Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Wednesday 11 September 1946, page 2


You'll Be Surprised

How Narrabeen

Was Named

By BILL BEATTY

THE district of Narrabeen is named in honour of a brave young aboriginal girl. The first white man to live there was Captain Reynolds, a military man

who came to Australia in the First Fleet. He liked the place so well that after his discharge from the army he built a home there for himself and family, and with his servants be-gan to clear and till the soil.

There was a tribe of natives living near by with whom the captain be-came very friendly. Especially he liked their chief, Yowal.

About this time a group of des-perate convicts escaped from Sydney and began to roam the bush. They were led by a dangerous criminal, "Big Mick." The gang came across the Reynolds homestead, one day, and "Big Mick" recognised an old enemy in the captain. He remembered thal Captain Reynolds had ordered him to be flogged on one occasion when the

convicts mutinied. "Big Mick" called his gang together in the bush and outlined a plan for killing every mem-ber of the family.

Unknown to him, however, an aboriginal girl was watching the gang through the bushes. She was Narra-been, daughter of Yowal, the chief of the tribe that was so friendly with the captain.

Silently the girl stole away and rushed to her father to tell what she had heard and seen. Yowal imme-diately made his way to the homestead and warned his friend. The captain and his family barricaded themselves in and got out their firearms. Mr*. Reynolds put the baby in the cot and took her place beside her husband and their 13 years old son, each of | them with a rifle to their shoulders.

The attackers so outnumbered them that during the raid all members of

the homestead were killed.

Meanwhile Narrabeen was making her way to Sydney for help. At last

she arrived back from the long jour-

ney with some soldiers from the

garrison. They were too late to sa\e

the members of the Reynolds house-'iold but were in time tot capture "Big Vlick" and all his murderous gang,

And so the district of Narrabeen

to-day named after that brave young aboriginal girl.