Bennelong's Friend
Eltham Parish Church-St John the Baptist
Eltham Parish Church
Name
Yemmerrawanyea Gravestone
Connection
The gravestone of a 19 year old Australian Aboriginal man who died in London in 1794.
Location
St John the Baptist Churchyard, Eltham, Royal Borough of Greenwich, Greater London, England.
Eltham High St, Eltham, London SE9 1DH
The gravestone is leaning against the church graveyard wall, facing Well Hall Road.
How to get there
Regular trains run from London Bridge to Eltham. On exiting the station, walk along Well Hall Road to St John the Baptist church, which is on the corner of Eltham High Street and Well Hall Road.
Story
The gravestone of Yemmerrawanyea has been renovated on a number of occasions and is in excellent condition. The inscription reads:
In
Memory of
Yemmerrawanyea
a Native of
NEW SOUTH WALES
Who died the 18th May 1794
In the 19th Year of his
AGE
The gravestone
One gift that Yemmerrawanyea and Bennelong left in London is a song that they sang in their lodgings in Grosvenor Square. You can imagine them sitting, most likely on the floor, and hitting their clapsticks in rhythm to a universal song ‘in praise of their lovers’. One listener to the performance – Edward Jones, a Welsh harpist – noted down the words and score and later published them in Musical Curiosities in London in 1811.
Sheet music – British Library
Listen to the song – performed by Clarence Slockee and Matthew Doyle – here
From ABC Hindsight program – here
A creative piece - LISTEN
Barrabula barra ma, manginè wey enguna Barrabula barra ma, manginè wey enguna Barrabula barra ma, manginè wey enguna Barrabula barra ma, manginè wey enguna Barrabula barra ma, manginè wey enguna.
This is a representation of Yemmerrawanyea
Attributed to George Charles Jenner and Williams Waterhouse – Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales
Yemmerawayea's grave stone is one of the saddest sites in Londown Under, described by Bernard Lyman as ‘one of Britain’s loneliest graves’.
Further information
Sydney Morning Herald article 2010 – here
More about Bennelong – here
ABC Radio 2013 – here