Police Honour Legendary Aboriginal Tracker
He worked for the police in the Laverton-Leonora area from 1942 to 1962. He died in Kalgoorlie in 1967 and was buried in an unmarked grave. A memorial has now been erected on his grave site in the Kalgoorlie Cemetery.
Johnny Grey – Pannican Photo SLWA
The Minister for Police, John Kobekle and the Police Commissioner, Karl O’Callaghan, attended the ceremony. Retired Superintendent Robert Primrose, who worked with Pannican, says trackers have played a vital role in the police force. “He was a legend in his own time, he had status, he was revered by the community that he worked in, he had presence and an aura about him, he was part of our history,” he said. “It’s not only an acknowledgement of Pannican, but it’s an acknowledgement of other trackers that have likewise worked with police.”
Tracker to receive posthumous honour –
The memorial on the grave of Johnny Grey, known as Pannican
Johnny Grey – Pannican – Kalgoorlie Cemetery – Photo Danelle Warnock
An Aboriginal tracker has been honoured for his work in the West Australian desert, 40 years after he died. Johnny Grey, a Wongi man of the Ngaanyatjarra Tribe – also known as Youngat, but more commonly as Pannican – was an approved police tracker from 1942 to 1962 in the Laverton and Leonora areas, more than 600km east of Perth.
Retired superintendent Robert Primrose has spent 40 years trying to get his work recognised after Pannican was buried in an unmarked grave in Kalgoorlie in 1967. “His skills were incredible, he was always just so successful,” Mr Primrose said. “No matter how often I worked with him I would think to myself, this bloke’s gotta be having a lend of me, he just can’t be that good. “He tracked a guy that eventually committed suicide and told me he’d been carrying a torch and that it had happened at night time. I mean, how the ‘hell’ could he have known that???
“He said he could tell by the way that he turned and when we found the body at the bottom of a mine shaft … there it was with a torch. “Pannican received the regular tracker’s allowance of 10 shillings a day, a pittance at the time, Mr Primrose said. “We’d give them a bit of second hand clothing and a blankets and if we were going to get kangaroos for meat we’d make sure Pannican got some as well,” he said. Mr Primrose tried to have Pannican’s work recognised in 1967 and again in 1996 but says authorities were not interested.
Pannican (left) with two other men – Photo SLWA
When Primrose wrote his memoirs, he collected written material that he could then present to the police authorities to verify others’ memory of the tracker’s work and character. “He had a presence, he was a respected elder, he was a family man, he was known as a Christian,” Mr Primrose said. “He was not a subservient person. As far as working with him, you knew who was in charge.”
A memorial was unveiled on top of Pannican’s burial site as a gesture of reconciliation between West Australian police and the indigenous community. Dozens of family members attended the event, including Pannican’s daughter Ruby and relatives from the Blackstone east of Warburton.
“I’m just so pleased. I feel 10 foot tall today that at last acknowledgement is made,” Mr Primrose said!!
Moya Sharp
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