This week, Roy was really excited to find out about an exhibition which will be opening tomorrow at the State Library of NSW. The exhibition is called ' Carved Trees - Aboriginal Cultures of Western NSW' and looks at some of the extraordinary carved trees created by Aboriginal people. Roy is fascinated by carved trees. They are truly beautiful, and as the tree reclaims the carving, growing over it and hiding it from view, Roy thinks this just adds to their beauty. He was sad to discover that many of his friends had never seen a real, still living, carved tree, and decided to tell you about a place where they can be seen - the Grave of Yuranigh.
The Grave of Yuranigh is not only a fascinating place to visit, it is historically very important. It is a mix of Aboriginal and European burial customs, and commemorates Yuranigh, the Aboriginal guide of Sir Thomas Mitchell. Located near Molong, not far from Orange, the grave is able to be visited by anyone, and is found on the Yuranigh Road in Molong, but remember to close the gate behind you when you enter and leave. The grave is located on a farm, and you don't want to let any cattle out! Also remember, this is a grave and you should treat the site with the respect due any burial place.
Yuranigh was an extraordinary man, and was highly respected by Sir Thomas Mitchell, the famous Australian explorer. He was one of three Aboriginals who joined Mitchell on his third expedition which began in December of in 1845 and proved invaluable. He is first mentioned by Mitchell when he tracked and retrieved three cattle which had wandered away from the party. Soon though, he was finding water, calming down the local Aboriginals, surveying the land from tall trees and using his vast knowledge of the bush to generally help the team. His role in the expedition was so important that Mitchell wrote that ''his intelligence and his judgment rendered him so necessary to me that he was ever at my elbow".
Yuranigh spent some time after the end of the expedition in Sydney and was even granted a 'small gratuity' by the governor, but although he planned to live and work as a 'white man', he soon decided to return to his tribe and took up work as a stockman. Within five years, in about 1850, he died and was buried near Molong. Other than being a very important man in his own right, Yuranigh's grave is also very important because it combines Aboriginal and European burial practices. The four corners of his grave are marked by carved trees which denote respect by Aboriginal people for a person of great importance. One of the trees has since died and the carving on this tree is still very clear. The other three are obscured to varying degrees by regrowth, but are none the less still very important. In fact, they are thought to be the longest standing large group of carved trees around a grave. Yuranigh's grave is also commemorated by Europeans though. When Mitchell heard of his death he arranged for the grave to be fenced at the expense of the Government and even paid for a carved headstone himself. The headstone reads ''To Native Courage Honesty and Fidelity. Yuranigh who accompanied the expedition of discovery into tropical Australia in 1846 lies buried here according to the rites of his countrymen and this spot was dedicated and enclosed by the Governor General's authority in 1852". To find out more about Yuranigh and his grave, click here or here.
