Maria of the Boorooberongal clan: A Dharug Dynasty

Stories From Sydney

In this episode Jed attempts to tell the multi-generational story of Yarramundi, Colebee and Maria of the Boorooberongal clan of the Dharug people of what is now Western Sydney.

From the first encounters between the Dharug and the British on Dyarubbin in 1791, to the first ever land grant from the British regime to the original inhabitants of Australia in 1816, from Macquarie’s aborted ‘native institute’, the first Indigenous/British marriage and all through the stolen generation to the present day, Yarramundi’s family have been at the centre of the unfolding relations amongst the people that call Western Sydney home.

In this podcast we discuss The History Listen podcast episode Yarramundi and the people of Dyarubbin and the Sydney University research that debunks one of the stories they tell. As with anything do with the people of Dyarubbin, Grace Karskens research is wonderfully helpful and the State Government published Dyarubbin: Mapping Aboriginal history, culture and stories of the Hawkesbury River that she was involved with is well worth a look if you’re interested in the specific geography of these last few episodes.

Lastly, at the end of the episode we plug The Australian Histories Podcast and Jed also mentions a book he read on William Buckley, which is Jock Serong’s Buckley’s Chance.