A Song & Verse Cycle by John Warner

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 in all its moods — saved the lives of many Europeans.

This story tells of one such hero, Yarri, who was one of the first on the river, in the deadliest conditions at the height of the flood, in only a bark canoe. 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.

While the story is well known in the Gundagai region, it not as widely known as it deserves. John Warner heard of the flood and Yarri's heroism in 1997 and began writing the series of poems and songs that make up the cycle using the English traditional folk styles he knows best. John collaborated with singing partner, Margaret Walters, in writing the piece.

During the process, they consulted with many Indigenous people, particularly the Elders from Brungle where Yarri came from. Many of the characters in the musical are based on historical sources; others — the Mother and the Daughter — are river spirits from the author's imagination.

The song and verse cycle Yarri of Wiradjuri acknowledges Indigenous ownership of the land and recognises several aspects of European culpability in their dispossession. Most importantly, it celebrates the Aboriginal people as heroes and contributes to our shared history.

Indigenous performers Matthew Doyle and Marlene Cummins have joined John and Margaret in performance of Yarri, as well as members of the Roaring Forties and Wheelers and Dealers. When it was shown at Gundagai on the 150th anniversary of the flood in 2002 it was warmly received by the people in the region by people who saw it as a positive vehicle for reconciliation — including Senior Wiradjuri Elder Flo Grant and Pastor Cec Grant, Wongamar OAM.

Characters

The central characters were selected from the published material available at Gundagai. The businessman, John Spencer, was a brewer, pharmacist, storekeeper who had a punt for hire. With an unerring eye for the main chance, he dispensed with everything, including his clothes, when he swam for his life -- but not his cashbox!

Thomas Lindley — known as Long Tom, owner of Rose Inn, wool grazier - lost all his family during the flood. Tom subsequently remarried and became a prominent character in Gundagai. His descendants are still significant figures in the local community.

Saddler Richard Hunt, his wife Sarah, and their three children stood out from the list of the dead because they were a family lost together in the flood. John fictionalised some of what is known to highlight the conflict between staying on the floodplain for trade and moving to higher ground for safety.

The story needed some way to dramatise the flood as an active adversary. The author gave the river a female personality. Since both the Murrumbidgee and its anabranch, Morley's Creek, were the vehicle of the flood, John depicts them as spirits, the Mother and the Daughter. This made supernatural elements possible in the story and creating an opportunity for a dramatic discussion about the differences between European and Indigenous values.

Yarri — a Wiradjuri man from Brungle — worked as a shepherd. He, Jackey, and other Wiradjuri saved the lives of reputedly 49 Europeans during the 1852 flood. The European settlers were very grateful to Yarri and Jackey and presented them with inscribed bronze breastplates in recognition of their bravery. Some years later — in 1875 —Yarri was baptised as James McDonnell. He died in 1880 and there are several memorials to his honour in Gundagai.

Jackey was an employee of Joseph Andrews and credited with saving at least 20 lives during the flood, using a rowing boat in the style of a bark canoe.

Black Sally, Yarri's wife, died on walkabout in 1902. We only know Yarri by his actions, and thus the recurring song, Yarri of the River, asks: "Yarri, what kind of man were you?" Yarri speaks for himself and his people only once - in the song Reward — a stark statement about the impact of European settlement and culture on the Wiradjuri people and their land.

www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/gundagai-flood-1852