WIRADYURI Elder Dinawan Dyirribang says it's time for Bathurst and the region to recognise the warrior Windradyne.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Dinawan, a descendant of Windradyne, has previously called for a statute of the warrior to be erected in Bathurst, and says as Australia revisits its brutal colonial history as part of the Black Lives Matter movement, now is the time to do it.
"This is something I want to happen," he said.
In addition to a statue, Dinawan would also like to see a memorial garden at the bottom end of Stanley Street, near Rankin Street, for Wiradyuri people killed in cold blood, during colonisation, after martial law was declared in the area.
It was in the vicinity that Windradyne lost most of his immediate family, shot dead by a farmer after taking a few potatoes in the belief they belonged to the land and, as such, were for everyone.
Among those murdered before his eyes were his wife, eldest son, two nieces and his mother.
Dinawan said he would also like to see the Macquarie River, which starts south of Bathurst, revert to its original name, the Wambool.
"It was called Wambool for thousands of years, and then all of a sudden it's named the Macquarie, after a governor who was mad," he said.
"And we're supposed to look up to him?"
IN OTHER NEWS AROUND BATHURST:
Dinawan said he believes the biggest problem today is the fact history remains very one-sided.
"When it comes to history, Australia takes one side; that is why people don't know too much about us," he said.
"You guys are taught [that] when the colonists arrived, we just left the area."
But under Windradyne, the Wiradyuri people fought to retain their land.
Martial law was declared and, as a result, thousands of Indigenous men, women and children were killed in a short, sharp and bloody war.
One area Dinawan thinks appropriate for a statue honouring Windradyne is in Charlotte Street, near the Girl Guides Hall, where Windradyne was chained to a tree for over a month after being captured.
"They captured him and chained him up like a dog. That's how he learned about the white man's ways," Dinawan said.
It is his hope the statute might begin conversations about the city's real history.
"It's time to tell the real story. We have a long way to go," he said.
"People say Australia is a fair country. It wasn't built on fairness, it was built on slavery, violence and racism, the same with New Zealand, the US and Canada - they are all dominions of the British empire.
"They sent people over to take over the original people of the land.
"When the white fellas landed here in Bathurst, they didn't engage with us, they simply raised the flag and claimed the area and then tried to wipe us out.
"It's going to be painful, but the truth has to be told."
Bathurst mayor Bobby Bourke said he was fully supportive of a statue being erected to honor Windradyne.
"I've brought it up a couple of times in discussion with staff and the Lands Council," he said.
Cr Bourke thought a fitting location might be Haymarket Reserve, near the old ambulance station - one of the most prominent corners in the city.
"It needs to be somewhere where proper recognition [of Windradyne] is given," he said.