MAY/JUNE 2002

Yarri of Gundagai

Many towns and rivers and places in Australia have been given Aboriginal names; Gundagai (going upstream) in Southern NSW is one of them. Thousands of tourists visit there every year, partly to see the renowned statue of the Dog on the Tucker Box placed there in memory of the early pioneers. But the name is not the only Aboriginal aspect of Gundagai. One of the heroes of the early days was an Aboriginal named Yarri (plenty of water/swift motion).

European settlers first moved into the area about 150 years ago. The rich floodplains near the Murrumbidgee River (big water) caught their eye. It seemed to be a fine place to build a town. Many times local Aborigines warned the newcomers that the Murrumbidgee had dangerous floods, but nobody took any notice; they considered primitive people couldn't teach them anything.

In 1840 some streets were laid out on the low-lying land and a few buildings were put up. But four years later the river did rise, just as the Aborigines had said. Some houses were flooded, but no great damage was done and everyone escaped.

Afterwards a few people moved to higher ground, but others continued to risk living on the water flats. By 1850 Gundagai was a small and thriving township with a population of a few hundred people. The following year there was a drought and the settlers were glad they were living so close to the river. But in June 1852 everything suddenly changed. For three weeks it rained almost every day, the Murrumbidgee rose steadily. Soon Gundagai was a small soggy island, completely surrounded by flood waters. By 24 June the river had stopped rising and everyone thought the worst was over.

Fred Horsley, a young man living on a nearby hillside, decided to visit his girlfriend, Jane Hemphill, in the waterlogged township. Swimming his horse across flooded Morley's Creek, he spent a happy afternoon and evening at the Hemphill's Family Inn.

Then, without warning, the river suddenly went mad and raging floodwaters roared through the streets of old Gundagai. As the water poured into Hemphill's Inn, the people climbed onto tables, then through the ceiling and out onto the roof. About 27 terrified men, women and children huddled in the darkness, while logs, haystacks, cattle and screaming people were swept past them.

The brick walls of the Inn lasted a short while, but as the water kept rising they gave way, leaving the roof to swirl around on the flood waters with its load of terrified people. Fred Horsley and his girlfriend managed to get from the roof to a tall gumtree. They clung there in the darkness as the roaring waters surged around them.

One wonderful thing did happen during that night of terror. When Yarri, our Aboriginal young man, realised how serious the situation had become, he raced to his very frail bark canoe and paddled out into the dangerous flood waters, his only guide the cries of people struggling for their lives. He miraculously found his way through the pitch darkness and rescued one after another.

Such a tiny canoe held only two or three people. Without Yarri's great skill and the strength of his arms and heart, many more would have been lost and his tiny boat would have been smashed or sunk. But over and over again he forced himself across the raging flood, saving people trapped on rooftops and in branches of trees.

When morning dawned at last, there was hardly anything left of the township of Gundagai, just a few chimneys poking out of the angry waters. There were now dead bodies of people and cattle everywhere. Desperately tired and close to exhaustion, Yarri could be seen still paddling his canoe to help those still alive.

There is no record of how long Yarri spent on that dangerous flooded river, but it is known that he managed to rescue 49 people. This must have taken many trips, and hours of heartbreaking effort. Fred Horsley was among those he saved, but sadly Jane drowned, along with 80 to 100 others. Imagine the feelings of those who survived certain death because of his heroic bravery.

Of course the survivors at last learned their lesson. When Gundagai was rebuilt, it was on higher ground above the flood plain. It must be said Yarri was not entirely forgotten. The townspeople gave him a shell badge, which is still in the Gundagai Historical Museum. The Horsley family named one of their properties 'Yarri'. One hundred years later in 1952, the Horsley family erected a small sundial in his memory. On Australia Day in 1983, a memorial park was named after him. However, it is a great shame that, even today, Gundagai for most people is the Dog on the Tucker Box.

What a great act towards reconciliation it would be if the people of Gundagai would erect a statue of Yarri, commemorating an Aborigine who risked his life for the very people who had taken away his land. This perfect act of reconciliation on his part offers a glimpse of the richness of a culture so often despised.