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{{short description|Australian Noongar warrior (c. 1795 – 1833)}}
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{{Use Australian English|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
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[[Image:Yagan Statue 2005.jpg|thumb|right|Yagan statue, [[Heirisson Island]]]]
'''Yagan''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|j|eɪ|ɡ|ən}}; {{circa|1795}}&nbsp;– 11 July 1833) was an [[Aboriginal Australian]] warrior from the [[Noongar]] people. Yagan was pursued by the local authorities after he killed Erin Entwhistle, a servant of farmer Archibald Butler. It was an act of retaliation after Thomas Smedley, another of Butler's servants, shot at a group of Noongar people stealing potatoes and fowls, killing one of them.{{sfn |Green |1984 |p=79 }}{{sfn |Hallam |Tilbrook |1990 |p=333 }}{{sfn |Perth Gazette |1833a |p=83 }} The government offered a [[bounty (reward)|bounty]] for Yagan's capture, dead or alive, and a young settler, William Keats, shot and killed him. Yagan is considered a legendary figure by the Noongar.{{sfn |Colbung |1996 }}{{sfn |Kaartdijin Noongar |2025 }}

After his shooting, settlers cut off Yagan's head to claim the bounty. Later, an official sent it to London, where it was exhibited as an "[[anthropology|anthropological]] curiosity" and eventually given to a museum in [[Liverpool]]. It held the head in storage for more than a century before burying it with other remains in an unmarked grave in Liverpool in 1964.{{sfn |Liverpool Echo |2013 }} Over the years, the Noongar asked for repatriation of the head, both for religious reasons and because of Yagan's traditional stature. The burial site was identified in 1993; officials [[exhumation of Yagan's head|exhumed the head]] four years later and [[Repatriation|repatriated]] it to Australia. After years of debate within the Noongar community on the appropriate final resting place, Yagan's head was buried in a traditional ceremony in the [[Swan Valley (Western Australia)|Swan Valley]] in July 2010, 177 years after his death.{{sfn |AAP |Australian Geographic |2010 }}

==Biography==
===Early life===
A member of the [[Whadjuk]] Noongar people, Yagan belonged to a [[tribe]] of around 60 people whose name, according to [[Robert Lyon (Australian settler)|Robert Lyon]], was ''[[Beeliar (tribe)|Beeliar]]''. Scholars now believe that the Beeliar people may have been a family subgroup (or [[clan]]) of a larger tribe whom [[Daisy Bates (Australia)|Daisy Bates]] called ''Beelgar''.{{sfn |Bourke |1987 |loc=chapter 3 }} According to Lyon, the Beeliar people occupied the land south of the [[Swan River (Western Australia)|Swan]] and [[Canning River (Western Australia)|Canning]] rivers, as far south as [[Mangles Bay, Western Australia|Mangles Bay]].{{sfn|Green|1984|p=50}} The group had customary land usage rights over a much larger area than this, extending north as far as [[Galup]] (formerly called ''Lake Monger'') and northeast to the [[Helena River]]. The group also had an unusual degree of freedom to move over their neighbours' land, possibly due to kinship and marriage ties with neighbouring groups.{{sfn |Hallam |Tilbrook |1990 }}{{page needed |date=February 2025}}

Yagan is thought to have been born around 1795.{{sfn |National Museum of Australia |1997 }} His father was [[Midgegooroo]], an [[Australian Aboriginal elder|elder]] of the Beeliar people;{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=229}} his mother was one of Midgegooroo's three wives.{{sfn |Reece | 2019 }} Yagan was probably a {{lang |nys |Ballaroke}} in the [[Noongar classification]].{{sfn |Nown |Rosthorn |1997 }}

===Marriage and family===
According to the historian Neville Green, Yagan had a wife and two children.{{sfn |Green |1981 |pp=72–123 }}{{sfn|Green|1984|p=82}} A report in the ''[[Perth Gazette]]'' in 1833 gives the names of his children as ''Naral'', age 9, and ''Willim'', age 11,{{sfn |Perth Gazette |1833b |p=87 }} but most other sources state that the warrior was unmarried and childless. When his entry in the ''[[Australian Dictionary of Biography]]'' was rewritten in 2019, Reece suggested those said to have been his sons may have been his younger brothers.{{sfn |Reece |2019 }} Described as taller than average with an impressive burly physique, Yagan had a distinctive tribal tattoo on his right shoulder, which identified him as "a man of high degree in tribal law".{{sfn |Green |1981 |pp=72–123 }}{{sfn|Green|1984|p=82}} He was generally acknowledged to be the most physically powerful of his tribe,{{sfn|Green|1979|p=2}} and was said to have been able to spear another stick from a distance of {{convert|25|yards|m ft|order=out}} or penetrate a tree from a distance of {{convert|60|yards|m ft|order=out}}.{{sfn |Hasluck |1967 }}

===Relations with settlers===
Yagan would have been about 35 years old in 1829 when [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British]] settlers landed in the area and established the [[Swan River Colony]].{{sfn|Green|1984|p=39}} For the first two years of the colony, relations between settlers and Noongar were generally amicable, as there was little competition for resources. The Noongar welcomed the white settlers as {{lang |nys |Djanga }},{{sfn|Green|1984|p=53}} the returned spirits of their dead.{{sfn|Green|1984|p=53}} Historical reports noted the two groups shared fish.{{sfn|Green|1984|p=73}} As time passed, conflicts between the two cultures gradually became more frequent.{{sfn|Green|1984|p=73}} The settlers thought that the Noongar were nomads who had no claim to the land over which they roamed. Colonists fenced off land for grazing and farming according to their traditional practices of land use.{{sfn|Green|1984|p=73}}

As the colonists fenced off more land, the Noongar were increasingly denied access to their traditional hunting grounds and [[Australian Aboriginal sacred site|sacred sites]]. In search of food, the Noongar raided the settlers' crops and killed their cattle. They also developed a taste for the settlers' supplies, and began to take flour and other food, which became a serious problem for the colony.{{sfn|Hasluck|1961|p=35}} In addition, the Noongar practice of [[firestick farming]], or lighting [[the bush]] to flush out game threatened the settlers' crops and houses.{{sfn|Green|1984|pp=74–75}}

In December 1831 Yagan and his father led the first significant Aboriginal resistance to white settlement in Western Australia. Thomas Smedley, a servant of farmer Archibald Butler, apprehended some natives who were raiding a potato patch, and killed one of Yagan's family group.{{sfn|Green|1984|p=79}} A few days later, Yagan, Midgegooroo and others stormed the farmhouse and, finding the door locked, began to break through the mud-brick walls. Inside were Butler's servant Erin Entwhistle and his two sons Enion and Ralph.{{sfn|Green|1984|p=80}} After hiding his sons under the bed, Entwhistle opened the door to [[parley]] and was killed by Yagan and Midgegooroo.{{sfn|Green|1984|p=80}} Noongar tribal law required that murders be avenged by the killing of a member of the murderer's tribal group, not necessarily the murderer. The Noongar considered servants and employees to be part of the settlers' groups.{{sfn|Green|1984|p=77}} Historians believe the Noongar attack on Entwhistle was retribution under their tribal law.{{sfn |Hallam |Tilbrook |1990 }}{{page needed |date=February 2025}} Not understanding tribal law (and unlikely to agree with its concepts if they had), the white settlers took the killing to be an unprovoked murder and dispatched a force to arrest Yagan's group, without success.{{sfn|Green|1984|p=80}}

In June 1832 Yagan led a party of Noongar in attacking two labourers sowing a field of wheat alongside the Canning River near [[Kelmscott, Western Australia|Kelmscott]]. One of the men, John Thomas,{{sfn |Kimberly |1897 |pp=78–79 |loc=chapter 9 }} escaped, but the other, William Gaze, was wounded and later died as a result.{{sfn|Green|1984|p=80}} The settlement declared Yagan an outlaw and offered a reward of [[Pound sterling|£]]20, equivalent to roughly {{AUD|{{Inflation|AU|{{Inflation|UK|20|1832|1850|r=3}}|1850|r=-1}}|link=yes}} in {{Inflation/year|AU}}, for his capture. He avoided capture until early October 1832. A group of fishermen enticed Yagan and two companions into their boat, then pushed off into deep water.{{sfn|Green|1984|p=80}} The fishermen took the three Noongar men to the Perth guardhouse, from which they were transferred to the [[Round House (Western Australia)|Round House]] at [[Fremantle]]. Yagan was sentenced to death, but he was saved by the intercession of settler [[Robert Lyon (Australian settler)|Robert Lyon]]. Arguing that Yagan was defending his land against invasion, Lyon said Yagan should not be considered a criminal but a [[prisoner of war]] and suggested he should be treated as such.{{sfn|Green|1984|p=80}} At the recommendation of [[John Septimus Roe]], the [[Surveyor-General of Western Australia]], Yagan and his men were exiled on [[Carnac Island]] under the supervision of Lyon and two soldiers.{{sfn|Green|1984|p=80}}{{sfn|Hasluck|1961|p=36}}

