| Battle of Yering | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofAustralian Frontier Wars | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 British colonists | Wurundjeri people | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| CaptainHenry Gisborne | Jaga Jaga | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
Border Police of New South Wales New South Wales Mounted Police | |||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 3+ | Approximately 50 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| None | Unknown | ||||||
TheBattle of Yering was a conflict betweenIndigenous Australians of theWurundjeri nation and theBorder Police which occurred on 13 January 1840, on the outskirts ofMelbourne.[1]
The conflict arose after a quarrel between Wurundjeri-william people and settler, James Anderson, over the right to harvest a potato crop on Wurundjeri land at what is now known asWarrandyte. A stand-off occurred and the clansmen moved toWilliam Ryrie's Yering Station. Troopers of the Border Police and a contingent ofNew South Wales Mounted Police led by CaptainHenry Gisborne, who was Commissioner of Crown Lands, lured Jaga Jaga (Jacky-Jacky) and some of the Wurundjeri men to Yering station homestead where Jaga Jaga was captured and handcuffed. The other Wurundjeri men quickly retreated.[2]
Wurundjeri men then approached the homestead with muskets and spears, whereupon Gisborne and his troopers mounted a counterattack, during which several shots were exchanged, the Wurundjeri choosing to retreat into the nearby billabongs. Having lured the troopers away as a diversion, other warriors approached the homestead and freed Jaga Jaga.
No white settlers or troopers were injured in the exchange, and injuries on the part of the Wurundjeri are unknown.[3]
Gisborne later wrote to Superintendent (later Governor)Charles La Trobe saying "I am unable to account for their never having hit us as they are capital marksmen". There was no investigation of the incident initiated, no charges laid, and the incident was passed over.[2]
Jaga Jaga, was also known asBor-rer bor-rer and was the nephew ofBillibellary, angurungaeta of theWurundjeri people.[2]
On 13 January 2007 at the Yarra Flats Billabongs theShire of Yarra Ranges withMurrundindi,ngurungaeta of theWurundjeri people, unveiled a historical plaque and pictograph commemorating theBattle of Yering 167 years previously.[4] The plaques were organised byThe Friends of the Yarra Flats Billabongs in conjunction withYarra Ranges Friends in Reconciliation andNillumbik Reconciliation Group.[1]
