1 00:00:00,760 --> 00:00:02,330 [pensive music playing] 2 00:00:02,330 --> 00:00:03,560 The world is in shock. 3 00:00:03,700 --> 00:00:06,270 [marc] August 31st, 1997. 4 00:00:06,270 --> 00:00:07,730 On a night of tragedy... 5 00:00:07,740 --> 00:00:09,640 [marc] if you were alive and old enough, 6 00:00:09,710 --> 00:00:10,840 I promise, 7 00:00:12,110 --> 00:00:14,240 You will remember where you were on this day. 8 00:00:14,380 --> 00:00:16,540 [newsreader] diana, princess of wales, is dead, 9 00:00:16,550 --> 00:00:18,250 And britain is in mourning. 10 00:00:19,180 --> 00:00:20,580 The 36-year-old princess was killed 11 00:00:20,650 --> 00:00:22,850 In a high-speed car chase in paris 12 00:00:22,850 --> 00:00:24,380 Early Sunday morning, australian time. 13 00:00:25,250 --> 00:00:26,150 [marc] newspapers, magazines, 14 00:00:26,220 --> 00:00:28,060 They were all screaming with headlines. 15 00:00:28,060 --> 00:00:30,060 But for one community here in perth 16 00:00:30,190 --> 00:00:31,460 In western australia, 17 00:00:31,460 --> 00:00:32,330 This day 18 00:00:32,460 --> 00:00:35,000 Means something else entirely. 19 00:00:35,060 --> 00:00:36,460 [pensive music continues] 20 00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:37,930 [esandra] I remember going to the airport, 21 00:00:37,970 --> 00:00:40,270 And there was just a wave of our people. 22 00:00:40,300 --> 00:00:42,400 [polite clapping] 23 00:00:42,410 --> 00:00:45,110 To see all the colours, red, black, and yellow. 24 00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:46,570 You hear the cries, 25 00:00:46,580 --> 00:00:48,880 And it's something you don't forget. 26 00:00:49,010 --> 00:00:52,480 They lost their daughter, and we brought home our son. 27 00:00:53,950 --> 00:00:55,950 [marc] there were hundreds of people wailing 28 00:00:56,090 --> 00:00:57,480 In this very airport, 29 00:00:57,620 --> 00:01:00,290 But, they weren't crying for a princess. 30 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:03,690 They were crying because something, 31 00:01:03,690 --> 00:01:06,060 Someone, for years, 32 00:01:06,060 --> 00:01:07,230 Had been missing. 33 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:10,460 [theme music playing] 34 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:12,630 [marc] in the days of the british empire, 35 00:01:12,770 --> 00:01:14,000 Things were taken. 36 00:01:14,140 --> 00:01:16,570 They usually ended up in museums and galleries 37 00:01:16,710 --> 00:01:17,970 With polite plaques. 38 00:01:18,870 --> 00:01:20,770 My name is marc fennell, 39 00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:23,210 And this is the not-so-polite story 40 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:25,450 Of how they really got there. 41 00:01:28,350 --> 00:01:31,150 [pensive music playing] 42 00:01:33,660 --> 00:01:36,190 Welcome to perth, western australia, 43 00:01:36,330 --> 00:01:38,160 Home to the indigenous noongar people 44 00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:39,930 For thousands of years. 45 00:01:39,960 --> 00:01:42,860 And this place is the beginning and the end 46 00:01:42,870 --> 00:01:44,530 Of one of the wildest 47 00:01:44,530 --> 00:01:47,000 Archaeological detective stories. 48 00:01:47,140 --> 00:01:48,470 [hannah] when he turned his back... 49 00:01:48,470 --> 00:01:50,070 [ted] he was shot by a young bloke. 50 00:01:50,070 --> 00:01:51,410 [hannah] ...He thought were his friends. 51 00:01:51,540 --> 00:01:53,410 [ted] the bullet went into the back of the skull. 52 00:01:53,540 --> 00:01:54,810 [gunshot echoes] 53 00:01:54,940 --> 00:01:57,410 [marc] this is the story of a leader 54 00:01:57,450 --> 00:01:59,480 Who stood against an empire, 55 00:01:59,550 --> 00:02:01,810 Only to find himself lost, 56 00:02:01,820 --> 00:02:04,080 Right at the heart of great britain. 57 00:02:05,820 --> 00:02:08,620 And that man is why I'm here to meet this woman, 58 00:02:08,760 --> 00:02:09,860 Vanessa corunna. 59 00:02:10,860 --> 00:02:11,960 -Kaya. -[marc] hello. 60 00:02:11,990 --> 00:02:13,160 [marc] like a lot of noongar mob, 61 00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:14,690 Vanessa can draw a bloodline 62 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:16,560 Right back to that warrior. 63 00:02:16,630 --> 00:02:20,030 My connection to yagan is through my dad. 64 00:02:20,040 --> 00:02:22,840 He'd be one of my grand-grand-grand-pops. 65 00:02:22,910 --> 00:02:24,840 -Grandfathers, yeah. Yeah. -Yeah, right. 66 00:02:24,870 --> 00:02:27,010 [solemn music playing] 67 00:02:28,640 --> 00:02:30,310 [marc] yes, yagan. 