Lyon thought he could teach Yagan British ways and convert him to Christianity. He hoped to gain his cooperation and use his tribal stature to persuade the Noongar to accept colonial authority. Lyon spent many hours with Yagan learning his language and customs.{{sfn|Green|1984|p=81}} After a month, Yagan and his companions escaped by stealing an unattended [[dinghy]] and rowing to [[Woodman Point]] on the mainland. The Government did not pursue them; apparently its officials considered they had been sufficiently punished.{{sfn|Green|1984|p=81}}{{sfn|Hasluck|1961|pp=38–39}}

In January 1833 two Noongar, Gyallipert and Manyat, visited Perth from [[King George Sound]],{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=229}} where relations between settlers and natives were amicable. Two settlers, Richard Dale and George Smythe,{{cn |date=August 2021 |reason=There seems to be ambiguity regarding names: is it Richard or Robert Dale? A supporting reference to literature for this statement should clear up this ambiguity.}} arranged for the men to meet a party of local Noongar to encourage friendly relations in the Swan River Colony. On 26 January Yagan led a group of ten formally armed Noongars in greeting the two men near Galup (formerly called Lake Monger).{{sfn|Hasluck|1961|p=40}}{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=230}} The men exchanged weapons and held a ''[[corroboree]]'', though the groups did not appear to share a language. Yagan and Gyallipert competed at spear throwing.{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=230}} As an example of his prowess, Yagan struck a walking stick from a distance of {{convert|25|m}}.{{sfn|Hasluck|1961|p=40}}

Gyallipert and Manyat remained in Perth for some time. On 3 March, Yagan obtained permission to hold another corroboree, this time in the post office garden in Perth. The Perth and King George Sound men met at dusk, chalked their bodies, and performed a number of dances including a [[kangaroo]] hunt dance. ''[[The Perth Gazette]]'' wrote that Yagan "was master of ceremonies and acquitted himself with infinite grace and dignity".{{sfn |Perth Gazette |1833c |p=42 }}{{sfn|Hasluck|1961|p=41}}

During February and March, Yagan was involved in a series of minor conflicts with settlers. In February William Watson complained that Yagan had pushed open his door, demanded a gun, and taken [[handkerchief]]s. Watson had to give him and his companions flour and bread. The following month, Yagan was among a group who received biscuits from a military contingent under Lieutenant Norcott; when Norcott tried to restrict his supply, Yagan threatened him with his spear.{{sfn |Perth Gazette |1833d |p=34 }} Later that month, Yagan was with a group of Noongar who entered Watson's house while he was away. The group left after Watson's wife called on neighbours for help.{{sfn|Hasluck|1961|p=41}} The next day Captain Ellis lectured the Noongar about their behaviour. The frequent incidents prompted ''The Perth Gazette'' to remark on "the reckless daring of this desperado who sets his life at a pin's fee&nbsp;... For the most trivial offence&nbsp; ... he would take the life of any man who provoked him. He is at the head and front of any mischief."{{sfn |Perth Gazette |1833d |p=34 }}

===Wanted dead or alive===
On the night of 29 April, a party of Noongar broke into a Fremantle store to steal flour{{sfn|Hasluck|1961|p=41}} and they were shot at by the caretaker Peter Chidlow. Domjum, a brother of Yagan, was badly injured and died in jail a few days later. The rest of the party moved from Fremantle to [[Preston Point, Western Australia|Preston Point]], where Yagan reportedly vowed vengeance for the death. Between 50 and 60 Noongar gathered at [[Bull Creek, Western Australia|Bull Creek]], where they met a party of settlers who were loading carts with provisions.{{sfn|Green|1984|p=82}} Later that day, the group ambushed the lead cart, killing two settlers, Tom and John Velvick. Tribal law required only a single death for vengeance. Some historians have speculated that the Velvicks were targeted because they had previously been convicted for assaulting Aboriginal people and coloured seamen.{{sfn|Green|1979|p=3}}{{sfn|Green|1984|p=84}} [[Alexandra Hasluck]] has also argued that stealing provisions was an important motive in the attack,{{sfn|Hasluck|1961|p=41}} but this has been refuted elsewhere.{{sfn|Green|1984|p=82}}

For the killing of the Velvicks, the Lieutenant-Governor [[Frederick Irwin]] declared Yagan, Midgegooroo and Munday to be outlaws, offering rewards of £20 each for the capture of Midgegooroo and Munday, and a reward of £30 for Yagan's capture, dead or alive.{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=230}} Munday successfully appealed against his proscription.{{sfn|Green|1984|p=84}} Midgegooroo, Yagan and their group immediately moved from their territory north towards the Helena Valley.{{sfn|Green|1984|pp=84–85}} On 17 May, Midgegooroo was captured on the Helena River, and executed by [[Execution by firing squad|firing squad]] on 22 May. There was no trial, even in the sense of an informal hearing. Midgegooroo was clearly not allowed the opportunity to give evidence or defend himself and indeed it is probable that he did not understand what was being alleged.

Yagan remained at large for over two months.{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=230}}{{sfn|Green|1984|p=86}} Late in May, [[George Fletcher Moore]] reported seeing Yagan on his property and talking with him in [[pidgin]] English. Moore wrote in the ''Perth Gazette'':
{{quote|Yagan stepped forward and leaning with his left hand on my shoulder while he gesticulated with the right, delivered a sort of recitation, looking earnestly in my face. I regret I could not understand it, I thought from the tone and manner that the purport was this:{{sfn |Moore |1833 |p=87 }}{{sfn |Moore |1884 |p=191 }}
{{blockquote |text=You came to our country{{snd}}you have driven us from our haunts, and disturbed us in our occupations. As we walk in our own country we are fired upon by the white men; why should the white men treat us so?}}
Since Moore had little knowledge of Yagan's native language, the historian Hasluck suggests that this account is probably more indicative of "a feeling of conscience on the part of the white men" than an accurate rendering of Yagan's state of mind.{{sfn|Hasluck|1961|p=44}}}}

Yagan asked Moore whether Midgegooroo was dead or alive. Moore gave no reply, but a servant answered that Midgegooroo was a prisoner on Carnac Island. Yagan warned, "White man shoot Midgegooroo, Yagan kill three."{{sfn |Moore |1884 |p=191 }} Moore reported the encounter but made no attempt to restrain Yagan. He later wrote, "The truth is, every one wishes him taken, but no one likes to be the captor{{nbsp}}... there is something in his daring which one is forced to admire."{{sfn |Moore |1884 |p=192 }}

===Death===
[[Image:Yagan-Belhus.png|thumb|Skirmish area showing gravesite and Henry Bull's mill]]
On 11 July 1833, two teenage brothers named William and James Keates were herding cattle along the Swan River north of [[Guildford, Western Australia|Guildford]] when a group of Noongar approached while en route to collect flour rations from [[Henry Bull (settler)|Henry Bull]]'s house.{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=230}} The Keates brothers suggested Yagan remain with them to avoid arrest.{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=230}} While he was staying with them during the morning, the brothers decided to kill the warrior and claim the reward.{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=230}} When the natives were ready to depart, the Keateses took their last opportunity. William Keates shot Yagan,{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=231}} and James shot Heegan, another native, in the act of throwing his spear. The brothers ran away, but other Noongar overtook William and speared him to death. James escaped by swimming the river. Shortly afterward he returned with a party of armed settlers from Bull's estate.{{sfn|Green|1984|p=87}}{{sfn|Green|1979|p=4}}

