Billiamook, Bellamuck or Billy Muck (c. 1853 – ?) was a Larrakia man who was one of the first Aboriginal people to interact with white settlers in Garamilla, in what is now known as Darwin in 1869.
Life
Billiamook was about 16 years old when he met what he called the beragug (meaning: white men). He welcomed Goyder's survey team at Port Darwin alongside Umballa. As joking imitations of their real names Billiamook was nicknamed ‘Billy Muck’ and Umballa ‘Tom Powell’. One of his first interactions with them was offering William Webster Hoare a necklace of red beads. He offered significant assistance to the surveyors and, on one occasion, stood between his countrymen who were armed with spears, and the botanist Carl Heinrich Schultz over a dispute about sharing emu meat.
He and Umballa were shortly afterwards, taken to
Adelaide
Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
in 1870 on the ship ''Omeo'' by Dominick Daniel Day (the husband of
Harriet Douglas Daly
Harriet Douglas Daly (c. 1854 – 25 August 1927) was an Australian author and journalist who wrote about the Northern Territory and as a London correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald.
Early life
Daly was the eldest daughter of Ellen and ...
''),''
John McKinlay
John McKinlay (26 August 1819 – 31 December 1872) ,
Billiamook became a fluent speaker of English and became part of life in Darwin and acted as an interpreter and informant for several early settlers. Billiamook was described by William Brackley Wildey as ''"becoming a fluent speaker of English and one of the finest to demonstrate a remarkable ability to adopt to the European culture whilst retaining his responsibilities as a Larrakia''".
There were some that believe he adapted too well to European culture and vices and he appeared several times before the Darwin Court for stealing liquor. On a number of occasions letters in
pidgin
A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a grammatically simplified form of contact language that develops between two or more groups of people that do not have a language in common: typically, its vocabulary and grammar are limited and often drawn f ...
, apparently written by Billiamook, were sent into Darwin newspapers and it remains unclear whether these were dictated by him or even approved by him.
In 1879 Billiamook was photographed several times by
Paul Foelsche
Paul Foelsche (30 March 1831 – 31 January 1914) was a South Australian police officer and photographer born in Germany,Noye, R. J.'Foelsche, Paul Heinrich Matthias (1831–1914)' ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', National Centre ...
where he was rendered as an anthropological subject.
In 1882 he was sworn in before the Court as an interpreter and, sometime after then, began acting as the interpreter for
John George Knight
John George Knight (1826 – 10 January 1892),Sally O'Neill,, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 5, Melbourne University Press, 1974, pp 37-37. Retrieved 24 August 2009 was an architect and Government Resident of the Northern Territory ...
, then Deputy Sheriff and Superintendent of
Fannie Bay Gaol
Fannie Bay Gaol is a historic gaol in Fannie Bay, Northern Territory, Australia. The gaol operated as Her Majesty's Gaol and Labour Prison, from 20 September 1883 until 1 September 1979. Glen SUTTON was the last Superintendent of Fannie Bay ...
; he also spent time in the gaol and an attempted escape is recorded in March 1878. In 1888 Knight sent lead and pencil drawings commissioned from some of the inmates, including those of Billiamook, to the Centennial International Exhibition in Melbourne. These drawings were entitled "The Dawn of Art" and they were the first display of Aboriginal art as art; Billiamook had two drawings in this exhibition.
There is no record of the date or time period of his death and the location of his grave is unknown.
Legacy
The name Billiamook was sometimes recorded as Bellamack from which the suburb of Palmerston takes its name.
In 2020 artist Gary Lee reclaimed one of the Paul Foelsche portraits to challenge the ways his ancestors were categorised, and to explore the intersections between the artists own queerness and his identity as a Larrakia/ Wardaman/
Karajarri
The Karajarri, also spelt Garadjara, are an Aboriginal Australian people of Western Australia. They live south-west of the Kimberleys in the northern Pilbara region, predominantly between the coastal area and the Great Sandy Desert. They now mo ...