History Daily - Yagan: The Death of a Freedom Fighter

Episode Date: July 11, 2025

July 11, 1833. Australian Aboriginal warrior, Yagan, is murdered by colonists, after leading a war of resistance against the British settlers.This episode originally aired in 2022. Support the show! Join Into History for ad-free listening and more.History Daily is a co-production of Airship and Noiser.Go to HistoryDaily.com for more history, daily.

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1831 in the Swan River colony in Western Australia A British servant named Thomas Smedley works in the fields of his

employer's farm. As he swings his sigh through heads of golden wheat, he hears some commotion from the nearby chicken coop. Smedley looks in that direction and sees a group of Aboriginal men have broken into the enclosure, where they're now helping themselves to the poultry. Smedley also sees several more indigenous people raiding the potato crops in the neighboring field. He narrows his eyes and strides to the field's edge where his flintlock musket is resting against the trunk of a eucalyptus tree. Smedley picks up the weapon and cocks back the hammer. Slowly, Smedley approaches the Aboriginal men, his musket, raised.

And once he's within earshot, he yells at them to get off the property. The men look up, but if they're alarmed by the sight of the musket, they don't show it. And they don't obey Smedley's demand either. They simply turn their backs and continue collecting chickens and potatoes. Smedley shifts uncomfortably, unsure how to proceed. He expected the Aboriginals to just run. He tries again, calling out, I'm warning you, but again, they ignore him. Smedley's getting angry now.

If these thieving savages won't listen, he thinks, he's going to make them. He closes one eye and raises his musket. Smedley's aim is true. One of the Aboriginals falls to the ground, riding in pain. The rest of the natives turn and stare at Smedley, their eyes filled with rage. Smedley grips his musket. His hands tremble as he realizes he's heavily outnumbered. Smedley begins to frantically reload his musket,

but the Aboriginals don't rush him. They slowly back away toward the tree line close by and disappear into the forest. Only one man remains in the open, standing and staring. He is tall and muscular and is bare torso tattooed with tribal markings. Smedley finishes loading his weapon and takes aim at the bare-chested native, hoping to scare him off. But the man doesn't run.

He just calmly turns around and disappears into the bush. Established in 1829, the Swan River Colony is the first British settlement in Western Australia. When the settlers arrived, they believed the region was an empty, uncharted land on which to expand and glorify the British Empire. But the region was not empty. For 40,000 years, it had been home to the Nungar, an Aboriginal Australian tribe with a rich culture, history, and language, and as the British colonists continue expanding their settlement,

encounters with the Noongar will become increasingly violent. Soon, one Noongar warrior named Yegan will emerge as a hero of his tribe. In the face of foreign invaders, Jagen will stand up and fight for the rights of indigenous peoples until his violent death at the hands of the British on July 11, 1833. From Noisor and Airship, I'm Lindsay Graham, and this is History Daily. History is made every day. On this podcast, every day, we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world.

Today is July 11, 1833. Yegan, Death of a Freedom Fighter. It's August 12, 1829, four years before Yegan is killed. On a riverbank in Western Australia, a group of British colonial administrators had gathered to lay the foundation, Stone for a new settlement. Among those assembled is Lieutenant James Sterling. Sterling is a naval officer who led the first British expedition to Western Australia, exploring the region along the Swan River in hopes of establishing a colony on its banks. Sterling and his party are not the first Europeans to set foot on Australia's western shore. Dutch merchants arrived here in the 17th century,

but the land was originally deemed too inhospitable to colonize. But with the British settlement of Sydney in New South Wales now thriving, Sterling felt it was time to develop an outpost in the west, and Sterling was confident he was the man for the job. Now, sweating in his stiff tailcoat and necktine, Sterling watches with pride as the Union Jack flag is hoisted above the clearing. He's decided to call this new settlement Perth after a city in his native Scotland. Sterling and the colonists were not able to find a suitable foundation stone for their new community, so they decided to chop down a tree to mark the occasion. Today, the honor of swinging the axe is given to Mrs. Helena Dance, the wife of one of Sterling's men. Mrs. Dance picks up the axe and approaches a young

eucalyptus. As Mrs. Dance strikes repeatedly at the knotted trunk, shards of bark fly through the air. The colonists laugh and applaud as the tree finally topples to the ground, sending a flock of startled cockatoos flapping into the late winter sky. But meanwhile, across the river, concealed in the shadows of the dense tree line. A group of aboriginal people from the Nungar tribe watch in silence. Among them is an elderly man with long, graying hair, a tribal leader named Mijiguru. Standing by Mijiguru's side is his son, the renowned warrior, Jagen. The two men watched the colonists' strange tree-chopping ceremony with a mixture of fear and curiosity. The Nungar have inhabited this part of southwestern Australia for over 40,000 years, and by 1829,