When the party of settlers arrived, they found Yagan dead and Heegan dying.{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=231}} Heegan "was groaning and his brains were partly out when the party came, and whether humanity or brutality, a man put a gun to his head and blew it to pieces."{{sfn|Green|1984|p=87}} The settlers cut Yagan's head from his body, and skinned his back to obtain his tribal markings as a trophy. They buried the bodies a short distance away.{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=231}}

James Keates claimed the reward, but his conduct was widely criticised.{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=231}} ''The Perth Gazette'' referred to Yagan's killing as "a wild and treacherous act&nbsp;... it is revolting to hear this lauded as a meritorious deed."{{sfn |Perth Gazette |1833e |p=114–115 }} However, [[Daisy Bates (Australia)|Daisy Bates]] posits that "he was killed in self-defence by the young lad."{{sfn |Bates |1929 |p=70 }} Keates left the colony the following month, possibly from fear of being murdered in tribal retaliation.{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=232}}

==Yagan's head==

===Exhibition and burial===
[[Image:Yagan's head from Moore's diary.png|thumb|A portion of [[George Fletcher Moore]]'s handwritten diary, showing sketches of Yagan's head{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=232}}]]
Yagan's head was initially taken to Henry Bull's house. Moore saw it there and sketched the head a number of times in his unpublished, handwritten diary, commenting that "possibly it may yet figure in some museum at home."{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=231}} The head was preserved by smoking.{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=232}}

In September 1833, [[Frederick Irwin|Governor Irwin]] sailed for London, partly to give his own account of the events leading up to the killing. This was an unusual measure, especially given his regiment was about to leave for a tour of duty in India. The Colonial Office indicated satisfaction with Irwin's administration of the colony.{{sfn |Cook |2003 |pp=23–34 }}

Travelling with Irwin was Ensign [[Robert Dale (explorer)|Robert Dale]], who had somehow acquired Yagan's head. According to the historian Paul Turnbull, Dale appears to have persuaded Irwin to let him have the head as an "anthropological curiosity".{{sfn |Turnbull |1998 |pp=156–171 }} After arriving in London, Dale tried to sell the head to scientists, approaching a number of [[anatomy|anatomists]] and [[phrenology|phrenologists]]. His price of £20 failed to find a buyer, so he made an agreement with [[Thomas Pettigrew]] for the exclusive use of the head for 18 months.{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=233}} Pettigrew, a surgeon and antiquarian,{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=233}} was well known in the London social scene for holding private parties at which he unrolled and [[autopsy|autopsied]] ancient [[Egyptian mummy|Egyptian mummies]].{{sfn |Lewis |2005 }} He displayed the head on a table in front of a [[Panoramic View of King George's Sound, Part of the Colony of Swan River|panoramic view of King George Sound]] reproduced from Dale's sketches.{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=233}} For effect, the head was adorned with a fresh corded headband and feathers of the [[red-tailed black cockatoo]].

[[Image:Yagan.jpg|thumb|''Portrait of Yagan'' by [[George Cruikshank]].<br />This portrait was painted from observations of Yagan's severed head, which had shrunk substantially during preservation by smoking. [[George Fletcher Moore]] said it bore little resemblance to the living Yagan, whose face was "plump, with a burly-headed look about it".{{sfn |Moore |1884 |p=289 }}]]
Pettigrew had the head examined by a phrenologist. Examination was considered difficult because of the large [[Bone fracture|fracture]] across the back of the head caused by the gunshot. His conclusions were consistent with contemporary European opinion of Indigenous Australians.{{sfn |Turnbull |1998 |pp=156–171 }} Dale published these in a pamphlet entitled ''[[Descriptive Account of the Panoramic View &c. of King George's Sound and the Adjacent Country]]'',{{sfn |Dale |1834 }} which Pettigrew encouraged his guests to buy as a [[souvenir]] of their evening. The frontispiece of the pamphlet was a hand-coloured [[aquatint]] print of Yagan's head by the artist [[George Cruikshank]].{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=233}}

Early in October 1835, Yagan's head and the panoramic view were returned to Dale, then living in [[Liverpool]]. On 12 October he presented them to the [[Liverpool Royal Institution]],{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=233}} where the head may have been displayed in a case along with some other preserved heads and wax models illustrating cranial anatomy.{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=233}} In 1894 the Institution's collections were dispersed, and Yagan's head was lent to the [[Liverpool Museum]]; it is thought not to have been put on display there.{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=233}} By the 1960s Yagan's head was badly deteriorated. In April 1964 the museum decided to dispose of it. It arranged burial of the head on 10 April 1964, together with a [[Peru]]vian mummy and a [[Māori people|Māori]] head. They were buried in [[Everton Cemetery]]'s General Section 16, grave number 296.{{sfn|Fforde|2002|pp=233–234}} In later years a number of burials were made around the grave. For example, in 1968 a local hospital buried directly over the box, 20 [[stillbirth|stillborn]] babies and two infants who died soon after birth.{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=234}}

===Lobbying for repatriation===
For many years beginning in the early 1980s,{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=235}} a number of Noongar groups sought the return of Yagan's head to Australia.
{{quote|It is Aboriginal belief that because Yagan's skeletal remains are incomplete, his spirit is earthbound. The uniting of his head and torso will immediately set his spirit free to continue its eternal journey.{{sfn |Colbung |1996 }}}}

At the time, there was no historical trail for the head after Pettigrew passed it on. Tribal elders entrusted the Aboriginal leader [[Ken Colbung]] with the search.{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=235}} In the early 1990s, Colbung enlisted the aid of [[University of London]] [[archaeology|archaeologist]] [[Peter Ucko]]. One of Ucko's researchers, Cressida Fforde, <!--was funded by the [[Government of Australia]] to--> conducted a literature search for information on the head.{{sfn |Fforde |2013 }}{{sfn |Burrell |1997 }} Fforde successfully traced the head in December 1993.{{sfn|Fforde|2002|pp=42, 235}} The following April, Colbung applied to exhume the remains under Section 25 of the [[Burial Act 1857]].{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=235}} [[Home Office]] regulations required [[next of kin]] consent before disturbing the remains of the 22 infants. Colbung's solicitors requested waiver of this condition on grounds that the exhumation would be of great personal significance to Yagan's living relatives, and great national importance to Australia.{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=235}}

Meanwhile, divisions in the Noongar community in Perth began to develop. Some elders questioned Colbung's role and one Noongar registered a complaint with the [[Liverpool City Council]] over his involvement. Media reports indicated acrimonious debate within the Noongar community about who had the best cultural qualifications to take possession of the head.{{sfn|Fforde|2002|pp=235–236}} The academic [[Hannah McGlade]] claims that these divisions were largely manufactured by the media, particularly ''[[The West Australian]]'', which "aimed to and successfully represented the Nyungar community in terms of disharmony and dissent". She alleges that one ''West'' reporter contacted Noongar who were known to be in disagreement, and quoted one to the other, so as to elicit provocative responses. The disputes were "trumpeted" by ''The West'', allowing it to "preach" against the infighting.{{sfn |McGlade |1998 }}

On 25 July a public meeting was held in Perth. All parties agreed to put aside their differences and co-operate to ensure that the repatriation was a "national success".{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=236}} A Yagan Steering Committee was established to co-ordinate the repatriation, and Colbung's application was allowed to proceed.{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=236}} In January 1995 the Home Office advised Colbung that it was unable to waive the requirement to obtain next of kin consent for the exhumation. It contacted the five relatives whose addresses were known, and received unconditional consent from only one. Accordingly, on 30 June 1995, Colbung and the other interested parties were advised that the application for exhumation had been rejected.{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=236}}

Meeting on 21 September, the Yagan Steering Committee decided to lobby Australian and British politicians for support. In 1997 Colbung was invited to visit the United Kingdom at the British government's expense{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=236}} and he arrived on 20 May. His visit attracted substantial media coverage,{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=236}} and increased the political pressure on the British Government. He secured the support of the [[Prime Minister of Australia]], [[John Howard]], after [[gatecrasher (person)|gate crashing]] the Prime Minister's June visit to the United Kingdom.{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=237}}

