William Barak
Encyclopedia
Ngurungaeta
Ngurungaeta is a Wurundjeri word meaning 'head man' or 'tribal leader'. Ngurungaeta held the same tribal standing as an Arweet of the Bunurong and Wathaurong people...
(elder) of the Wurundjeri
Wurundjeri
The Wurundjeri are a people of the Indigenous Australian nation of the Woiwurrung language group, in the Kulin alliance, who occupy the Birrarung Valley, its tributaries and the present location of Melbourne, Australia...
-willam clan, based around the area of present-day Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. He became an influential spokesman for Aboriginal
Australian Aborigines
Australian Aborigines , also called Aboriginal Australians, from the latin ab originem , are people who are indigenous to most of the Australian continentthat is, to mainland Australia and the island of Tasmania...
social justice and an important informant on Wurundjeri cultural lore
Lore
Lore may refer to:* Loré , a city and subdistrict in Lautém District* Lore , the region on each side of a birds face between eye and bill* Lore , a fictional android* Lore Sjöberg, an internet humourist...
.
Biography
Barak was born in the early 1820s at Brushy Creek near present-day CroydonCroydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
, in the country of the Wurundjeri people. His mother, Tooterrie, came from the Nourailum bulluk at Murchison, Victoria
Murchison, Victoria
Murchison is a small rural village located on the Goulburn River in Victoria, Australia. Murchison is located 167 kilometres from Melbourne and is just to the west of the Goulburn Valley Highway between Shepparton and Nagambie. The surrounding countryside contains orchards, vineyards and dairy...
. His father, Bebejern, was an important member of the Wurundjeri
Wurundjeri
The Wurundjeri are a people of the Indigenous Australian nation of the Woiwurrung language group, in the Kulin alliance, who occupy the Birrarung Valley, its tributaries and the present location of Melbourne, Australia...
clan. Beruk was said to have been present when John Batman
John Batman
John Batman was an Australian grazier, businessman and explorer who is best known for his role in the founding of a settlement which became Melbourne and the colony of Victoria.-Life:...
met with the tribal elders to 'purchase' the Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
area in 1835. Before he died he described witnessing the signing of the treaty in a ceremony he called a tanderem.
Ninggalobin, Poleorong and Billibellary
Billibellary
Billibellary was a song maker and influential ngurungaeta of the Wurundjeri-willam clan during the early years of European settlement of Melbourne. He was known by various names including Billi-billeri, Billibellary, Jika Jika, Jacky Jacky and Jaga Jaga...
were the leading song makers and principal Wurundjeri leaders in the Melbourne region. European colonisation had caused disruptions to initiation ceremonies. In response these three men gathered at South Yarra in the late 1830s and inducted the young William Barak into Aboriginal lore. This entailed formally presenting Barak with the symbols of manhood: strips of possumskin tied around his biceps; the gombert (reed necklace) around his neck; given his ilbi-jerri, a sharp and narrow bone or nose-peg; and his branjep, the apron worn by men to cover their genitals. At the end of the ceremony Barack presented his uncle, Billibellary, a possumskin cloak.
Beruk attended the government’s Yarra Mission School from 1837 to 1839.
When he joined the Native Mounted Police in 1844, he was given the name of William Barak. He was Police Trooper No.19.
In early 1863, Barak moved to Coranderrk
Coranderrk
Coranderrk was an Indigenous Australian mission station set up in 1863 to provide land under the policy of concentration, for Aboriginal people who had been dispossessed by the arrival of Europeans to the state of Victoria 30 years prior. The mission was formally closed in 1924 with most residents...
Station, near Healesville, Victoria
Healesville, Victoria
Healesville is a town in Victoria, Australia, 52 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Yarra Ranges...
with about thirty others.
Upon the death of Simon Wonga
Simon Wonga
Simon Wonga ngurungaeta and son of Billibellary, was an elder of the Wurundjeri indigenous people who lived in the Melbourne area of Australia.In 1840 Simon Wonga injured his foot in the Dandenongs...
in 1875, Barak became the Ngurungaeta of the clan. He worked tirelessly for his people and was a successful negotiator on their behalf. He was a highly respected man and leader, with standing amongst the Indigenous people and the European settlers.
Indigenous peoples of Oceania
The indigenous peoples of Oceania are those peoples identified as indigenous peoples, as per the modern global definition of the term.Many of the present-day Pacific Island nations in the Oceania region were originally populated by Polynesian, Melanesian and Micronesian peoples over the course of...
life and encounters with European
European ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
s. Most of Barak's drawings were completed at Coranderrk during the 1880s and 1890s. They are now highly prized and exhibited in leading public galleries in Australia. His work is on permanent display in the National Gallery of Victoria
National Gallery of Victoria
The National Gallery of Victoria is an art gallery and museum in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest and the largest public art gallery in Australia. Since December 2003, NGV has operated across two sites...
Ian Potter Centre at Federation Square
Federation Square
Federation Square is a civic centre and cultural precinct in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
, Melbourne. Ceremony (1895) is housed at the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery
Ballarat Fine Art Gallery
Art Gallery of Ballarat is the oldest and largest regional art gallery in Australia. Established in 1884 as the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery by the citizens of Ballarat both the building and part of its collection is listed on the Victorian Heritage Registerand by the National Trust of Victoria.The...
.
Barak died at Coranderrk in 1903 and is buried at the Coranderrk cemetery. He was about 85 years old.
In 2005 a 525-metre footbridge called the 'William Barak bridge' was constructed stretching from Birrarung Marr to the MCG
McG
Joseph McGinty Nichol , better known as McG, is an American director and producer of film and television, as well as a former record producer....
, improving the link between some of Melbourne's biggest sports and entertainment venues and the heart of the CBD
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
. In 2006 a permanent sound installation called "Proximities" was installed on the bridge. It was designed by David Chesworth
David Chesworth
David Chesworth is an award-winning Australian-based composer and installation artist. Known for his experimental, and at times minimalist music, he has worked in rock groups, classical ensembles, theatre, opera...
and Sonia Leber. Its central section features a welcome song sung in Woiwurrung
Woiwurrung
Woiwurrung is an Indigenous Australian language spoken by some of the Kulin Nation clans, the Wurundjeri people, of Central Victoria, from Mount Baw Baw in the east to Mount Macedon, Sunbury and Gisborne in the west.The Woiwurrung clans inhabited the Yarra River, called Birrarung in Woiwurrung,...
by Wurundjeri
Wurundjeri
The Wurundjeri are a people of the Indigenous Australian nation of the Woiwurrung language group, in the Kulin alliance, who occupy the Birrarung Valley, its tributaries and the present location of Melbourne, Australia...
Elder, and Barak's descendant, Joy Murphy Wandin
Joy Murphy Wandin
Joy Murphy Wandin is an Indigenous Australian, Senior Wurundjeri elder of the Kulin alliance in Victoria, Australia. She has given the traditional welcome to country greeting at many Melbourne events and to many distinguished visitors where she says in the Woiwurrung language "Wominjeka Wurundjeri...
.
External links
- Remembering Barak at the National Gallery of VictoriaNational Gallery of VictoriaThe National Gallery of Victoria is an art gallery and museum in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest and the largest public art gallery in Australia. Since December 2003, NGV has operated across two sites...
. - Joy Murphy-Wandin speaking about her great, great uncle.
- Ceremony - Ballarat Fine Art Gallery
- Joy Murphy-Wandin speaking about Barak and Coranderrk.
- William Barak, Culture Victoria