approximately 10,000 tribes people still live in the region, hunting its wide river valleys and fishing along its rocky coastline. The Nungar have seen many white people come and go over the centuries. They don't know where they come from or where they go when they leave, but they have a name for them, Janga or white spirits. To the Nungar, the Janga speak in a strange tongue. They wear strange clothes and they practice bizarre rituals. But still, the Nungar have generally been welcoming to these visitors as they passed through. Soon though, it becomes clear that this latest group of Junga have no intention of leaving. Houses and farms spring up with the colonists developing the land along the Swan River

into what will come to be known as a Swan River colony. And as the colony grows, the white settlers begin encroaching onto the Nungar tribes' hunting grounds, erecting fences and raising livestock, pushed from their ancestral lands, and with no place to hunt, the Nungar are often forced into a desperate situation. In December 1831, Yegan, his father Mijiguru, and a group of Nungar hunters, sneak onto one of the colonists' farms to steal chickens and potatoes. An English servant named Thomas Smedley shoots and kills one of the Nungar hunters. Jagen, his father and the rest, retreat to the safety of the trees.

When watching his fellow tribesmen murdered at the hand of a colonist leaves an indelible mark on Jagen, he flees from the incident determined to seek revenge. A few days later, Yegan, Nijiguru, and a group of warrior tribesmen approach the farm at dusk. As they creep through an adjacent field, fruit bats flush across the darkening sky, and the sound of crickets resonates from the surrounding bush. Silently, the warriors surround the farmhouse. They begin striking at the mud brick walls with their spears, trying to break inside. Suddenly, the front door flies open.

Jagen sees a white man standing there, another servant named Aaron Entwistle. Yegan raises his spear and hurls the weapon with power and accuracy. Aaron staggers backwards. A moment later, two pale young faces emerge from the gloomy threshold. Aaron's children stare in horror at their father's blood-soaked corpse. Then they look up with wide eyes at the towering Aboriginal warrior looming over them, his face painted with tribal markings and a red and black feather protruding from his headband. Jagen has no intention of killing the children.

The murder of his kinsman has already been avenged. There's no need for further bloodshed. Yegan, Mijiguru, and the others run off into the night. According to the principles of tribal law, killing a member of Thomas Smedley's family group is not merely retribution, but justice, blood for blood, but the colonists will not see it this way. Instead, the murder of Aaron Entwistle will cause outrage throughout the Swan River colony, prompting colonial authorities to place a bounty on Yegan's head,

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It's early October 1832 in Western Australia, two years before the death of Yegan. As Yegan walks along the banks of the Swan River, he sees a fishing boat. Jagen instinctively raises his spear, but the fishermen insist they mean no harm. They hold up a loaf of bread and offer it to Jagen. The Nungar warrior is hungry, so he approaches the boat. Over the last few months, relations between the local Aboriginal tribe and the British colonists have become increasingly fraught.

Many colonists believe Jagen is responsible, so the authorities put a price on his head, and soon words spread throughout the colony of the reward on offer for anyone who can capture Yegan, dead or alive. But Yegan doesn't know he's a wanted man. All he knows is that he and his people cannot hunt because of the presence of the white settlers, and he's desperate for something to eat. Now, Jagen climbs aboard the fishing boat, enticed by the promise of bread. But as soon as Jagen boards the vessel, he realizes he's fallen for a trap. The fishermen open their coats to reveal muskets hidden beneath. They quickly bind his wrists with rope and set sail for Fremantle, a colonial settlement at the mouth of the Swan River. There, Yegan is marched through the streets toward the Roundhouse Prison.

By now, Yegan's infamy has spread throughout the colony. When the locals hear that Yegan has been captured, the streets fill with onlookers craning their necks to catch a glimpse of the fearsome Noongar warrior. Jagen is thrown into a cell in the Roundhouse. He looks around in puzzlement at this strange and unfamiliar environmental. He approaches the bars of his cell and grips the cold metal with his hands. Anger rises in his chest. These white men have invaded his home, driven him from his ancestral lands, and subjected him to foreign laws alien to his culture.

And for breaking those laws, they had put him in chains. Jagen rests his forehead against the iron bars and moan softly. Meanwhile, colonial officials discuss what to do with a prisoner. In a meeting chaired by the governor of the colony, Lieutenant James Sterling, It's decided unanimously that Yegan should be put to death. But during the discussion, one man steps forward in Yeagin's defense. Robert Lyon is a British ethnographer tasked with studying the indigenous peoples of Australia. Robert is appalled by the Swan River colonists' treatment of the local Aboriginal population.

He argues that Yegan is not a common criminal, but rather a freedom fighter for his people. And as such, Robert argues, he should be punished as a prisoner of war. Robert makes a passionate but reason to plea, and ultimately Governor Sterling is moved. He concedes and reduces Yegan's sentence to exile on Karnak Island, a desolate outcrop six miles off the coast. So when October of 1832, Yegan and two other indigenous prisoners are shipped to the isolated and windswept Karnak Island, there they are locked in a rudimentary prison and guarded by two disinterested officers. Robert Lyon has granted permission to supervise the prisoners, and using the time to study indigenous culture, he attempts to bridge the divide between the colonists and the natives.