===Exhumation===
{{Main|Exhumation of Yagan's head}}
[[Image:Yagan's grave surface EM data.png|thumb|300px|A horizontal colour contour map of ground conductivity of Yagan's grave site, showing an anomaly in the electromagnetic signature caused by metal artefacts buried with Yagan's head]]
While Colbung was in the United Kingdom, Martin and Richard Bates were engaged to undertake a [[geophysics|geophysical]] survey of the grave site. Using [[electromagnetism|electromagnetic]] and [[ground penetrating radar]] techniques, they identified an approximate position of the box that suggested it could be accessed from the side via the adjacent plot. A report of the survey was passed to the Home Office, prompting further discussions between the British and Australian Governments.{{sfn |St Andrews |2005 }}

Of concern to the Home Office were an undisclosed number of letters that it had received objecting to Colbung's involvement in the repatriation process; it therefore sought assurances from the Australian Government that Colbung was a correct applicant.{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=237}} In response Colbung asked his elders to ask the [[Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission]] (ATSIC) to tell the British Home Office that he was the correct applicant. ATSIC then convened a meeting in Perth at which it was again resolved that Colbung's application could proceed.{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=237}}

Colbung continued to press for the exhumation, asking that it be performed before the 164th anniversary of Yagan's death on 11 July, so that the anniversary could be the occasion of a celebration.{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=238}} His request was not met, and on the anniversary of Yagan's death, Colbung conducted a short memorial service at the burial plot in Everton. He returned to Australia empty-handed on 15 July.{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=238}}

The [[exhumation of Yagan's head]] eventually proceeded, without Colbung's knowledge,{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=238}} by excavating {{convert|6|ft|order=flip}} down the side of the grave, then tunnelling horizontally to the location of the box. Thus the exhumation was performed without disturbing any other remains. The following day, a [[forensics|forensic]] [[palaeontology|palaeontologist]] from the [[University of Bradford]] positively identified the [[human skull|skull]] as Yagan's by correlating the fractures with those described in Pettigrew's report.{{sfn |St Andrews |2005 }}{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=238}} The skull was then kept at the museum until 29 August, when it was handed over to the Liverpool City Council.{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=238}}

===Repatriation===
On 27 August 1997, a delegation of Noongars consisting of Ken Colbung, [[Robert Bropho]], Richard Wilkes and Mingli Wanjurri-Nungala arrived in the UK to collect Yagan's head. The delegation was to have been larger, but Commonwealth funding was withdrawn at the last minute.{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=238}} The handover of Yagan's skull was further delayed when a Noongar named Corrie Bodney applied to the [[Supreme Court of Western Australia]] for an injunction against the handover. Claiming that his family group has sole responsibility for Yagan's remains, Bodney declared the exhumation illegal and denied the existence of any tradition or belief necessitating the head's exhumation and removal to Australia.{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=238}} On 29 August, Justice Henry Wallwork rejected the injunction application, on the grounds that Bodney had previously agreed to the current arrangements, and on the evidence of another Noongar elder (Albert Corunna, who claimed to be a closer relation of Yagan) and anthropologist Pat Baines, both of whom refuted Bodney's claim to sole responsibility.{{sfn |McGlade |1998 }}

Yagan's skull was handed over to the Noongar delegation at a ceremony at [[Liverpool Town Hall]] on 31 August 1997.{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=239}} In accepting the skull, Colbung made comments that were interpreted as linking Yagan's death with the [[death of Diana, Princess of Wales]], earlier that day:{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=239}} <blockquote>That is how nature goes&nbsp;... Nature is a carrier of all good things and all bad things. And because the Poms did the wrong thing, they now have to suffer.{{sfn |Maeder |1997 }}</blockquote> Colbung's comments prompted a media furore throughout Australia, with newspapers receiving many letters from the public expressing shock and anger at the comments.{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=239}} Colbung later claimed that his comments had been misinterpreted.{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=239}}

Throughout the repatriation process, many sections of the international media treated the story as a joke. For example, ''[[U.S. News & World Report]]'' ran a story under the headline ''Raiders of the Lost Conk'', in which Yagan's head was referred to as a "pickled curio", and Colbung's actions were treated as a publicity stunt.{{sfn |Shoemaker |2000 }}

===Preparations for reburial===
On its return to Perth, Yagan's head continued to be a source of controversy and conflict.{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=239}} Responsibility for reburial of the head was given to a "Committee for the Reburial of Yagan's Kaat", headed by Richard Wilkes.{{sfn |Wilkes |2010 }} The reburial was delayed by disputes between elders over the burial location, mainly due to uncertainty of the whereabouts of the rest of his body,{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=239}} and disagreement about the importance of burying the head with the body.

A number of attempts were made to locate the remains of Yagan's body, which were believed to be on Lot 39 West Swan Road in the outer Perth suburb of [[Belhus, Western Australia|Belhus]].{{sfn |Department of Indigenous Affairs |2009 |p=4 }} A [[remote sensing]] survey of the site was carried out in 1998, but no remains were found. An archaeological survey of the area was undertaken two years later, but this also was unsuccessful.{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=239}} Disputes then arose over whether the head could be buried separately from the body. Wilkes has claimed that it can, so long as it is placed where Yagan was killed, so that [[Dreamtime]] spirits can reunite the remains.{{sfn |Lampathakis |2005 }}

In 1998 the Western Australian Planning Commission and the [[Department of Aboriginal Affairs]] jointly published a document entitled ''Yagan's Gravesite Master Plan'', which discussed "matters of ownership, management, development and future use" of the property on which Yagan's remains are believed to be buried. Under consideration was the possibility of turning the site into an Indigenous burial site, to be managed by the Metropolitan Cemeteries Board.

Yagan's head spent some time in storage in a bank vault before being handed over to forensics experts who reconstructed a model from it. After that it was held in storage at Western Australia's state [[morgue|mortuary]]. Plans to re-bury the head were repeatedly deferred, causing ongoing conflict between Noongar groups.{{sfn |Philip |2006 }} In September 2008 it was reported that Yagan's head would be reburied in November, and a [[Yagan Memorial Park]] created as a projected cost of A$996,000;{{sfn |McPhee |2008a |p=9 }} but in November it was announced that the reburial had been rescheduled for July 2009 because of logistical problems.{{sfn |McPhee |2008b |p=15 }} In March 2009, it was announced that the [[Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs|Department of Indigenous Affairs]] had given the [[City of Swan]] more than A$500,000 to develop the park.{{sfn |ABC News |2009 }}

===Reburial===
The head was finally buried in a private ceremony attended only by invited [[Noongar]] elders, on 10 July 2010, the anniversary of the last full day he lived and one day before the end of [[NAIDOC Week]] 2010.{{sfn |ABC News |2010 }}{{sfn |Emerson |2010 }}{{sfn |Lucev |2010 }} The site in [[Belhus, Western Australia|Belhus]] was chosen as it is believed to be near to where the rest of Yagan's body was buried.{{sfn |The Age |2010 }} The burial coincided with a ceremony to mark the opening of the Yagan Memorial Park, which was attended by around 300 people, including Noongar elders and state government representatives.{{sfn |Lucev |2010 }} [[Premier of Western Australia|Premier]] [[Colin Barnett]] described the occasion as "a wonderful day for all West Australians".{{sfn |Lucev |2010 }}

The art works for the Yagan Memorial Park were designed by Peter Farmer, Sandra Hill, Jenny Dawson and Kylie Ricks.{{sfn |Monument Australia |2025 }} Dawson and Hill created an entry wall of Yagan's story; Farmer designed the park entry statements and Ricks the female [[Coolamon (vessel)|coolamon]].{{sfn |Artsource |n.d. }}

==Legacy==
In the ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Reece wrote that Yagan "was not the brutal, indiscriminate killer most settlers thought him to be", but sought to enforce the Noongar system of retributive justice "as the only basis for a resolution of conflict between Noongars and colonists".{{sfn |Reece |2019 }} Yagan was a lone actor in this regard:{{sfn |Reece |2019 }}
{{blockquote |text=Yagan cannot properly be described as a "resistance leader" when the Noongars offered no organised and sustained opposition to the settlers. He was more of a maverick, a bold and courageous warrior whose actions on behalf of his people and their rights made him notorious.}}
The repatriation of Yagan's head increased the Aboriginal leader's notability. He is considered a famous historical figure throughout Australia,{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=234}} with material about him appearing in such publications as the ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'',{{sfn |Reece |2019 }}{{sfn |Hasluck |1967 }} and Western Australia's school [[curriculum]].{{sfn |Curriculum Council |2007 }} He is of greatest significance to the Noongar people,{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=234}} for whom he is "a revered, cherished and heroic individual&nbsp;... patriot and visionary hero of WA's South-West".{{sfn |Colbung |1996 }} The return of his head was likened by some Indigenous Australians to the November 1993 ceremonial repatriation from [[Gallipoli]] of Australia's [[Tomb of the Unknown Soldier|unknown soldier]].{{sfn |Corunna v West Australian Newspapers |2001 }}

