Piper (c.1810 – ?), also known as John Piper and Jemmy Piper, was a

Wiradjuri The Wiradjuri people (; ) are a group of Aboriginal Australian people from central New South Wales, united by common descent through kinship and shared traditions. They survived as skilled hunter-fisher-gatherers, in family groups or clans, a ...

man from the Bathurst region of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

who led

Sir Thomas Mitchell Sir Thomas Livingstone Mitchell (15 June 1792 – 5 October 1855), often called Major Mitchell, was a Scottish surveyor and explorer of Southeastern Australia. He was born in Scotland and served in the British Army during the Peninsular War. I ...

's 1836 expedition along the Lachlan, Murrumbidgee and

Murray River The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray; Ngarrindjeri language, Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta language, Yorta Yorta: ''Dhungala'' or ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is List of rivers of Australia, Aust ...

s and into what is now known as the

State of Victoria Victoria, commonly abbreviated as Vic, is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state (after Tasmania), with a land area of ; the second-most-populated state (after New South Wales), with a population of over 7 million; ...

Early life

Details of Piper's early life are unclear, except that he was born around 1810 into a Wiradjuri clan near to the site what soon after became the British military outpost of Bathurst. As a boy he survived the

Bathurst War The Bathurst War (1824) was a war between the Wiradjuri nation and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Following the successful Blaxland, Lawson, and Wentworth expedition to find a route through the "impenetrable" Blue Mountains ...

between the colonists and his people. It appears that he obtained the name of Piper during adolescence after becoming associated, probably as servant, with the military officer John Piper who was granted the estate of Alloway Bank near Bathurst in the mid-1820s.

Mitchell's 1836 expedition

In 1836, the chief surveyor of the colony of New South Wales, Thomas Mitchell, was tasked with exploring the major rivers to the south-west of

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. He arrived in Bathurst in March of that year with his entourage of around 25 men, herds of livestock, and drays filled with supplies. At Bathurst, he entered into an agreement with Piper to act as a guide and envoy to assist the large group through the lands of the 'savage natives'. As part of the arrangement, Piper was given a horse, food, clothes and weapons, including a

carbine A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges. The smaller size and ligh ...

and

sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...

. Piper led Mitchell's expedition down the Lachlan River, where he interacted with the local Wiradjuri clans, facilitating the travel through their countries. Piper initially maintained traditional culture such as refusing to

emu The emu (; ''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is a species of flightless bird endemism, endemic to Australia, where it is the Tallest extant birds, tallest native bird. It is the only extant taxon, extant member of the genus ''Dromaius'' and the ...

meat, which was reserved for elders, and following prolonged introductory customs when meeting new tribesmen. However, as the expedition proceeded, Piper soon realised as being part of an armed British group, he had a unique authority over other Aboriginal people. At Lake Cargelligo he was allowed to take a wife, subsequently named Kitty, from the Indigenous people who lived there. The expedition also took on other Wiradjuri guides along the Lachlan, such as Barney, Tommy-came-first, Tommy-came-last and the female widow

Turandurey Turandurey (1806 - ?) was a Wiradjuri woman from the Lachlan River area in central New South Wales near where the town of Hillston is now located. Turandurey is noted for her work as a guide and interpreter to the explorer Thomas Mitchell, whil ...

, who acted as deputies to Piper. On arriving at the

Murrumbidgee River The Murrumbidgee River () is a major tributary of the Murray River within the Murray–Darling basin and the second longest river in Australia. It flows through the Australian state of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, desce ...