As the weeks go on, Robert spends hours each day with Yegan, teaching him English and attempting to convert him to Christianity. Robert ultimately hopes to persuade Yegan to accept colonial authority, and gradually Yegan does seem to soften to Robert. Roberts relieved, delighted, and vindicated in his belief that Yegan deserved more human, in treatment. He scorns the fools in the colonial administration who wanted to execute Yegan as if violence ever solved anything. Instead, Robert thinks proudly, through kindness and education, I have turned a savage into a gentleman. On November 15th, Robert heads to the prison building for his regular morning lessons with the captives. But as he approaches the facility, he notices movement down the beach. It's Yegan and the two other prisoners. Somehow they've broken free

and stolen a small boat. With a jolt of panic, Robert races to the shoreline to halt their escape. But it's too late. The boat is already beyond earshot. Deflated, Robert watches as the boat recedes to a mere speck on the horizon. Immediately, Yegan returns to his homeland. But the colonial authorities do not give pursuit. They decide he's already been punished enough for his crimes. And in the months that follow, relations between the colonists and the Nungar begin to improve. In January 1833, Yegan and several other tribes people meet with a delegation of white settlers on the outskirts of Governor Sterling's colony, Perth. The meeting takes the form of a traditional Aboriginal gathering or corrobbery. Yegan and his kinsmen perform traditional dances and compete at spear-throwing. The atmosphere is one of convivial good cheer, and the Perth Gazette will later describe Yegan as the master of ceremonies who acquitted himself with infinite grace and dignity.

But the neighborly spirit will not last. Only months later in April, Yegan and his father, Mijiguru, will lead an ambush on a wagon train near Bull Creek outside Perth. The raid will turn ugly, and two colonists will be killed in the struggle. In retaliation, the colonial authorities will capture Mijiguru and execute the tribal leader by firing squad. With his father dead, Jagan will once again vow vengeance, ending all hope of reconciliation between the Nungar and the colonists. Manzovilla's legendary burker week are back

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1833 Yegan leads a small group of Nunggar warriors along the Swan River Back in April Jagan and his father Viji Guru

led an ambush on a wagon train that resulted in two dead colonists. In retaliation, the colonial authorities captured Mijiguru, and after a brief show trial, they executed the tribal leader. But Jagen didn't know it. He knew his father had been captured, but he didn't know where he'd been taken, or if his ultimate dark fate. Trying to find more information,

Jagen walked onto the property of a colonist named George Fletcher Moore. Jagen was not looking for a fight. He only wanted to know where his father was. But Moore lied to him. telling Yegan that his father had been arrested and was awaiting trial on Carnac Island. Yegan looked more in the eye, and in broken English, warned, If the white men shoot his father, Yegan will kill three white men. And with that, he turned and vanished.

Today, months later, Yegan stalks along the Swan River, scanning the bush for signs of danger. Suddenly he stops. He sees two white teenage boys herding cattle on the riverbank. The boys turn and see the Nungar warriors. who brandished their spears. But Yegan calms down his men. He can see that they're merely children and no threat. The teenage boys, brothers William and James Keats, approached the Nungar. They recognize Jagen and tell him the area is crawling with colonists seeking his capture dead or alive.

The brothers invite Jagen to shelter with them till it's safe to continue on. Hesitantly, the Great Warrior agrees. But as soon as the Nungar lower their spears, William and James produced pistols. Yegan backs away slowly, but just as he's about to turn and run, William pulls the trigger, shooting Yegan dead. The brothers quickly mount their horses and ride away, but they can't outrun the Nungar spears. One of Yegan's kinsman takes aim and throws his weapon, piercing William through the chest and killing him instantly. James manages to escape by abandoning his horse and swimming across the river to safety. He's lost his brother, but he proclaims the news of Jagen's death,

and claims the reward. Yegan was one of the first resistance fighters to stand up for Aboriginal rights against the colonizing British. Yegan's murder is part of a long and troubled history of colonial aggression and dispossession that persists long after he's gone. Immediately after Yegan's killing, his severed head is sent to England, where it is displayed at the Liverpool Museum as a curiosity. Over 150 years later, in 1997, a lobbying group of Nungar activists finally reclaim and repatriate Yegan's head. On July 10th, 2010, following the creation of the Yegan Memorial Park in Western Australia, the warrior's head is finally laid to rest, putting an end to a sad saga that began following Yegan's murder on July 11, 1833. Next, on History Daily, July 14th,

1970, a New York City hospital is taken over by a group of Puerto Rican activists demanding better Health Care. From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily, hosted, edited and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham. Audio editing by Derek Barron's, sound designed by Misha Stanton, music by Lindsay Graham. This episode is written in research by Joe Viner. Executive producers are Stephen Walters for Airship and Pascal Hughes for Noiser. Pansovilla's legendary purger week are back. 25-year-voldes jublered forkeres to give back

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