The former Upper Swan Bridge, which carries the [[Great Northern Highway]] over the Swan River at [[Belhus, Western Australia|Belhus]], was renamed the ''Yagan Bridge'' in 2010.{{sfn |City of Swan |2013 }} 

An open plaza in the [[Perth (suburb)|Perth central business district]], constructed as part of the [[Perth City Link]] urban renewal project, was named [[Yagan Square]].{{sfn |Egan |2014 }} Featuring the {{convert|9|m|ft|adj=mid|-tall}} statue ''Wirin'',{{sfn |Yagan Square |n.d. }} the plaza, located adjacent to the [[Horseshoe Bridge]], was opened on 3 March 2018.{{sfn |DevelopmentWA |2018 }}{{sfn |Cookson |2018 }}{{sfn |Spagnolo |2018 }}

==Cultural references==

===''Alas Poor Yagan''===
{{Main|Alas Poor Yagan}}
<!-- FAIR USE of Alas Poor Yagan (2 panels).jpg: see image description page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Alas_Poor_Yagan_(2_panels).jpg for rationale -->
[[Image:Alas Poor Yagan (2 panels).jpg|thumb|400px|The final two frames of [[Dean Alston]]'s 1997 cartoon ''[[Alas Poor Yagan]]'']]
On 6 September 1997 ''[[The West Australian]]'' published a [[Dean Alston]] [[cartoon]] entitled ''[[Alas Poor Yagan]]'',{{sfn |Alston |1997 }} which was critical of the fact that the return of Yagan's head had become a source of conflict between Noongars instead of fostering unity.{{sfn |Bropho v Human Rights & Equal Opportunity Commission |2004 }} The cartoon was interpreted by some as insulting aspects of Noongar culture, and casting aspersions on the motives and legitimacy of Indigenous Australians with mixed racial heritage.{{sfn |Bropho v Human Rights & Equal Opportunity Commission |2004 }} The content of the cartoon offended many Indigenous Australians, and a group of Noongar elders complained about the cartoon to the [[Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission]].{{sfn |Bropho v Human Rights & Equal Opportunity Commission |2004 }} The commission ruled that the cartoon made inappropriate references to Noongar beliefs but was not in breach of the [[Racial Discrimination Act 1975]] because it was "an artistic work" that was published "reasonably and in good faith", and was therefore exempt.{{sfn |Corunna v West Australian Newspapers |2001 }} This ruling was upheld on appeal by the [[Federal Court of Australia]].{{sfn |Bropho v Human Rights & Equal Opportunity Commission |2004 }} Some academic commentators have since expressed concern that the protections offered under the act have been undermined by the ruling's broad interpretation of the exemptions.{{sfn |McGlade |2001 }}{{sfn |Chapman |2004 }}

===Statue===
From the mid-1970s, members of the Noongar community lobbied for the erection of a [[statue]] of Yagan as part of the [[WAY 1979]] sesquicentennial celebrations. Their requests were refused, however, after the [[Premier of Western Australia|Premier]], [[Charles Court]], was advised by one prominent historian that Yagan was not important enough to warrant a statue.{{sfn |Inglis |1998 |p=448 }} Colbung claims "Court was more interested in spending tax payers' money on refurbishing the badly neglected burial place of [[James Stirling (Australian governor)|Captain James Stirling]], WA's first governor."{{sfn |Colbung |1996 }} Despite this setback, the Noongar community persisted, establishing a Yagan Committee and running a number of fund-raising drives. Eventually, sufficient funds were collected to allow the commissioning of Australian sculptor [[Robert Hitchcock]] to create a statue. The result was a life-size statue in [[bronze]], depicting Yagan standing naked with a spear held across his shoulders. Hitchcock's statue of Yagan was officially opened by Yagan Committee chairperson Elizabeth Hanson on 11 September 1984. It stands on [[Heirisson Island]] in the [[Swan River (Western Australia)|Swan River]] near Perth.

In 1997, within a week of the return of Yagan's head to Perth, vandals beheaded the statue using an [[angle grinder]]. Soon after a replacement head was installed and it too was detached and stolen. Credit for the act was anonymously claimed by a "British loyalist" as an act of retaliation for Colbung's comments about [[Diana, Princess of Wales]].{{sfn|Fforde|2002|p=239}} The [[Western Australia Police]] did not succeed in identifying the vandals, nor in recovering the heads, and deemed it infeasible to have the statue fenced off or placed under guard.{{sfn |Phillips |Black |1998 }}

Commentary on the beheadings varied widely. One column in ''The West Australian'' found humour in them, referring to the head as a "bonce" and a "noggin", and finished with a pun on "skullduggery".{{sfn |Muecke |2004 |pp=39–42 }} Stephen Muecke calls this the "satirical trivialising of Aboriginal concerns",{{sfn |Muecke |2004 |pp=39–42 }} and Adam Shoemaker writes "This is the stuff of light humour and comic relief. There is no sense of the decapitation as being an act of vandalism, even less that it could have been motivated by malevolence&nbsp;... [T]he piece has a definite authorising function."{{sfn |Shoemaker |2000 }} On the other hand, academic analysis has treated the act with much more gravity. In 2007, for example, David Martin described the decapitation as "an act which speaks not only to the continuance of white settler racism, but also to the power of [[wikt:mimesis|mimesis]] to invigorate our modern memorials and monuments with a life of their own".{{sfn |Martin |2007 }}

In 2002, [[Janet Woollard]], the member for [[Electoral district of Alfred Cove|Alfred Cove]], called for the statue's [[intimate part|genitalia]] to be covered up. In November 2005, Richard Wilkes also called for the statue's groin to be covered on the grounds that such a depiction would be more historically accurate, as Yagan would have worn a covering for most of the year. Also under consideration is the creation of a new statue with a head shape that accords better with the forensic reconstruction of Yagan's head.{{sfn |Kent |2005 }}

===Literature and film===
<!---redirects target this section--->
[[Mary Durack]] published a fictionalised account of Yagan's life in her 1964 children's novel ''The Courteous Savage: Yagan of the Swan River'',{{sfn |Durack |1964 }} which was renamed ''Yagan of the Bibbulmun'' on reissue in 1976.{{sfn |Durack |1976 }}

The repeated beheading of Yagan's statue in 1997 prompted Aboriginal writer [[Archie Weller]] to write a short story entitled ''Confessions of a Headhunter''. Weller later worked with film director [[Sally Riley (producer)|Sally Riley]] to adapt the story into a script,{{sfn |Riley |Weller |1999 }} and in 2000 a 35-minute movie, also named ''Confessions of a Headhunter'', was released.{{sfn |Australian Film Commission |2007 }} Directed by Sally Riley, the movie won Best Short Fiction Film at the 2000 [[Australian Film Institute Awards|AFI Awards]].{{sfn |Australian Film Institute |2025 }} The following year the script won the Script Award in the 2001 [[Western Australian Premier's Book Awards]].{{sfn |Moreton |n.d. }}

In 2002, the South African-born Australian poet [[John Mateer (poet)|John Mateer]] published his fourth collection of poems, entitled ''Loanwords''.{{sfn |Mateer |2002 }} The collection is divided into four sections, of which the third, ''In the Presence of a Severed Head'', has Yagan as its subject.{{sfn |Danta |2003 }}

A two-part miniseries called ''Yagan'', was commissioned by [[ABC International]]. Supported by [[Screen Australia]], the documentary was written and directed by Kelrick Martin and produced by [[Derek Jowsey]] of Spear Point Productions, and released in 2012.{{sfn |Screen Australia |n.d. }} It continues to be available on [[SBS On Demand]].{{sfn |SBS On Demand |n.d. }}

===Other cultural references===
A section of ''Kullark'', a play by [[Jack Davis (playwright)|Jack Davis]], explores the deteriorating relationship between Yagan and a settler couple.

