Windradyne Print Page

The plaque, beside a Wiradjuri burial mound at Brucedale, was erected by the Bathurst Historical Society in 1954, to commemorate the resting place of aboriginal leader Windradyne who died in 1829. The bronze plaque incorrectly states his death as 1835.

Aboriginal resistance leader Windradyne, also known as Saturday, was a northern Wiradjuri man of the upper Macquarie River region in central-western New South Wales. Emerging as a key protagonist in a period of Aboriginal-settler conflict later known as the `Bathurst Wars`, in December 1823 `Saturday` was named as an instigator of clashes between Aborigines and settlers after his family was massacred which culminated in the death of two convict stockmen at Kings Plains.

He was arrested and imprisoned at Bathurst for one month; it was reported that six men and a severe beating with a musket were needed to secure him. Mortally wounded in a tribal fight on the Macquarie River, Windradyne died a few hours later on 21 March 1829 at Bathurst hospital, and was buried at Bathurst. Windradyne had been closely associated with George Suttor and his son William Henry who were strong advocates on behalf of Aborigines during and after the period of martial law. Both lamented his passing in the Sydney press in April 1829.

Another Suttor tradition, aired shortly after World War Two, disputed earlier accounts of Windradyne`s death and burial, claiming that he had in fact departed from Bathurst hospital to join his people at nearby Brucedale, and that he died on the property.

Memorial Unveiling 1954

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