68 00:02:30,350 --> 00:02:33,710 Born in the late 1700s, yagan was a noongar leader 69 00:02:33,750 --> 00:02:35,120 At a crucial time. 70 00:02:35,180 --> 00:02:37,320 [indistinct chatter] 71 00:02:37,390 --> 00:02:40,090 [marc] a time when the water brought pale-skinned visitors 72 00:02:40,090 --> 00:02:41,690 To noongar land. 73 00:02:41,760 --> 00:02:42,990 The british. 74 00:02:43,130 --> 00:02:45,630 [music continues] 75 00:02:47,460 --> 00:02:49,800 [marc] in the beginning, the noongar were welcoming. 76 00:02:49,930 --> 00:02:51,930 But the settlers started carving up the land 77 00:02:51,930 --> 00:02:53,130 As they saw it. 78 00:02:53,140 --> 00:02:54,730 Suddenly, fences like this 79 00:02:54,770 --> 00:02:56,470 Start popping up all around 80 00:02:56,610 --> 00:02:59,470 As the british start dividing up the land like this. 81 00:02:59,510 --> 00:03:01,910 Yeah, completely different. 82 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:05,010 They brought in laws that restricted our people 83 00:03:05,080 --> 00:03:07,280 From actually going into places. 84 00:03:07,320 --> 00:03:09,480 Yeah, look, I think it would've been very difficult 85 00:03:09,620 --> 00:03:11,480 For our people because, you know, 86 00:03:11,520 --> 00:03:12,890 We want to go into our country, 87 00:03:12,920 --> 00:03:15,190 And hunt and do what we used to do. 88 00:03:15,320 --> 00:03:17,290 -We know that's our land. -Mm. 89 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:19,230 Why can't we go in there anymore? 90 00:03:19,230 --> 00:03:20,560 Who are these people? 91 00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:22,560 [marc] and that is when the reality 92 00:03:22,700 --> 00:03:25,230 Of colonisation, invasion, 93 00:03:25,230 --> 00:03:27,500 Starts to be realised by everyone. 94 00:03:27,640 --> 00:03:30,640 [vanessa] our people did put up a big resistance 95 00:03:30,670 --> 00:03:32,710 Against this colonisation. 96 00:03:32,710 --> 00:03:33,910 And then we see that 97 00:03:34,040 --> 00:03:36,140 There is these early pockets of conflict 98 00:03:36,150 --> 00:03:37,910 That take place, and killings. 99 00:03:37,910 --> 00:03:39,580 [marc] if you go flicking through the records, 100 00:03:39,650 --> 00:03:41,180 It seems like the first conflict 101 00:03:41,250 --> 00:03:42,720 That's recorded, at least, by the british, 102 00:03:42,790 --> 00:03:45,320 Is that noongar men take potatoes 103 00:03:45,450 --> 00:03:47,190 From some of these british farms. 104 00:03:47,260 --> 00:03:50,790 That, like, that's how they see this conflict starting. 105 00:03:50,860 --> 00:03:52,730 That is so ridiculous. 106 00:03:52,860 --> 00:03:54,230 I mean, the conflict started 107 00:03:54,360 --> 00:03:56,630 When they came in and took the land, 108 00:03:56,770 --> 00:03:58,530 That's where it started. 109 00:03:58,530 --> 00:04:01,670 And you can't say that it started over a potato. 110 00:04:01,740 --> 00:04:02,540 No way. 111 00:04:03,710 --> 00:04:05,670 Settlers kill noongar people 112 00:04:05,710 --> 00:04:08,810 For what they perceive to be trespassing and taking food, 113 00:04:08,840 --> 00:04:13,810 Which, in yagan's noongar law, demands a response. 114 00:04:13,880 --> 00:04:16,480 [vanessa] you know, with yagan, it was an eye for an eye. 115 00:04:16,520 --> 00:04:21,490 And so, if someone in his clan group had been killed, 116 00:04:21,560 --> 00:04:25,090 Then there was a need to give payback, 117 00:04:25,130 --> 00:04:26,990 And... 118 00:04:27,130 --> 00:04:28,490 And that happened. 119 00:04:28,530 --> 00:04:30,460 [marc] when the british, at the time, 120 00:04:30,470 --> 00:04:31,770 Write about yagan, 121 00:04:31,900 --> 00:04:33,300 They call him an outlaw. 122 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:35,170 -Mm. -They call him a murderer. 123 00:04:35,170 --> 00:04:36,970 They're labels that they've put on him, 124 00:04:37,010 --> 00:04:38,840 But we know that what he did 125 00:04:38,870 --> 00:04:41,210 Was the right thing for his people. 126 00:04:41,210 --> 00:04:43,240 [marc] and so what did the british do? 127 00:04:43,280 --> 00:04:45,010 [vanessa] well, they put out a price on his head, 128 00:04:45,150 --> 00:04:46,250 Really, don't they? 129 00:04:48,580 --> 00:04:50,850 [marc] by his law, noongar law, he's done right. 130 00:04:50,990 --> 00:04:52,050 But according to british law, 131 00:04:52,050 --> 00:04:54,050 Yagan now finds himself a criminal. 132 00:04:54,190 --> 00:04:55,720 And so, you have this situation 133 00:04:55,720 --> 00:04:59,060 Of two laws on one land with one man. 134 00:04:59,090 --> 00:05:01,760 [marc] and that is why we're here. 135 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:04,330 [hannah] so we're headed to the old court house in perth. 