In 1882, Aboriginal Guardian, James Dawson travelled to his native Scotland for two years. On his return, he was horrified to find that his friend Wombeetch Puyuun had died the previous year and was buried in an unmarked grave in a boggy, scrubby area of the Camperdown cemetery. 

Dawson asked the local European settlers to donate money towards the erection of a monument in memory of the Aboriginal people. When most refused, James was furious. An acquaintance later recalled that James rushed to Melbourne with an account he had written of the early ill treatment of the Aboriginal people by the settlers. He entered the sanctum of Frederick Haddon, editor of The Argus, who refused pointblank to publish it. Dawson insisted and Haddon ordered him from the room, so ‘old Jimmy Dawson went for him with his umbrella!’ 

In 1885, largely at his own expense, James Dawson erected a monument in the Camperdown Cemetery, in memory of Wombeetch Puyuun and the demise of the local Aboriginal people. He reburied the remains of his friend at the foot of the monument. 

The imposing granite obelisk stands at a prominent central site in the Camperdown cemetery. At the top is engraved the year 1840, which marked the beginning of the demise of the local Aboriginal people. Below is a boomerang, a club and a message stick. At the bottom is the year 1883 which saw the last of the local Aboriginal people living on Country with the death of Wombeetch Puyuun.