Burial Site

Physical Description

The memorial is comprised of limestone blocks built to resemble a cairn, with a plaque detailing the signifi cance of the site. The memorial is located amongst a bushland setting, between the main Joondalup Drive and the carpark for a commercial complex on George Grey Place. Surrounding the block are cut timber logs to further defi ne the area. The memorial
signifies that the actual burial site is in the vicinity of the memorial only. It is recorded as being in Emerald Park on the opposite side of Joondalup Drive.

History

Bennyowlee (Ben-nee-yowl-ee) was a senior Yued tribesman of the Noongar people, and a member of the Tdondarup family. He was brother to Marungo and Werang. He was also a friend and guide to the explorer George Grey. Bennyowlee was an uncle of a man named Kaiber who in 1841 was a member of the party with Sir George Grey who arrived hungry
and exhausted at Lake Joondalup after staggering southward down the coastal plain from a shipwreck near the mouth of the Murchison. Grey records in his diaries that without the assistance of Aboriginal people his party surely would have perished.

Bennyowlee was considered a sort of prophet who dreamt that the Aboriginal culture would go into a decline with the arrival of the Europeans, but that it would continue and eventually flourish again. It is not known when Bennyowlee died.

Alternative spellings for Bennyowlee’s name are Bennyyowlee; Beniyowllee; Benyowllee.

Noongar Elder Ken Colbung AM MBE (1931-2010) set up a small stone memorial and plaque in the general area of Bennyowlee’s grave in George Grey Place, Edgewater prior to development of the area in the 1970/80s.

The place where the memorial is located is a Registered Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Site: ‘Joondalup Drive Trees’, Site ID 3505 (Burial; Modified Tree). The actual burial site is ‘Edgewater Burial Site’, Site ID 17590 (Burial; Creation / Dreaming Narrative; Other), the location of Emerald Park.

Condition

Poor - assessed from street view only

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.