136 00:05:04,330 --> 00:05:06,670 This was the original courthouse, 137 00:05:06,740 --> 00:05:09,470 And apparently also the first public building here. 138 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:10,940 [marc] dr hannah mcglade 139 00:05:10,940 --> 00:05:13,610 Is a noongar woman and human rights lawyer. 140 00:05:13,610 --> 00:05:15,740 My interest is aboriginal justice, 141 00:05:15,780 --> 00:05:18,150 And that's what I've done 142 00:05:18,280 --> 00:05:20,910 Using the law any which way we can 143 00:05:20,950 --> 00:05:23,280 To fight for aboriginal justice. 144 00:05:23,290 --> 00:05:25,350 [marc] for hannah, the story of yagan 145 00:05:25,350 --> 00:05:27,650 Has been misrepresented for a very long time. 146 00:05:31,030 --> 00:05:32,830 Hi, welcome, hannah. I'm natasha fenner. 147 00:05:32,900 --> 00:05:34,830 -Hi, I'm marc. Nice to meet you. -Hi, I'm... 148 00:05:34,860 --> 00:05:37,860 [marc] historian natasha fenner is opening up archives for us. 149 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:39,600 [natasha] okay, I've pulled out some documents 150 00:05:39,600 --> 00:05:41,300 For you both today to have a look at. 151 00:05:41,300 --> 00:05:43,570 [marc] and these pages reveal, 152 00:05:43,710 --> 00:05:45,410 Really, a war with yagan 153 00:05:45,540 --> 00:05:47,710 And those closest to him at the heart of it. 154 00:05:47,780 --> 00:05:49,180 [clamour] 155 00:05:49,310 --> 00:05:50,780 The violence between the british 156 00:05:50,910 --> 00:05:52,780 And these noongar men escalates. 157 00:05:52,850 --> 00:05:54,980 Yagan's brother is killed, 158 00:05:54,980 --> 00:05:58,650 And his father, midgegooroo, is captured by the british. 159 00:05:58,720 --> 00:06:01,390 [natasha] and they blindfold him, 160 00:06:01,460 --> 00:06:02,590 Tie him to the door, 161 00:06:02,660 --> 00:06:04,390 And he's executed by firing squad 162 00:06:04,390 --> 00:06:05,590 By the military. 163 00:06:05,660 --> 00:06:09,130 Yagan does hear of his father's death, 164 00:06:09,200 --> 00:06:12,070 And he vows to take revenge. 165 00:06:13,600 --> 00:06:15,870 [hannah] I think in this story that I'm reading here, 166 00:06:15,940 --> 00:06:18,270 Yagan has said, basically, 167 00:06:18,340 --> 00:06:21,070 That he has speared three white men, 168 00:06:21,110 --> 00:06:23,040 And he's saying, my brother was killed, 169 00:06:23,050 --> 00:06:25,010 His father was killed. 170 00:06:25,010 --> 00:06:27,950 He's doing what he had to do by aboriginal law. 171 00:06:28,080 --> 00:06:30,820 [marc] what actually happens to yagan in the end? 172 00:06:30,850 --> 00:06:33,750 There was a bounty put on his head. 173 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:37,490 He came across two young men that he knew, 174 00:06:37,530 --> 00:06:38,860 Some settlers, 175 00:06:38,990 --> 00:06:41,160 And he was friendly to them. 176 00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:43,960 [marc] they were two teenagers, boys. 177 00:06:44,030 --> 00:06:45,630 [hannah] and I never forget this growing up, 178 00:06:45,630 --> 00:06:46,700 We don't forget this. 179 00:06:46,840 --> 00:06:47,970 When he turned his back, 180 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:49,670 That's when they took the opportunity 181 00:06:49,740 --> 00:06:50,940 To shoot him in the back. 182 00:06:54,580 --> 00:06:57,040 And for yagan, who was a warrior, 183 00:06:57,110 --> 00:06:58,310 It's shocking that he was killed 184 00:06:58,450 --> 00:07:00,050 In such a cowardly way. 185 00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:04,080 [pensive music playing] 186 00:07:04,150 --> 00:07:05,350 [marc] but in the end, 187 00:07:05,490 --> 00:07:08,050 The british didn't just take yagan's life. 188 00:07:08,090 --> 00:07:09,320 They took something else. 189 00:07:09,390 --> 00:07:11,390 [birds crying] 190 00:07:11,430 --> 00:07:12,990 [hannah] his body was violated. 191 00:07:14,130 --> 00:07:18,000 His head was paraded around the colony. 192 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:21,470 And it was really to send a strong message 193 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:24,000 Of who were the superior race-- 194 00:07:24,040 --> 00:07:26,410 Apparently, the white colonists-- 195 00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:30,010 And to send a message to the noongar people 196 00:07:30,050 --> 00:07:32,980 Not to resist, not to fight as yagan did. 197 00:07:35,620 --> 00:07:37,480 [marc] yagan's decapitated head 198 00:07:37,490 --> 00:07:39,820 Became a brutal trophy for the british. 