Yarramundi and Boorooberongal welcome Phillip and Tench
West - 1791
Yarramundi, (Yellomundee) the Boorooberongal warrior and Koradji (clever man) welcomes Phillip and Lieutenant Tench to his country. Watkin Tench describes this meeting: “We halted for the night at our usual hour, on the bank of the Hawkesbury River. Immediately that we have stopped, our friend (who had already told us his name) Gombeere introduced the man and the boy from the canoe to us. The former was named Yellomundee, the later Deeimba.” Both Gombeere and Yellomundee are Koradji (special or clever men and women who had great cultural and spiritual knowledge and skill).
Yellomundee’s daughter (as yet unborn) will be Maria Locke, later well known at the Blacktown Native Institute as a gifted student, and matriarch of many Hawkesbury River Region Darug people.