The Sun-Herald

WHO WE ARE: The man who nearly changed everything

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A column about Australia by David Dale, published in The Sun-Herald, 16/2/2008
Nobody knows what was actually said in the most important speech ever given in Australia, because it was not written down, and in any case it was in a language nobody speaks any more. We only know that the words almost changed the course of our history.

The speech must have been given in the year 1790 by a warrior named Pemulwuy. It had the effect of uniting the people who lived around Sydney harbour in opposition to the invaders who sailed in two years earlier. It led to 12 years of guerilla warfare. We can surmise that if the authorities in London had been fully aware of that war, they may well have abandoned, as a waste of money and manpower, the prison camp they'd established at the opposite end of the planet.

And we can speculate on what might have happened next: Would the French or the Dutch have moved in and done a deal with the locals? Or would Pemulwuy have continued to unify the tribes and create a new political structure?

Pemulwuy's story has parallels with Robin Hood in England, William Tell in Switzerland, Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam and Che Guevara in South America -- about equal parts veriable fact and heroic folklore.

A quick history: In 1790 Pemulwuy, a leader of the Bidjigal people who lived near Botany Bay, speared a man named John Mcentire, who worked as gamekeeper for Governor Arthur Phillip. Phillip despatched an officer called Watkin Tench (who kept detailed diaries) to hunt Pemulwuy and his followers, but they had vanished.

Pemulwuy persuaded the Eora, Dharug and Tharawal people to join his campaign against the newcomers. They burned food supplies and attacked settlers on the outskirts of the colony. This culminated in what has been called "the battle of Parramatta" in 1797, when about 100 of Pemulwuy's fighters (including some escaped Irish convicts) confronted English troops near the river. Pemulwuy was shot seven times and taken to the nearby hospital, but escaped (in leg irons) and continued the struggle.

Governor John Hunter wrote in 1798: "A strange idea was found to prevail among the natives respecting the savage Pe-mul-way, which was very likely to prove fatal to him in the end. Both he and they entertained an opinion, that, from his having been frequently wounded, he could not be killed by our fire-arms."

Pemulwuy was captured in 1802, when he would have been in his 40s. His head was slashed off with a sabre, preserved in alcohol and sent as a specimen to Sir Joseph Banks in London, along with a note from Governor Phillip Gidley King describing him as "an active, daring leader ... Altho a terrible pest to the colony, he was a brave and independent character."

The Pemulwuy story would make a great Australian movie (as in, a film Australians would actually go and see). Geoffrey Rush is Arthur Phillip. There's a role for Nicole Kidman as the Irish woman who joins Pemulwuy's army and advises him on how to demoralise the English invaders. Guy Pearce is Watkin Tench, the humane officer who loved the Irish woman and let Pemulwuy escape, only to see his sweetheart prefer the noble savage.

But who has the charisma to be Pemulwuy? If the film is funded by a Hollywood studio, the part will go to Denzel Washington or Russell Crowe. If we keep control of it here, Ernie Dingo comes to mind. He's impressive when he chooses to be serious. But there must be other candidates.

What do you think? We welcome your suggestions for the great Australian movie.

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). To discuss Australian attitudes, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.