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Yarri Print Page 
The headstone on the grave commemorates Yarri who rescued 49 people in the great flood of June 1852.
In June 1852, a massive flood demolished the original township of Gundagai which was then built on the Murrumbidgee floodplain. Eighty-nine people are known to have lost their lives. The Wiradjuri people, with their knowledge of the land , saved the lives of many Europeans. Yarri, was one of the first on the river, in the deadliest conditions at the height of the flood, in only a bark canoe. Yarri was joined the next day by another aborigine, Jacky Jacky. The epic rescue took three days and two nights of exhausting effort.
Yarri had rescued 49 people and Jacky Jacky another 20. The European settlers were very grateful to Yarri and Jackey and presented them with inscribed bronze breastplates in recognition of their bravery. Yarri's is one of the most dramatic stories of Aboriginal-European interaction and certainly one of very few from an English perspective in which the Aboriginal people are clearly shown in a heroic light.
Location
| Address: | William Street, Cemetery, Gundagai, 2722 |
|---|---|
| State: | NSW |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -35.051389 Long: 148.111944 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Grave |
|---|---|
| Monument Theme: | People |
| Sub-Theme: | Indigenous |
| Actual Event Start Date: | 25-June-1852 |
| Actual Event End Date: | 25-June-1852 |
Dedication
| Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Friday 7th September, 1990 |
|---|
In memory of Yarri
Hero of Gundagai
An Aboriginal man who rescued 49 people on the night of 24th June 1852 from the flooded Murrumbidgee River in Gundagai rests here.
This monument was erected on 7th September 1990 by the Tumut-Brungle Local Aboriginal Land Council in recognition of Yarri