In September 1989 an early maturing cultivar of [[barley]], bred by the Western Australian Department of Agriculture for performance on sandy soils, was released under the name "''Hordeum vulgare'' (Barley) c.v. Yagan".{{sfn |Portmann |Portmann |1989 }} Commonly referred to simply as "Yagan", the cultivar is named for Yagan, continuing a tradition of labelling Western Australian grain cultivars after historic people of Western Australia.

==See also==
* [[Jandamarra]], and the Bunuba War.
* [[Musquito]] a warrior of the Gai-Mariagal clan
* [[Pemulwuy]] a warrior and resistance leader of the Bidjigal clan of the Eora people, in the area around Sydney
* [[Tunnerminnerwait]], an Australian Aboriginal resistance fighter and Parperloihener clansman from Tasmania
* [[Windradyne]], a warrior and resistance leader of the Wiradjuri nation, in what is now central-western New South Wales
* [[Australian frontier wars]]
* [[List of Indigenous Australian historical figures]]
{{clear}}

==References==
{{reflist |20em}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin |30em |indent=yes}}
*{{cite news |ref={{sfnref |The Age |2010 }} |author=AAP |author-link=Australian Associated Press |title=Warrior Yagan laid to rest |date=2010-07-11 |work=The Age |location=Perth |url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/warrior-yagan-laid-to-rest-20100710-104w9.html |access-date=2025-02-02 }}
*{{cite news |author1=AAP |author1-link=Australian Associated Press |author2=Australian Geographic |author2-link=Australian Geographic |date=2010-07-12 |title=Warrior reburied 170 years after death |work=[[Australian Geographic]] |url=http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/warrior-reburied-170-years-after-death.htm/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130623230023/http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/warrior-reburied-170-years-after-death.htm |archive-date=23 June 2013 |access-date=2025-02-03 }}
*{{cite news |author=ABC News |author-link=ABC News (Australia) |title=Memorial park for Noongar warrior |date=2009-03-06 |work=ABC News |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/03/05/2508739.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108203916/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-03-05/memorial-park-for-noongar-warrior/1610088 |archive-date=2012-11-08 |access-date=2025-02-03 }}
*{{cite news |author=ABC News |author-link=ABC News (Australia) |date=2010-06-03 |title=Aboriginal warrior's final resting place |work=ABC News |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-06-03/aboriginal-warriors-final-resting-place/851812 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228100154/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-06-03/aboriginal-warriors-final-resting-place/851812 |archive-date=2022-02-28 |access-date=2025-02-04 }}
*{{cite news |last=Alston |first=Dean |author-link=Dean Alston |date=1997-09-06 |title=[[Alas Poor Yagan]] |work=[[The West Australian]] }}
*{{cite web |author=Artsource |date=n.d. |title=Yagan Memorial Park |url=https://www.artsource.net.au/Consulting/client-services/Public-Art-Procurement/Yagan-Memorial-Park |website=Artsource |access-date=2025-02-04 }}
*{{cite web |author=Australian Film Institute |year=2025 |title=AACTA Awards → Winners & Nominees → 2000-2010 → 2000 → Non-Feature Film |publisher=[[Australian Film Institute]] |url=https://www.aacta.org/winners-nominees/2000-2010/2000.aspx |access-date=2025-02-04 }}
*{{cite web |author=Australian Film Commission |author-link=Australian Film Commission |year=2007 |title=Confessions of a Headhunter |website=Australian Film Commission |url=http://www.afc.gov.au/filmsandawards/filmdbsearch.aspx?view=title&title=CONFHE |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926223202/http://www.afc.gov.au/filmsandawards/filmdbsearch.aspx?view=title&title=CONFHE |archive-date=2007-09-26 |access-date=2025-02-04 }}
*{{cite news |title=Aboriginal Perth |first=Daisy M. |last=Bates |author-link=Daisy Bates (author) |page=70 |newspaper=[[Western Mail (Western Australia)|Western Mail]] |volume=44 |issue=2264 |location=Western Australia |date=1929-07-04 |via=National Library of Australia |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article38887581 |access-date=2025-02-02 }} 
*{{cite book |last=Bourke |first=Michael |year=1987 |chapter=Chapter 3: Yagan 'The Patriot' and 'Governor' Weeip |title=On the Swan |location=Nedlands |publisher=University of Western Australia Press |isbn=0-85564-258-0 }}
*{{cite court |ref={{sfnref |Bropho v Human Rights & Equal Opportunity Commission |2004 }} |litigants=Bropho v Human Rights & Equal Opportunity Commission |vol=2004 |reporter=FCAFC |opinion=16 |court=[[Federal Court of Australia]] |date=6 February 2004 |url=https://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/cth/FCAFC/2004/16.html |access-date=2025-02-04 }}
*{{cite news |last=Burrell |first=Ian |date=1997-05-31 |title=Hi-tech FBI Tools to retrieve Aboriginal chief's head |work=[[The Independent]] |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/hitech-fbi-tools-to-retrieve-aborigine-chief-s-head-1253531.html |access-date=2025-02-03 }}
*{{cite journal |last=Chapman |first=Anna |year=2004 |title=Australian Racial Hatred Law: Some Comments on Reasonableness and Adjudicative Method in Complaints Brought by Indigenous People |pages=27–48 |journal=Monash University Law Review |volume=30 |number=1, ''2004'' |url=https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/MonashULawRw/2004/2.pdf |access-date=2025-02-04 }}
*{{cite web |author=City of Swan |author-link=City of Swan |date=2013-06-11 |title=In My Area → Upper Swan → My Suburb |url=http://www.swan.wa.gov.au/Lists/Suburbs/Upper_Swan |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140703123200/http://www.swan.wa.gov.au/Lists/Suburbs/Upper_Swan |archive-date=2014-07-03 |website=City of Swan |access-date=2025-02-04 |quote=In tribute to the famous Aboriginal warrior, Yagan, the Upper Swan Bridge was renamed the Yagan Bridge in 2010. }}
*{{cite book |last=Colbung |first=Ken |author-link=Ken Colbung |year=1996 |title=Yagan: The Swan River 'Settlement' |publisher=Australia Council for the Arts |location=Redfern |oclc=222096051 }}
*{{cite journal |last=Cook |first=Karen Severud |year=2003 |title=The Secret Agenda of Western Australian Explorer, Robert Dale (1809–1853) |journal=The Globe |issue=54 |pages=23–34 |issn=0311-3930 |s2cid=163215217 }}
*{{cite news |last=Cookson |first=Jasmine |date=2018-03-03 |title=Perth's Yagan Square finally opens to the public |work=ABC News |publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-03/yagan-square-opens-in-perth/9505952 |access-date=2025-02-02 }}
*{{cite court |ref={{sfnref |Corunna v West Australian Newspapers |2001 }} |litigants=Corunna v West Australian Newspapers |vol=EOC 93–146 |court=[[Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission]] |date=12 April 2001 }}
*{{cite book |author=Curriculum Council |author-link=Curriculum Council of Western Australia |year=2007 |title=Aboriginal and Intercultural Studies |publisher=[[Curriculum Council of Western Australia]] |url=http://newwace.curriculum.wa.edu.au/docs/COS_docs/171791_7_1.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411053559/http://newwace.curriculum.wa.edu.au/docs/COS_docs/171791_7_1.pdf |archive-date=2008-04-11 |access-date=2025-02-04 }}
*{{cite Q |Q19080653 |last=Dale |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Dale (explorer) |publisher=J. Cross and R. Havell }}{{sfn whitelist |CITEREFDale1834 }}
*{{cite journal |last=Danta |first=Chris |date=May 2003 |title=J. Mateer, Loanwords |journal=Colloquy |issue=7 |publisher=[[Monash University]] |url=http://colloquy.monash.edu.au/issue007/danta.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090930113942/http://www.colloquy.monash.edu.au/issue007/danta.html |archive-date=2009-09-30 |access-date=2025-02-04 }}