, Piper was no longer able to understand the language of the local people saying they spoke "Irish". However, there was a Wiradjuri man living there who was able to assist in translation. As the group travelled west along the

they encountered a group of Barkandji people from the

Darling River The Darling River (or River Darling; Paakantyi: ''Baaka'' or ''Barka''), is the third-longest river in Australia, measuring from its source in northern New South Wales to its confluence with the Murray River at Wentworth. Including its long ...

at Lake Benanee. They had heard of Mitchell's expedition and had journeyed from the Darling to confront Mitchell for killing several of their kinspeople on that river a year beforehand. Piper attempted negotiations but Mitchell became deeply suspicious of their actions, and on 27 May 1836, his men opened fire on a large group in what is now known as the Mount Dispersion massacre. Piper seems to have participated in the shooting and was afterwards informed that seven Barkandji were killed, although this is probably an underestimate. In a similar situation at Lake Boga, Piper was confronted by a group of 12 local Indigenous men who were angry at Piper for bringing white people to their country and threw spears at him. Piper subsequently shot one of them dead. As Mitchell's group entered what is now Victoria, Piper became homesick for Bathurst, but Mitchell was very supportive for Piper to remain. Mitchell regarded Piper as the most accomplished member of his group, being the tallest, bravest, best hunter, swimmer and diver, and was now able to speak multiple Indigenous languages. Piper was still able to communicate with the local people in what was a very foreign land and obtained the name of the

Wimmera River The Wimmera River, an inland intermittent river of the Wimmera catchment, is located in the Grampians and Wimmera regions of the Australian state of Victoria. Rising in the Pyrenees, on the northern slopes of the Great Dividing Range, the Wimm ...

from local people. On the return journey to Sydney, Piper continued to assist Mitchell's group, including informing them how to make a sweet drink from steeping ironbark blossoms in water. When an expedition member named Taylor disappeared while crossing the Broken River, Piper was foremost in diving into the river to locate him. Piper brought the unconscious man to the surface but Taylor was not able to be resuscitated.

Life in Sydney and Bathurst

When the expedition arrived back in Sydney, Piper was regarded as a minor celebrity. He was given a coat, and a hat that once belonged to Governor

Ralph Darling General Sir Ralph Darling, GCH (1772 – 2 April 1858) was a British Army officer who served as Governor of New South Wales from 1825 to 1831. His period of governorship was unpopular, with Darling being broadly regarded as a tyrant. He introd ...

. He took another wife and was given money by members of the public. He was also given firearms and a brass plate engraved with his name and the title of "Conqueror of the Interior". Piper soon after returned to his homeland of Bathurst accompanied by Mitchell's other Wiradjuri guides Tommy-came-first and Tommy-came-last. Bureemal, the convicted killer of the botanist Richard Cunningham, was also placed under Piper's authority to be returned to Wiradjuri country. According to Mitchell, Piper journeyed extensively in the years after the 1836 expedition, travelling 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 ...

Moreton Bay Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are ...

and the

Hunter Region The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, Newcastle Region, or simply Hunter, spans the region in northern New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River (New Sout ...

Mitchell's 1846/47 expedition

In December 1846, Mitchell started on another expedition, this time into the uncolonised northern parts of the New South Wales. He again set out from the Bathurst region and again took on Piper as his main Indigenous guide. Piper was given a horse, clothing, rations and a double-barrelled shotgun. However, Piper soon became disillusioned with the expedition and it was revealed to Mitchell that he was going to abandon the group, taking with him Mitchell's other Aboriginal guide, Yuranigh. Despite Piper's clear importance to Mitchell in the previous expedition, Mitchell now viewed Piper as unforgivably disloyal, referring to him as a 'true savage'. Before Piper could enact his plan, Mitchell had him arrested and placed in chains. Piper was sent back to Bathurst under police escort. Nothing further is known of Piper.

Legacy

Piper is remembered by having a street named after him in the town of

Balranald Balranald is a town within the Local government in Australia, local government area of Balranald Shire, in the Murray (New South Wales), Murray region of far south-western New South Wales, Australia. The town of Balranald is located where the ...

, and Pipers Creek near

Kyneton Kyneton ( ) is a town in the Macedon Ranges region of central Victoria, Australia. The Calder Freeway bypasses Kyneton to the north and east. The town has three main streets: Mollison Street, Piper Street and High Street. Piper Street has ...

was also named in his honour.

References