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The lives of Yugambeh people who came before us; leaders, families and Ancestors whose stories carry on in our community today.
Bilin Bilin
c. 1820 to c. 1901
‘many parrots’
Leader and diplomat of the lower Logan, who set his own terms with the newcomers and demanded equal wages for his people.
John Allen
c. 1850 to 1931
Wangerriburra man, bushman and pioneer of western Queensland, whose 1913 record of his language is still the heart of Yugambeh language work today.
Billy Drumley
1850s to 1951
Runner, cricketer, boxer and master of the broad axe, brother of Jenny Graham, who walked over Tamborine to the coast to see his family well into his eighties.
Billy Moore
c. 1860s to 1924
Tulgigin man of the Tweed, remembered as a great hunter, tracker and axeman, and the last man there who could climb any kind of tree.
George Graham
c. 1875 to 1918
Oysterman from Southport, son of Jenny Graham, who served with the 26th Battalion on the Western Front and died of wounds in France in July 1918.
Lambert McBride
1918 to 2002
Bush worker, boxer and Second World War soldier from Grady's Creek who, with his wife May, campaigned across Queensland for the 1967 Referendum.
Graham Dillon
c. 1931 to 2021
Kombumerri Elder and grandson of Jenny Graham, who founded the Gold Coast housing co-operative that became Kalwun and was Elder in Residence at Griffith University.
Lloyd McDermott
1939 to 2019
Mununjali and Wakka Wakka man who played Test rugby for the Wallabies, refused to tour apartheid South Africa, and became Australia's first Aboriginal barrister.
Ysola Best
1940 to 2007
Researcher, author and granddaughter of Jenny Graham, who helped found the Yugambeh Museum and worked for the return of the Ancestors taken from the Broadbeach burial ground.
More profiles to come
We are adding the stories of more Yugambeh people over time.