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Memorimbo also known as Flash Poll (c1836 - c1907) was an Iwaidja woman and early resident of Port Essington in the Northern Territory of Australia.[1]
She frequently acted as a cultural broker between her people and the European arrivals the the area. She was also employed as a tracker.[1]
Life in the Northern Territory
[edit]Little is known of Memorimbo before she began living at the Port Essington settlement in the 1830s where she worked as a servant to George and Emma Lambrick. In 1846 she was described by a visitor to the Lambrick's home, John Sweatman, as being about 10 years-old and waiting on them "wearing a sort of petticoat".[1]
She spoke English very well and likely learned in from Angelo Confalonieri, a missionary there, and could recite the Lord's Prayer.[1][2]
In the 1880s she befriended Alfred Searcy and would tell him interesting and humorous stories about her life at the garrison.[1] He said of her:[3]
Many a good yarn I had with her about the old days, and some funny stories she told. The old woman remembered the officers well, particularly the chaplain. [Memorimbo] could still repeat like a parrot a prayer and sing a psalm; but I am bound to say that singing was not her strong forte
— Alfred Searcy, via The Observer (Adelaide), 4 February 1905
She was also a trusted member of the community and was a cultural broker between the Iwaidja people and the European arrivals; she was also frequently employed for her skills as a tracker.[4]
She died in Port Essington around 1907.[1][5]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f John, Harris (2008). "Memorimbo, also known as 'Flash Poll' (c1836-c1907)". Northern Territory Dictionary of Biography (Rev ed.). Darwin: Charles Darwin University Press. pp. 396–397. hdl:10070/492231. ISBN 9780980457810.
- ^ "The expedition to Port Essignton". Northern Territory Times and Gazette. 21 November 1874. p. 3. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
- ^ Searcy, Alfred (4 February 1905). "In northern seas". The Observer (Adelaide). p. 4. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
- ^ Foelsche, P. (Paul); McWhannell, Francis; Smith, T. H. (Thomas Harrison) (2014), Foelsche (PDF), Michael Graham-Stewart, retrieved 15 May 2025
- ^ "Interesting blacks: the longevity of early day Aboriginals". Sunraysia Daily. 25 June 1921. p. 10. Retrieved 15 May 2025.