199 00:07:39,820 --> 00:07:42,890 But where exactly were yagan's remains taken? 200 00:07:42,930 --> 00:07:44,290 That is a mystery 201 00:07:44,360 --> 00:07:46,890 That would take over a century to solve. 202 00:07:55,970 --> 00:07:57,770 [marc] the mystery of the missing head 203 00:07:57,770 --> 00:07:59,170 Of the indigenous leader yagan 204 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:00,770 Might never have been solved at all 205 00:08:00,780 --> 00:08:02,980 Were it not for the obsession of one person. 206 00:08:03,780 --> 00:08:04,710 -Hello. How are you? -Hi. 207 00:08:04,750 --> 00:08:06,510 Good, thank you. You want to come in? 208 00:08:06,650 --> 00:08:08,680 [marc] this is esandra colbung. 209 00:08:08,820 --> 00:08:11,880 Her dad was noongar leader ken colbung. 210 00:08:11,920 --> 00:08:15,790 [marc] so where does yagan and ken's story intersect? 211 00:08:15,920 --> 00:08:17,060 [esandra] probably even before my time. 212 00:08:17,130 --> 00:08:18,190 [both laughing] 213 00:08:18,230 --> 00:08:19,530 I would say. 214 00:08:19,530 --> 00:08:23,600 I grew up just hearing about yagan constantly. 215 00:08:23,670 --> 00:08:25,870 It's always been a part of my upbringing. 216 00:08:25,900 --> 00:08:27,570 Yagan's always been that part. 217 00:08:27,570 --> 00:08:29,370 [indigenous-style music playing] 218 00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:31,200 [marc] ken spent decades 219 00:08:31,240 --> 00:08:34,010 Amassing any information or records 220 00:08:34,040 --> 00:08:35,940 On what happened to yagan's head. 221 00:08:36,010 --> 00:08:39,810 It was actually 30 years of voluntary research 222 00:08:39,850 --> 00:08:43,820 That he'd done, specifically, to find yagan. 223 00:08:43,820 --> 00:08:46,450 I believe that the spirit of his old father 224 00:08:46,590 --> 00:08:48,450 Or one of his relatives could be inside of me, 225 00:08:48,490 --> 00:08:52,160 And I'm, probably, I'm the reincarnation 226 00:08:52,160 --> 00:08:54,160 Of that spiritual being. 227 00:08:54,160 --> 00:08:55,430 [marc] it's decades. 228 00:08:55,500 --> 00:08:57,160 It's decades of his life 229 00:08:57,170 --> 00:08:58,900 That he's dedicated to this. 230 00:08:59,030 --> 00:09:01,370 Was there a sense that yagan's remains would never come home? 231 00:09:01,400 --> 00:09:04,300 Like that, that they just would never find it? 232 00:09:04,310 --> 00:09:06,310 I think there was a little bit of it. 233 00:09:06,310 --> 00:09:09,040 But... My dad being who he was, 234 00:09:09,110 --> 00:09:10,710 Would never let that up. 235 00:09:10,780 --> 00:09:14,050 It was something that he just saw and he visioned, 236 00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:15,280 And that was it. 237 00:09:17,250 --> 00:09:20,120 [marc] but ken wasn't alone in his quest. 238 00:09:20,160 --> 00:09:20,990 He had help. 239 00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:23,660 Back in the 1990s, 240 00:09:23,690 --> 00:09:26,130 Cressida fforde and lyndon ormond-parker 241 00:09:26,190 --> 00:09:28,390 Were two researchers living in london. 242 00:09:28,460 --> 00:09:31,200 And that's when they were put in contact with ken. 243 00:09:31,200 --> 00:09:32,530 [cressida] ken had a big file. 244 00:09:32,600 --> 00:09:33,930 Like, he'd been doing his work 245 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:35,340 As much as he possibly could, 246 00:09:35,470 --> 00:09:38,270 Using all these ways that were available to him. 247 00:09:38,310 --> 00:09:42,580 And he never wavered from his search for yagan. 248 00:09:42,610 --> 00:09:45,140 [marc] and that search paid off 249 00:09:45,180 --> 00:09:48,820 When one day, ken colbung got a crucial piece of evidence. 250 00:09:48,820 --> 00:09:50,620 A british newspaper clipping. 251 00:09:50,620 --> 00:09:54,150 [cressida] a clipping saying that yagan's head 252 00:09:54,290 --> 00:09:55,820 Had been on display 253 00:09:55,860 --> 00:09:59,490 At the surgeon-antiquarian thomas pettigrew's house 254 00:09:59,530 --> 00:10:01,630 In london. 255 00:10:01,630 --> 00:10:03,700 [marc] just months after his death, 256 00:10:03,770 --> 00:10:05,630 Yagan's head reportedly appears 257 00:10:05,770 --> 00:10:07,370 In a house of an english doctor, 258 00:10:07,370 --> 00:10:09,240 This thomas pettigrew. 259 00:10:09,270 --> 00:10:11,340 It was brought to pettigrew and the uk 260 00:10:11,410 --> 00:10:12,910 From western australia 261 00:10:13,040 --> 00:10:15,140 By a lieutenant, robert dale. 262 00:10:15,140 --> 00:10:16,410 [cressida] lieutenant dale, 263 00:10:16,480 --> 00:10:18,280 Who was trying to sell yagan's head, 264 00:10:18,350 --> 00:10:21,920 And as part of that, he had given it to pettigrew, 265 00:10:22,050 --> 00:10:24,320 Really as a "do you want to buy?" 266 00:10:24,350 --> 00:10:26,150 [marc] this surgeon, thomas pettigrew, 267 00:10:26,220 --> 00:10:29,860 Is one of the weirder figures in british medical history. 