*{{cite journal |author=Department of Indigenous Affairs |date=November 2009 |title=Yagan Memorial Park |page=4 |journal=DIA Newsletter |issue=1 |publisher=Department of Indigenous Affairs, Government of Western Australia |location=Perth |url=https://purl.slwa.wa.gov.au/download/slwa_b2920804_1.pdf |access-date=2025-02-03 }}
*{{cite web |author=DevelopmentWA |author-link=DevelopmentWA |date=2018-03-02 |title=Market Hall and Horseshoe Lane construction |website=DevelopmentWA |publisher=Government of Western Australia |url=https://www.mra.wa.gov.au/news-and-updates/works-updates/market-hall-and-horseshoe-lane-construction |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725071831/https://www.mra.wa.gov.au/news-and-updates/works-updates/market-hall-and-horseshoe-lane-construction |archive-date=2020-07-25 |access-date=2025-02-04 }}
*{{cite book |last=Durack |first=Mary |author-link=Mary Durack |year=1964 |title=The Courteous Savage: Yagan of Swan River |location=West Melbourne |publisher=Thomas Nelson |ol=OL19592011M }}
*{{cite book |last=Durack |first=Mary |author-link=Mary Durack |year=1976 |title=Yagan of the Bibbulmun |location=West Melbourne |publisher=Thomas Nelson |isbn=0-17-001996-9 }}
*{{cite news |last=Egan |first=Colleen |date=2014-05-31 |title=City square to be named after Yagan |work=The West Australian |url=https://au.news.yahoo.com/city-square-named-yagan-184021257.html |access-date=2025-02-04 }}
*{{cite news |last=Emerson |first=Daniel |date=2010-06-03 |title=Burial for Yagan's head |work=The West Australian |url=http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/7336489/burial-for-yagans-head/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120916195844/http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/7336489/burial-for-yagans-head/ |archive-date=2012-09-16 |access-date=2025-02-04 }}
*{{citation|last=Fforde|first=Cressida|year=2002|chapter=Chapter 18: Yagan|title=The Dead and Their Possessions: Repatriation in Principle, Policy, and Practice|editor=Fforde, Cressida |editor2=Hubert, Jane |editor3=Turnbull, Paul |location=London | publisher=Routledge|pages=229–241|isbn=0-415-23385-2}}
*{{cite web |last=Fforde |first=Cressida |year=2013 |title=Repatriation |website=National Museum of Australia |url=http://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/now_showing/first_australians/resistance/yagan/repatriation/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131031004823/http://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/first_australians/resistance/yagan/repatriation |archive-date=2013-10-31 |access-date=2025-02-03 }}
*{{citation|last=Green|first=Neville|year=1979|chapter=Yagan, the Patriot|editor=Hunt, Lyall |title=Westralian Portraits|location=Nedlands, Western Australia | publisher=University of Western Australia Press|isbn=0-85564-157-6}}
*{{cite Q |Q125995168 |last=Green |first=Neville |author-link= |chapter=Aborigines and White Settlers in the Nineteenth Century |pages=72–123 }}{{sfn whitelist |CITEREFGreen1981}}
*{{cite Q |Q136385324 |last=Green |first=Neville }}{{sfn whitelist|CITEREFGreen1984}}
*{{cite book |last1=Hallam |first1=Sylvia J. |author1-link=Sylvia Hallam |last2=Tilbrook |first2=Lois |year=1990 |title=Aboriginals of the Southwest Region, 1829–1840 |series=The Bicentennial Dictionary of Western Australians |volume=8 |location=Nedlands |publisher=University of Western Australia Press |isbn=0-85564-296-3 }}
*{{cite journal |last=Hasluck |first=Alexandra |author-link=Alexandra Hasluck |year=1961 |title=Yagan the Patriot |pages=33–48 |journal=Early Days: Journal and Proceedings of the Western Australian Historical Society |volume=5 |number=7 |editor-first=Ronald P. |editor-last=Wright |publisher=[[Western Australian Historical Society]] |location=Perth |url=https://purl.slwa.wa.gov.au/slwa_b1147540_429.pdf#page=497 |access-date=2025-02-02 }}
*{{cite news |last=Moore |first=George Fletcher |author-link=George Fletcher Moore |date=1 June 1833 |title=From a Correspondent |page=87 |newspaper=[[The Perth Gazette And Western Australian Journal]] |volume=1 |issue=22 |location=Western Australia |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article642055 |access-date=2025-02-03 |via=National Library of Australia }} 
*{{cite Q |Q19081637 |last=Moore |first=George Fletcher |author-link=George Fletcher Moore }}{{sfn whitelist |CITEREFMoore1834}}{{sfn whitelist|CITEREFMoore1884}}
*{{cite Australian Dictionary of Biography |first=Alexandra |last=Hasluck |author-link=Alexandra Hasluck |title=Yagan (1795–1833) |volume=2 |year=1967 |id2=yagan-2826/text4053 |access-date=2025-02-02 }}
*{{cite book |last=Inglis |first=Kenneth Stanley |author-link=Ken Inglis |year=1998 |title=Sacred Places. War Memorials in the Australian Landscape |publisher=Melbourne University Press |location=Carlton |isbn=0-522-84976-8 |oclc=49298019 |quote=[Hasluck] advised the states anti-Labor government not to agree. University historians pleaded Yagan's cause in vain. }}
*{{cite web |ref={{sfnref |Kaartdijin Noongar |2025 }} |title=Yagan |year=2025 |website=Kaartdijin Noongar |publisher=South West Aboriginal Land & Sea Council |url=https://www.noongarculture.org.au/yagan/ |access-date=2025-02-02 }}
*{{cite news |last=Kent |first=Melissa |date=2005-11-24 |title=Yagan centre of cover-up bid |work=[[The West Australian]] }}
*{{cite wikisource |editor-first=Warren Bert |editor-last=Kimberly |editor-link=Warren Burt Kimberly |year=1897 |chapter=Chapter 9 |publication-place=Melbourne |publisher=F. W. Niven |wslink=History of West Australia }}
*{{cite news |last=Lampathakis |first=Paul |title=Hunt for Yagan narrows |newspaper=The Sunday Times |date=6 March 2005 }}
*{{cite web |title=The Afterlife. An interview with Egyptologist Salima Ikram |date=2005-11-17 |editor-first=Susan K. |editor-last=Lewis |website=NOVA: The Mummy Who Would Be King |publisher=WGBH Educational Foundation |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/mummy/ikram.html |access-date=2025-02-03 }}
*{{cite news |ref={{sfnref |Liverpool Echo |2013 }} |title=Aboriginal warrior Yagan is finally laid to rest after 170 years |date=2013-05-08 |work=[[Liverpool Echo]] |url=https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/aboriginal-warrior-yagan-finally-laid-3401295 |access-date=2025-02-03 }}
*{{cite news |last=Lucev |first=Athanae |date=2010-07-10 |title=Yagan's head reburied in Swan Valley |publisher=The West Australian |url=http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/7563246/nyoongar-warrior-yagans-head-reburied/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20110823030033/http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/7563246/nyoongar-warrior-yagans-head-reburied/ |archive-date=2011-08-23 |access-date=2025-02-04 }}
*{{cite news |last=Maeder |first=Jay |date=1997-09-04 |title=The Newsreel |work=[[New York Daily News]] |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/newsreel-article-1.783688 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191106091927/https://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/newsreel-article-1.783688 |archive-date=2019-11-06 |access-date=2025-02-03 }}
*{{cite journal |last=Martin |first=David L. |year=2007 |title=Of Monuments and Masks: Historiography in the Time of Curiosity's Ruin |pages=311–320 |journal=Postcolonial Studies |volume=10 |issue=3 |doi=10.1080/13688790701488197 |s2cid=162435717 }}
*{{cite book |last=Mateer |first=John |author-link=John Mateer (poet) |year=2002 |title=Loanwords |location=Fremantle |publisher=Fremantle Arts Centre Press |isbn=1-86368-359-3 }}
*{{cite journal |last=McGlade |first=Hannah |author-link=Hannah McGlade |year=1998 |title=The Repatriation of Yagan: a Story of Manufaduring Dissent |pages=245–255 |journal=Law Text Culture |volume=4 |issue=1 |issn=1322-9060 |doi=10.14453/ltc.472 }}
*{{cite journal |last=McGlade |first=Hannah |author-link=Hannah McGlade |year=2001 |title=Race Vilification Before the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission |journal=[[Indigenous Law Bulletin]] |volume=5 |issue=7 |url=https://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/IndigLawB/2001/18.html |access-date=2025-02-04 }}
