Grade 5 & 6 

During this term the senior students have been studying Jandamarra, the Aboriginal resistance warrior, throughout their literacy time. Please invite your children to have a discussion with you about Jandamarra and why he is an important figure in Australian history. 

Information: In the late 1800s, in the central Kimberley region of Western Australia, Jandamarra, a Bunuba man, used every ounce of his knowledge of Country to hold off the encroachment of pastoral on his land. He was taught by his uncle, Ellemarra, in the rituals of Bunuba manhood and the two shared an exceptionally close bond. On 31 October 1894, a large group of Bunuba elders, including Jandamarra's uncle, had been captured after repeated reprisals against the colonialists. Jandamarra shot station owner Bill Richardson to free them and the group became outlaws on their own country. Jandamarra began a guerrilla war from hideouts in the caves and surrounding ranges of Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek, targeting encroachers on Bunuba land. In desperation the police hired an Aboriginal tracker from the Pilbara to hunt him down. Jandamarra was tracked to a cave system at Tunnel Creek and after an exchange of fire he was shot and killed. (The Little Red Yellow Black Book)

Alongside the Jandamarra teaching and learning the senior students have studied The Black Cockatoo and Dirrarn texts. The students have enjoyed following along with Mia's story throughout the 2 books.