268 00:10:29,990 --> 00:10:32,260 He used to throw private parties in the 1800s 269 00:10:32,290 --> 00:10:36,060 Where he unwrapped egyptian mummies for science. 270 00:10:36,100 --> 00:10:39,600 Now, pettigrew had yagan's head studied in detail, 271 00:10:39,640 --> 00:10:41,400 But as for buying it... 272 00:10:42,640 --> 00:10:44,640 So pettigrew clearly didn't want to buy yagan's head, 273 00:10:44,670 --> 00:10:46,270 Or didn't want to buy it for the amount 274 00:10:46,340 --> 00:10:48,070 -That dale was wanting. -Right. 275 00:10:48,110 --> 00:10:50,480 So then the question is, where is dale? 276 00:10:50,550 --> 00:10:52,080 [marc] thanks to family diaries, 277 00:10:52,210 --> 00:10:55,150 They find that dale ends up in the city of liverpool. 278 00:10:55,220 --> 00:10:57,950 But does he bring yagan's head with him too? 279 00:10:57,990 --> 00:11:02,020 He couldn't sell the... Yagan's head. 280 00:11:02,160 --> 00:11:03,360 What's he going to do with it? 281 00:11:03,390 --> 00:11:05,960 So then the first obvious thing is, 282 00:11:06,090 --> 00:11:07,430 You give it to the local museum. 283 00:11:07,500 --> 00:11:09,700 [marc] that would be the liverpool museum, 284 00:11:09,700 --> 00:11:12,360 And so off cressida went to go ask around there. 285 00:11:12,400 --> 00:11:13,500 [cressida] I was talking with 286 00:11:13,540 --> 00:11:15,030 One of the curators at the time, 287 00:11:15,100 --> 00:11:18,670 And this wonderful woman said, "well, actually, 288 00:11:18,810 --> 00:11:21,440 I think we buried some remains in the 1960s 289 00:11:21,440 --> 00:11:22,710 In the local cemetery. 290 00:11:22,780 --> 00:11:24,440 Let me go and pull you the file." 291 00:11:24,510 --> 00:11:27,250 And in that file, there was correspondence, 292 00:11:27,250 --> 00:11:29,250 Administrative correspondence in the 1960s, 293 00:11:29,320 --> 00:11:31,850 About the need to bury the head of yagan, 294 00:11:31,850 --> 00:11:34,150 Chief of swan river, in the everton cemetery. 295 00:11:35,390 --> 00:11:37,520 It was pretty extraordinary. [laughing] 296 00:11:37,530 --> 00:11:39,190 -A pretty extraordinary moment. -What goes through your head 297 00:11:39,330 --> 00:11:41,730 When you see that, when you finally see this name? 298 00:11:41,860 --> 00:11:43,730 I was blown away. 299 00:11:43,800 --> 00:11:45,330 I was like, "oh my god, I've got to tell ken." 300 00:11:45,330 --> 00:11:47,000 I think I ran out of the museum 301 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:48,070 And I went to a, you know, 302 00:11:48,140 --> 00:11:49,400 'cause there was no mobile phones. 303 00:11:49,540 --> 00:11:51,040 I went to a phone box with it, 304 00:11:51,110 --> 00:11:52,940 And my coins, you can imagine. 305 00:11:52,970 --> 00:11:54,770 It was just joy all around, 306 00:11:54,780 --> 00:11:58,810 Just to see how dad reacted just with that. 307 00:11:58,950 --> 00:12:00,250 But it's a sense of relief, 308 00:12:00,380 --> 00:12:02,480 Of, we're getting that little bit closer. 309 00:12:02,620 --> 00:12:04,680 -Mm. -To getting him home, and... 310 00:12:04,820 --> 00:12:08,150 The healing process for everyone really, you know? 311 00:12:08,160 --> 00:12:11,560 [pensive music playing] 312 00:12:11,630 --> 00:12:13,890 [marc] but in everton cemetery, 313 00:12:13,960 --> 00:12:15,560 Liverpool, England, 314 00:12:15,600 --> 00:12:17,560 There's no gravestone for a yagan. 315 00:12:17,630 --> 00:12:18,630 No map. 316 00:12:18,700 --> 00:12:20,900 And cressida has no leads. 317 00:12:20,940 --> 00:12:23,100 [cressida] we decided that the only thing to do 318 00:12:23,240 --> 00:12:25,170 Was actually go and talk to the gravediggers. 319 00:12:25,210 --> 00:12:26,870 -How'd that go? -I knocked on the door 320 00:12:26,940 --> 00:12:28,910 Of a... [laughs] 321 00:12:28,980 --> 00:12:30,840 Of a pre-fabricated office. 322 00:12:30,980 --> 00:12:34,080 They were temporarily in, and I said, 323 00:12:34,080 --> 00:12:35,380 "can I talk to the... 324 00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:36,780 Can I talk to whoever's in charge," 325 00:12:36,790 --> 00:12:37,980 Or something like that. 326 00:12:38,020 --> 00:12:41,250 And I said, I said, "look, 327 00:12:42,190 --> 00:12:43,660 I'm looking for a museum box 328 00:12:43,660 --> 00:12:46,060 That was buried here in the 1960s." 329 00:12:46,190 --> 00:12:48,390 And he went, "oh, you mean the two aboriginal heads 330 00:12:48,400 --> 00:12:49,730 And the peruvian mummy, cressida." 