Willemering

Willemering or Wileemarin (c.1755 – c.1800) was a man of the Eora people of Aboriginal Australians who on 7 September 1790 became a notable identity by spearing Arthur Phillip, the first governor of New South Wales.

Early life Willemering was described in 1790 as being middle-aged which, in 18th-century terms, would probably place his birth at around 1755. He was said to have been from a clan located around Broken Bay, however another source recorded Willemering as being of the Kay-Yee-My (Kayimai) clan from modern day Balgowlah.

The spearing of Arthur Phillip

On 7 September 1790, about 200 Aboriginal people, which included the well-known Bennelong, had congregated at Manly Cove Beach to feast upon a whale which had washed up on the shore. Some of this whale-meat was sent to be given to Governor Arthur Phillip as a present. Governor Phillip was himself at nearby South Head planning the construction of a navigation beacon and on his return journey to Sydney encountered the boat with the gift of whale-meat. Phillip was eager to meet with Bennelong and directed his boat to proceed to Manly Cove after first going back to South Head to procure the firearms deposited there.

It has been suggested by some historians that Willemering had been enlisted by Bennelong to carry out the spearing as revenge upon Arthur Phillip, who had organised the kidnapping of Bennelong some months previous to the incident.

Nothing further is known of Willemering except that Bennelong wounded him in the thigh with a spear at Barangaroo's funeral in 1791.

Legacy Willemering is notable as the only Aboriginal person to make a direct assault upon the principal British official in the Australian colonies during the frontier conflicts. In 2006, a plaque commemorating Willemering's spearing of Arthur Phillip was affixed upon a monument at Manly Cove.

Willemering's spearing of Phillip was depicted via reenactment in the 2022 documentary series The Australian Wars. Willemering and Phillip are portrayed by actors Warren Williams and Barry Lee-Pearce respectively.