Dick-a-Dick

Dick-a-Dick

Dick-a-Dick (traditional name Djungadjinganook, Jumgumjenanuke or Jungunjinuke,[1] c.1834–3 September 1870) was an Australian Aboriginal tracker and cricketer, a Wotjobaluk man who spoke the Wergaia language in the Wimmera region of western Victoria, Australia. He was a member of the first Australian cricket team to tour England in 1868[2] and was one of the most well-known Aboriginals of the nineteenth century.

Early life

Dick-a-Dick was born in the area around what is now Nhill, Victoria, the eldest son of Wotjobaluk Chief Balrootan.[3] He later claimed that, aged about ten, he was present at the European discovery of Nhill by explorers Dugald MacPherson and George Belcher in 1844.[3]

Aboriginal tracker

Living at Mt Elgin station in the Wimmera,[3] Dick-a-Dick first gained notability as a talented tracker, someone who could read the land well enough to find and follow the tracks of people or animals. On Friday, 12 August 1864, three white children, Isaac, Jane and Frank Duff, went missing in the Mallee scrub of the Wimmera near Natimuk on the edge of the Little Desert and although their tracks were found the following day, a thunderstorm erupted soon after and destroyed the tracks.[1]

The official search was cancelled soon after the storm and newspapers reported the children as dead. On Thursday, 18 August, a neighbour of the Duff's suggested asking Dick-a-Dick and other Wotjobaluk trackers for assistance and the parents, who had not given up hope of finding their children, readily agreed.[1] Dick-a-Dick took two other Wotjobaluk men, Jerry and Fred, with him and within hours had rediscovered the children's trail and hours later had found the children near death. [4] Dick-a-Dick was lauded a hero and subsequently called King Richard.[5][6] He and his tracker colleagues received a reward of ₤15 between them, of which ₤5 they could spend in whatever way they wished, while the remainder was given to their white employer to ensure it was not wasted.[4]

Cricketer

Dick-a-Dick was renowned for his skill in traditional weapons including the use of a waddy and shield. On the cricket tour of England he often demonstrated these skills by inviting young men to hit him with a cricket ball thrown from 15 paces. According to reports he was never hit, even when up to three balls were thrown at the same time. He also always won the backwards sprint.[2][7]

Referred to as "a famous athlete with a good running and long jumping record"[8] "He was a fine strapping, handsome fellow, and must have had an eye like a hawk to escape the flying cricket balls as he did invariably, for though Jack Conway hit him once with a slow underhand, Dick-a-Dick claimed he was not ready. His trick was to have four balls thrown at him at once from ten metres and he would glance to leg with his shield, play in the slips with his "leongile," and avoid the other two balls by leaping in the air, straddling his legs, or twisting his body like lightning, this all done at once and as quick as thought.[8]

While on the tour, the daughter of the Aboriginal team's manager William Hayman wrote that Dick-a-Dick had fallen in love with a local white woman, who was reported to have agreed to marry him but Hayman opposed the marriage and forced Dick-a-Dick to continue the tour.[9]

Post-England tour

After returning from the tour of England as part of the Aboriginal cricket team his health deteriorated and he travelled back to his traditional country and the Ebenezer Mission. He died at the mission on 3 September 1870. Just before his death he confessed his faith in Christianity and was baptised on 30 July 1870.[10] Minutes before his death, Dick-a-Dick claimed to have seen the face of Jesus.[4]

White locals recognised Dick-a-Dick as a leader and elder, with one settler family recalling that he was the traditional owner of the MacKenzie Springs and Bill's Gully hunting grounds of the Wimmera.[11]

Questions about Dick-a-Dick's life

There are conflicting reports of the age of Dick-a-Dick and his date and place of death. While some sources give his date of death as 3 September 1870, there are numerous sources which have him alive after this date. For example, a newspaper report from 1944 states that Dick-a-Dick was "about 50 years of age" when he was interviewed about his recollection of his tribe's meeting with European explorers MacPherson and Belcher in 1844.[3] This would mean the interview took place in the 1880s.

Legacy

A book based on Dick-a-Dick's rescue of the Duff children, Lost in the Bush, was published and remained on the school curriculum for many years.[4] A plaque commemorating the role Dick-a-Dick played in the rescue of the children was placed in Mitre.[12]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Munro, p. 54.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Flanagan, Martin. "Jack Kennedy: descendant of Dick-a-Dick". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 The Horsham Times, "The discovery of Nhill", 2 June 1944, p. 4.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Munro, p. 55.
  5. ↑ Broome (2005), p. 151.
  6. ↑ Pierce, p. 22.
  7. ↑ Broome (2001), pp. 73–74.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Old 'Un, "An Old Time Team of Darkies", Euroa Advertiser, 2 April 1897, p. 3.
  9. ↑ Sampson, David (2009). "Culture, ‘race’ and discrimination in the 1868 Aboriginal cricket tour of England". Australian Aboriginal Studies 2009 2: 36.
  10. ↑ Mallett, pp. 166–167.
  11. ↑ Coutts et al. p. 12.
  12. ↑ "Dick-a-Dick". Monument Australia. Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 2 July 2011.

References