331 00:12:49,860 --> 00:12:52,130 And I went, "yes. I do actually." 332 00:12:52,200 --> 00:12:53,930 And he said, "yeah, I know exactly where they are." 333 00:12:54,070 --> 00:12:55,130 -What?! -Yeah, yeah. 334 00:12:55,200 --> 00:12:56,400 And I think he either went out 335 00:12:56,440 --> 00:12:58,070 Or he had in his office a grave plan, 336 00:12:58,110 --> 00:13:01,210 So this is the working plan that the gravediggers use. 337 00:13:01,340 --> 00:13:03,210 And he took it out, and 338 00:13:03,340 --> 00:13:04,910 Annotated on the side of the grave plan was, 339 00:13:05,050 --> 00:13:07,150 "buried in grave number 296." 340 00:13:08,950 --> 00:13:10,420 And I was completely, you know, 341 00:13:10,420 --> 00:13:12,290 "oh my gosh. This is..." I don't know. 342 00:13:12,420 --> 00:13:13,790 I'm speechless. I don't know how to... 343 00:13:13,790 --> 00:13:15,490 I don't know how to... It was extraordinary. 344 00:13:17,960 --> 00:13:19,290 [marc] but the thing is, 345 00:13:19,360 --> 00:13:21,890 When they did find where he was buried in the uk, 346 00:13:22,900 --> 00:13:24,560 He wasn't buried down there alone. 347 00:13:24,630 --> 00:13:26,170 [sombre music playing] 348 00:13:32,710 --> 00:13:34,110 [marc] missing for decades, 349 00:13:34,140 --> 00:13:36,040 The head of the indigenous leader yagan 350 00:13:36,110 --> 00:13:38,240 Has been found in a british graveyard. 351 00:13:38,280 --> 00:13:39,510 But there's a problem. 352 00:13:39,580 --> 00:13:41,310 [lyndon] when yagan was buried, 353 00:13:41,350 --> 00:13:42,580 It was a pauper's grave, 354 00:13:42,580 --> 00:13:44,750 And, of course, they buried other people. 355 00:13:44,750 --> 00:13:47,050 You weren't just buried by yourself. 356 00:13:47,190 --> 00:13:51,990 There was stillborn babies that was buried above yagan. 357 00:13:51,990 --> 00:13:54,190 [reporter] the problem is, it's now beneath the bodies 358 00:13:54,200 --> 00:13:56,730 Of 22 babies who died at birth, 359 00:13:56,870 --> 00:13:59,000 And some families have refused permission 360 00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:00,270 For the remains to be moved. 361 00:14:00,270 --> 00:14:02,400 [lyndon] then hence became a long process 362 00:14:02,440 --> 00:14:05,140 Of trying to lobby the british government 363 00:14:05,210 --> 00:14:06,670 For an exhumation licence. 364 00:14:06,710 --> 00:14:08,980 We know that the end of the road is near 365 00:14:09,110 --> 00:14:12,810 And that we will return with yagan's head to australia. 366 00:14:12,950 --> 00:14:16,480 The british government refused the exhumation licence request 367 00:14:16,480 --> 00:14:18,750 Because there were these stillborn children buried. 368 00:14:19,690 --> 00:14:22,420 Ken, he was using all of his skill 369 00:14:22,560 --> 00:14:25,690 To speak at the highest levels to state that 370 00:14:25,730 --> 00:14:28,030 This was an incredibly important thing that would happen. 371 00:14:28,160 --> 00:14:32,430 Yagan's head must return to australia with me, 372 00:14:32,430 --> 00:14:33,900 And I'm not going to leave without it. 373 00:14:36,540 --> 00:14:37,970 [esandra] and that's who dad was. 374 00:14:38,110 --> 00:14:40,370 He made sure that if he was going to 375 00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:41,910 Follow through with a task, he did it. 376 00:14:43,850 --> 00:14:45,310 [marc] ken actually tried to get permission 377 00:14:45,450 --> 00:14:48,450 From the families of all of those stillborn babies. 378 00:14:48,480 --> 00:14:51,580 Ultimately, to no avail. 379 00:14:51,620 --> 00:14:53,790 But what if there was another way? 380 00:14:53,920 --> 00:14:56,860 [bright music playing] 381 00:14:56,930 --> 00:14:59,760 They decide to access the grave from the side, 382 00:14:59,760 --> 00:15:02,460 And use survey equipment to sense the metal hinges 383 00:15:02,530 --> 00:15:05,060 Of yagan's box, and then extract him. 384 00:15:05,070 --> 00:15:06,870 [cressida] and they started very early in the morning, 385 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:08,330 I think about four o'clock in the morning. 386 00:15:08,340 --> 00:15:10,870 They emptied the grave next door. 387 00:15:10,910 --> 00:15:13,740 Then, they began retrieving the box, 388 00:15:13,780 --> 00:15:16,210 And then found yagan. 389 00:15:18,280 --> 00:15:20,480 [marc] they did a forensic report, and weirdly, 390 00:15:20,480 --> 00:15:23,350 Thanks to thomas pettigrew's skull studies of yagan, 391 00:15:23,480 --> 00:15:26,590 They could confirm they'd finally found him. 392 00:15:26,620 --> 00:15:28,750 [esandra] that's actually at the grave site. 393 00:15:28,790 --> 00:15:29,760 [marc] that's the grave site? 394 00:15:29,760 --> 00:15:31,220 That's the grave site for yagan. 