*{{cite news |ref={{sfnref |McPhee |2008a }} |last=McPhee |first=Lindsay |date=4 September 2008 |title=Head of Nyoongar warrior Yagan will be finally laid to rest in Swan Valley |work=[[The West Australian]] |page=9 }}
*{{cite news |ref={{sfnref |McPhee |2008b }} |last=McPhee |first=Lindsay |date=19 November 2008 |title=Reburial of Yagan head is delayed |newspaper=[[The West Australian]] |page=15 |edition=2nd }}
*{{cite web |author=Monument Australia |year=2025 |title=Yagan Memorial Park |website=Monument Australia |url=https://www.monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/people/indigenous/display/93059-yagan-memorial-park |access-date=2025-02-04 }}
*{{cite book |last=Muecke |first=Stephen |author-link=Stephen Muecke |year=2004 |title=Ancient and Modern: Time, Culture and Indigenous Philosophy |publisher=UNSW Press |isbn=0-86840-786-0 |oclc=58594532 }}
*{{cite web |last=Moreton |first=Romaine |date=n.d. |title=Confessions of a Headhunter (2000) → Curator's notes |website=Australian Screen, National Film and Sound Archive of Australia |url=https://aso.gov.au/titles/shorts/confessions-headhunter/notes/ |access-date=2025-02-04 }}
*{{cite web |ref={{sfnref |National Museum of Australia |1997 }} |title=Yagan's story |date=2 September 1997 |website=National Museum of Australia |url=http://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/now_showing/first_australians/resistance/yagan/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111122053747/http://nma.gov.au/exhibitions/now_showing/first_australians/resistance/yagan/ |archive-date=22 November 2011 |access-date=2025-02-03 }}
*{{cite news |last1=Nown |first1=Graham |last2=Rosthorn |first2=Andrew |date=11 May 1997 |title=After 160 years, it's time for Yagan to go home |work=[[The Independent]] |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/after-160-years-it-s-time-for-yagan-to-go-home-1260837.html |access-date=2025-02-03 }}
*{{cite news |ref={{sfnref |Perth Gazette |1833a }} |title=Depositions |newspaper=[[The Perth Gazette And Western Australian Journal]] |volume=1 |issue=21 |location=Western Australia |date=1833-05-25 |page=83 |via=National Library of Australia |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article642063 |access-date=2025-02-02 }}
*{{cite news |ref={{sfnref |Perth Gazette |1833b }} |title=The Native's [''sic''] Again!! |date=1 June 1833 |page=87 |newspaper=[[The Perth Gazette And Western Australian Journal]] |location=Western Australia |volume=1 |issue=22 |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article642054 |access-date=2025-02-03 |via=National Library of Australia }}
*{{cite news |ref={{sfnref |Perth Gazette |1833c }} |title=Native Corrobory at Perth |date=16 March 1833 |page=42 |newspaper=[[The Perth Gazette And Western Australian Journal]] |volume=1 |issue=11 |location=Western Australia |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article642172 |access-date=2025-02-03 |via=National Library of Australia }}
*{{cite news |ref={{sfnref |Perth Gazette |1833d }} |title=The Soldier Speared at Clarence |date=2 March 1833 |page=34 |newspaper=[[The Perth Gazette And Western Australian Journal]] |volume=1 |issue=9 |location=Western Australia |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article642195 |access-date=2025-02-03 |via=National Library of Australia }}
*{{cite news |ref={{sfnref |Perth Gazette |1833e }} |title=The Natives |date=20 July 1833 |pages=114–115 |newspaper=[[The Perth Gazette And Western Australian Journal]] |volume=1 |issue=29 |page= |location=Western Australia |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article641981 |access-date=2025-02-03 |via=National Library of Australia }} 
*{{cite news |last=Philip |first=Martin |date=26 June 2006 |title=Yagan waits for final resting place |work=[[The West Australian]] }}
*{{cite journal |last1=Phillips |first1=Harry |author1-link=Harry C. J. Phillips |last2=Black |first2=David |author2-link=David Black (historian) |year=1998 |title=Western Australia: July to December 1977 |pages=270–285 |journal=[[Australian Journal of Politics & History]] |volume=44 |issue=2 |doi=10.1111/1467-8497.00018 }}
*{{cite journal |last1=Portmann |first1=P. |last2=Portmann |first2=P. |year=1989 |title=Register of Australian Winter Cereal Cultivars. Hordeum vulgare (Barley) cv. Yagan |page=143 |journal=Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture |volume=29 |issue=1 |doi=10.1071/EA9890143 }}
*{{cite Australian Dictionary of Biography |last=Reece |first=Robert Harold William |title=Yagan (1795–1833) |year=2019 |id2=yagan-2826 |access-date=2025-02-02 }}
*{{cite book |last1=Riley |first1=Sally |author1-link=Sally Riley (producer) |last2=Weller |first2=Archie |author2-link=Archie Weller |date=1999 |title=Confessions of a Headhunter |publisher=Scarlett Pictures }}
*{{cite web |author=SBS On Demand |author-link=SBS On Demand |date=n.d. |title=Yagan (2013) |website=SBS On Demand |publisher=[[Special Broadcasting Service]] (SBS) |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-program/yagan/1056435779641 |access-date=2025-02-04 }}
*{{cite web |author=Screen Australia |date=n.d. |title=Yagan (2012) |website=Screen Australia |url=https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/the-screen-guide/t/yagan-2012/30048/ |access-date=2025-02-04 }}
*{{cite journal |first=Adam |last=Shoemaker |year=2000 |title=The Headless State |journal=Griffith Law Review |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=358–370 |url=https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/GriffLawRw/2000/24.html |access-date=2025-02-02 }}
*{{cite news |last=Spagnolo |first=Joe |date=2018-02-18 |title=Yagan Square to open on March 3 |work=Perth Now |url=https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/perth/yagan-square-to-open-on-march-3-ng-b88744021z |access-date=2025-02-04 }}
*{{cite web |ref={{sfnref |St Andrews |2005 }} |title=Archaeological Geophysics: Yagan's Head |year=2005 |website=University of St Andrews |url=http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~www_sgg/personal/crblink/web/arch/yagan.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050312073041/http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~www_sgg/personal/crblink/web/arch/yagan.htm |archive-date=2005-03-12 |access-date=2025-02-03 }}
*{{cite journal |last=Turnbull |first=Paul |year=1998 |title='Outlawed Subjects': The Procurement and Scientific Uses of Australian Aboriginal Heads, ca. 1803-1835 |journal=Eighteenth-Century Life |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=156–171 |s2cid=142764636 }}
*{{cite journal |last=Wilkes |first=Richard |date=February 2010 |title=A Message from the Chairperson of the Derbarl Yerrigan Committee for the Reburial of Yagan's Kaat |pages=2–3 |journal=Yagan Memorial Park Newsletter |url=http://www.dia.wa.gov.au/Documents/News/Yagan%20Memorial%20Park/YMP_Newsletter_Feb24.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110216230719/http://dia.wa.gov.au/Documents/News/Yagan%20Memorial%20Park/YMP_Newsletter_Feb24.pdf |archive-date=16 February 2011 }}
*{{cite web |author=Yagan Square |date=n.d. |title=Wirin |website=Yagan Square |publisher=Government of Western Australia |url=https://www.mra.wa.gov.au/see-and-do/yagan-square/attractions/wirin |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210311105716/https://yagansquare.com.au/ys/see-do/attraction/wirin/ |archive-date=2021-03-11 |access-date=2025-02-04 }}
{{refend}}

{{subject bar |auto=y |portal1=Western Australia |portal2=Biography |portal3=Modern history }}
{{Campaignbox Australian frontier wars}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:1790s births]]
[[Category:1833 deaths]]
[[Category:Repatriated human remains]]
[[Category:Australian murderers]]
[[Category:Australian outlaws]]
[[Category:Deaths by firearm in Western Australia]]
[[Category:Escapees from Western Australian detention]]
[[Category:History of Western Australia]]
[[Category:Noongar people]]
[[Category:People from Perth, Western Australia]]
[[Category:Resistance to colonialism in Australia]]
[[Category:Decapitation]]