The public space at Perth City Link will be named Yagan Square after the prominent Noongar leader.
Premier Colin Barnett made the announcement at the WA Day Awards last night. He said the area held great historical and cultural significance and the name Yagan was chosen to reflect this.
"Yagan's contribution in Western Australia's history is significant and he remains a very influential figure within the Aboriginal community," Mr Barnett said.
"In the early 1800s, Yagan played an important role in attempting to bring together Aboriginal leaders and European settlers. He was a formidable warrior and leader greatly admired by his own people."
Yagan was regularly reported in the Perth Gazette between 1831 and 1833 as an imposing figure who roamed the settlement wearing a soldiers coat under his kangaroo cloak to hide his tribal markings.
He gained notoriety in separate incidents in 1831 and 1832 when he speared and killed two white settlers. Declared an outlaw with a 20 pound bounty placed on his head, Yagan was killed by a settler on the banks of the Derbarl Yerrigan, or the Swan River, in July 1833.
His body was decapitated and his head was smoked for preservation before being provided to the Liverpool Museum in England. It was only in 1997 that Yagan's head was repatriated to WA.
The Premier said the new Yagan Square, situated within the arms of the Horseshoe Bridge, would be an inviting and lively meeting space for people to connect and celebrate Western Australian culture and history. The square will be 1.1ha, twice the size of Forrest Place and 25 per cent bigger than Melbourne's Federation Square.
"We have so many places and monuments to our European leaders like the Duke of Wellington, Lord Forrest, Sir Charles Fremantle, Queen Victoria and Governor Stirling, not one named after an Aboriginal person in the city. I am delighted we can name this important place after a figure like Yagan," he said.
"We also believe that Yagan's story reminds us all of the importance of ongoing reconciliation. I hope future generations will come to Yagan Square, read the information, see the artwork and landscaping, and remember the struggles and hardship of our early settlement."
Planning Minister John Day said Yagan Square would function as one of the city's primary community and celebration places and is expected to be open in late 2016.
"It will see the return of fresh food markets to the CBD, an Australian native garden on the rooftop of the rail tunnel into Perth Station, a children's play space and a vibrant mix of shops, cafes and public amenities," Mr Day said.
"Planning for the square is well under way. Since unveiling plans for the space in late 2013, the Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority (MRA) has been working with a number of landscape architects and planning consultants to finalise the design of Yagan Square.
"At more than one hectare in size, Yagan Square will be an important transit area for thousands of city workers, residents and tourists each day as they connect with public transport and move between the city and Northbridge."
Fact File
Yagan (1795-July 1833) was an influential figure in contemporary Noongar history, the son of Midgegooroo, another influential Noongar elder often mentioned in The Perth Gazette. Yagan had three brothers; Narral, Billy and Willim (who may also be Weeip)
In 1831 Smedley, a servant of homesteader Archibald Butler, shot at a group of Noongar people caught harvesting potatoes and fowls, and killed one of them. In retaliation, Yagan and Midgegooroo speared another of Butler's servants. To the settlers, this act was seen as the unlawful killing of an innocent man. To Noongar people, tribal law required that a member of Smedley's 'family-group' also be killed
In June 1832, Yagan speared William Gaze who was labouring along the Canning River. Yagan may not have intended to kill Gaze and his death may have been in part due to other factors. Yagan was declared an outlaw, a bounty of 20 pounds placed on his head
Yagan was killed by two teenage brothers, William Keats and James Keats, on July 11, 1833 on the banks of the Derbarl Yerrigan. His body was decapitated and smoked for preservation before being sent to England abroad the Cornwallis in September 1833 to be held at the Liverpool Museum in England. Following his death, the Perth Gazette published a long article on the 'treacherous act' and its possible negative effect upon future relations with the local Aboriginal population
The settler, Robert Lyon, praised Yagan as a warrior and a patriot, calling him 'the Wallace of the Age' in articles he wrote for the Perth Gazette on his study of the Aboriginals and their language. The Perth Gazette also wrote that Yagan 'was master of ceremonies and acquitted himself with infinite grace and dignity'
A flagship Aboriginal art piece will be developed by an Aboriginal artist, in consultation with the Aboriginal community. The specific details of the art piece is still to be determined but is being progressed by the MRA
Yagan Square works are expected to start late 2014 and be completed by late 2016
More information at http://www.mra.wa.gov.au
Premier's office - 6552 5000