395 00:15:31,260 --> 00:15:32,260 Wow. 396 00:15:32,330 --> 00:15:33,190 Yeah. 397 00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:35,630 [ken] I feel grateful, 398 00:15:35,700 --> 00:15:37,760 I feel happy, 399 00:15:37,900 --> 00:15:40,570 And I'm awaiting now 400 00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:42,030 To take him back 401 00:15:42,100 --> 00:15:46,370 To all the other members of the tribal groups, 402 00:15:46,410 --> 00:15:49,380 Who will also now be so happy. 403 00:15:50,480 --> 00:15:52,210 [marc] a delegation of noongar elders 404 00:15:52,350 --> 00:15:55,010 Travelled to the uk to escort yagan home. 405 00:15:56,380 --> 00:15:58,780 And among them was one woman. 406 00:15:58,850 --> 00:16:01,990 Mingli mcglade, who, as it turns out, 407 00:16:02,120 --> 00:16:03,990 Is the mum of hannah mcglade. 408 00:16:04,030 --> 00:16:06,190 -Hi, mum. Marc's here. -[marc] hello. 409 00:16:06,260 --> 00:16:07,390 Good to see you. 410 00:16:07,530 --> 00:16:09,430 Mum's like this nice old lady now, 411 00:16:09,500 --> 00:16:11,660 But this is not the mum that I knew at that time. 412 00:16:11,730 --> 00:16:13,830 I'm sorry. She was fierce. 413 00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:16,600 -Yeah? -And determined and very strong. 414 00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:19,040 [marc] so, when you first came in contact 415 00:16:19,170 --> 00:16:22,140 With yagan's remains after over a century, 416 00:16:22,140 --> 00:16:23,210 What did you do? 417 00:16:23,340 --> 00:16:25,610 [mingli] well, I'd taken sand from 418 00:16:25,680 --> 00:16:29,020 About near the area where he was buried, 419 00:16:29,080 --> 00:16:31,420 And took it to london 420 00:16:31,450 --> 00:16:32,850 And put it on his head 421 00:16:32,850 --> 00:16:34,820 And said, "this is your country." 422 00:16:37,960 --> 00:16:39,830 [marc] mingli held him until the moment 423 00:16:39,960 --> 00:16:43,030 They walked through those gates at the airport. 424 00:16:43,160 --> 00:16:44,500 [hannah] that was another 425 00:16:44,500 --> 00:16:46,630 Incredibly momentous occasion 426 00:16:46,700 --> 00:16:49,500 Of hundreds of noongars at the airport. 427 00:16:49,640 --> 00:16:51,340 [polite clapping] 428 00:16:51,470 --> 00:16:53,510 [esandra] seeing them come through the gates 429 00:16:53,540 --> 00:16:55,640 With the box and the buka and that, 430 00:16:55,710 --> 00:16:59,780 It was a pretty overwhelming time for everybody. 431 00:16:59,810 --> 00:17:02,520 I guess it was a sense of relief. 432 00:17:02,650 --> 00:17:05,990 Because we've brought him back and he's at rest now. 433 00:17:06,050 --> 00:17:07,990 He can be at peace. 434 00:17:08,020 --> 00:17:10,090 Before, there wasn't any peace. 435 00:17:11,790 --> 00:17:14,260 [marc] with the return of yagan to noongar country, 436 00:17:14,300 --> 00:17:17,060 The job of holding him until he was finally buried 437 00:17:17,130 --> 00:17:18,660 Fell to the wilkes family. 438 00:17:18,730 --> 00:17:21,900 This is ian and his father, ted wilkes. 439 00:17:21,900 --> 00:17:25,140 [ted] and when I brought him up for the burial that final day, 440 00:17:26,410 --> 00:17:29,440 I remember touching him and going into the swan river, 441 00:17:30,580 --> 00:17:33,280 And putting my hand into the water and saying, 442 00:17:33,280 --> 00:17:36,820 "yagan's back. Hey, yagan's back everybody." 443 00:17:38,020 --> 00:17:40,750 I saw things that were just a little bit different 444 00:17:40,790 --> 00:17:42,020 On that morning, 445 00:17:42,090 --> 00:17:44,190 And we buried him there that day. 446 00:17:46,930 --> 00:17:49,630 [esandra] sadly, my father didn't get to see that 447 00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:53,500 Because it was only six months prior that we lost him 448 00:17:53,570 --> 00:17:55,370 From when we buried yagan. 449 00:17:55,400 --> 00:17:57,170 -After all this... -[esandra] yeah. 450 00:17:57,170 --> 00:17:58,300 He didn't get to see him reburied. 451 00:17:58,370 --> 00:18:00,340 No, no, which was quite sad, 452 00:18:00,480 --> 00:18:01,770 But, you know, 453 00:18:01,910 --> 00:18:03,680 I know that their spirits would've been connected 454 00:18:03,680 --> 00:18:05,110 Somewhere along the line. 455 00:18:05,180 --> 00:18:06,950 [esandra laughs] 456 00:18:09,320 --> 00:18:11,720 [marc] why do you think he took that, I guess, 457 00:18:11,850 --> 00:18:13,520 That mission, and took it so seriously, 458 00:18:13,560 --> 00:18:14,790 And kind of committed to it? 459 00:18:14,790 --> 00:18:16,790 Like, what was it about him? 460 00:18:16,830 --> 00:18:19,190 [esandra] I think probably because of where he came from. 461 00:18:19,330 --> 00:18:20,060 [marc] yeah. 462 00:18:20,190 --> 00:18:22,930 [esandra] so, as a child, 463 00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:24,300 He never knew his father. 464 00:18:24,330 --> 00:18:25,870 He never got to meet his mum. 465 00:18:25,870 --> 00:18:28,930 He lost his mum when he was a baby. 466 00:18:28,970 --> 00:18:33,270 So, he's always understood and learned from that, 467 00:18:33,310 --> 00:18:37,280 That the importance of keeping those cultural connections. 468 00:18:37,280 --> 00:18:40,380 It was one part of him that he never let go, 469 00:18:40,380 --> 00:18:42,550 Even though he was taken from it, 470 00:18:42,580 --> 00:18:46,390 He'd always hang onto it and ensured that part 471 00:18:46,390 --> 00:18:48,290 Was still within him. 472 00:18:49,590 --> 00:18:51,860 [river water running] 473 00:18:51,990 --> 00:18:54,030 [calm music playing] 474 00:19:00,340 --> 00:19:02,100 [marc] there used to be this saying, 475 00:19:02,240 --> 00:19:05,100 "the sun never sets on the british empire." 476 00:19:05,140 --> 00:19:07,910 And, in a sense, it's true. 477 00:19:07,910 --> 00:19:10,780 The impact of the events here, the pain of it, 478 00:19:10,780 --> 00:19:12,310 It never really ends. 479 00:19:12,350 --> 00:19:15,050 Instead, it reverberates throughout history, 480 00:19:15,180 --> 00:19:16,650 Through families, 481 00:19:16,650 --> 00:19:17,920 Through generations. 482 00:19:19,450 --> 00:19:22,460 And yet, today on the mouth of that river 483 00:19:22,590 --> 00:19:25,660 That brought so much unwelcome strife, 484 00:19:25,730 --> 00:19:27,660 Noongar people still stand. 485 00:19:29,500 --> 00:19:31,100 [trevor] I'm quite privileged to stand here with you 486 00:19:31,230 --> 00:19:32,600 And welcome you to this country, 487 00:19:32,670 --> 00:19:35,000 And hoping you have a safe journey on our country. 488 00:19:35,040 --> 00:19:36,470 Thank you. Thanks for having me. 489 00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:38,940 [sticks clicking] 490 00:19:39,940 --> 00:19:41,940 [man singing in indigenous language] 491 00:20:05,230 --> 00:20:07,630 [soft music playing] 492 00:20:07,670 --> 00:20:09,400 [trevor] at the end of the day, it's our job, 493 00:20:09,440 --> 00:20:10,700 Sharing the culture. 494 00:20:12,440 --> 00:20:13,570 It's who we are. 495 00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:14,440 That's why we survive, 496 00:20:14,580 --> 00:20:15,840 And we'll always survive. 497 00:20:17,680 --> 00:20:19,910 [marc] I have spent months all over the globe 498 00:20:19,950 --> 00:20:22,410 Tracing stolen histories. 499 00:20:22,420 --> 00:20:24,550 And it's easy to forget that 500 00:20:24,590 --> 00:20:26,550 There are just some things 501 00:20:26,550 --> 00:20:28,850 You can't take from a people. 502 00:20:28,860 --> 00:20:31,260 [vanessa] it's really hard to capture in words 503 00:20:31,260 --> 00:20:33,860 Of what it means to be a colonised person. 504 00:20:33,930 --> 00:20:36,200 To be born a colonised person. 505 00:20:36,200 --> 00:20:38,600 But even though I, we, are colonised, 506 00:20:38,730 --> 00:20:40,470 We didn't give our land away, 507 00:20:40,470 --> 00:20:42,970 And I still feel that strong sense 508 00:20:42,970 --> 00:20:45,300 Of connection to my country. 509 00:20:45,440 --> 00:20:47,010 They can't take that from me. 510 00:20:47,010 --> 00:20:49,810 The genocide has not been complete. 511 00:20:49,840 --> 00:20:51,840 We're here today, we're different, 512 00:20:51,980 --> 00:20:54,750 But we're still, fighting, we're still speaking up, 513 00:20:54,750 --> 00:20:56,750 Still caring about our people too. 514 00:20:56,820 --> 00:20:59,120 [vanessa] having an ancestor like yagan 515 00:20:59,150 --> 00:21:02,290 Spurs me on to be proud of who I am. 516 00:21:02,360 --> 00:21:05,360 My country knows me, and I know my country. 517 00:21:05,490 --> 00:21:08,160 That strength of my culture, what I carry in me, 518 00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:09,700 Is in my blood. 519 00:21:09,730 --> 00:21:12,960 It can't be colonised. 520 00:21:14,500 --> 00:21:16,870 [soaring, inspirational music playing] 521 00:21:22,440 --> 00:21:24,010 -[sticks clacking] -[chanting] 522 00:21:24,150 --> 00:21:26,910 [inspirational music continues] 523 00:21:45,930 --> 00:21:48,400 [trevor] we, as a race of people, 524 00:21:48,470 --> 00:21:49,940 Must stand up. 525 00:21:49,940 --> 00:21:53,810 We must take note of yagan and stand up and fight.