Zimram Youram

43

Darryl Buley on 27th March 2022

The Lost Treasure of Zimram The real-life murder mystery of Zimram Youram. Australia’s First Indian. Zimram Youram was a remarkable 18th Century adventurer who journeyed from the glittering Islamic palaces of Hyderabad, India to the menacing gaols of Dickensian England. Upon transportation as a convict, Zimram is the first known Indian national to set foot on Australian soil. Later, he became one of Tasmania’s most popular and wealthier free settlers before his untimely murder… It’s 1848, and we’re near the small town of Norfolk Plains (Longford) in the remote island convict colony of Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania). Here, an elderly Indian man lies brutally murdered on the floor of his home. How did he get here? Who killed him and why? This feature film takes the audience on a roller-coaster ride that transports viewers through three corners of the British Empire of the 18th and 19th Centuries. The Lost Treasure of Zimram pieces together the spellbinding life and times of Australia’s first Indian. The film will explore Australia’s early colonial history through the fresh prism of Zimram’s little-known story. We know that Zimram Youram was born and raised a Muslim, but did he die as one? How did his Indian ethnicity and Islamic faith define his life? What pressures of assimilation were brought to bear on him? Finally, how does Zimram’s life and times echo through time and resonate with the lives of contemporary Aussies, Indians, Brits, and Muslims today? In a world where the Indian diaspora is commonplace and life as a Muslim in the west is increasingly complex. How does Zimram’s story reflect the challenges and opportunities that face us today?

43

Darryl Buley on 27th March 2022

Convicted 4 Apr 1790 at Launceston, Cornwall, England for "stealing in a dwelling house monies above 40 shillings" to be hanged, but later reprieved, transported for 7 years per the Atlantic of the 3rd Fleet. Later he went to Norfolk Island. Evacuated Norfolk Island per the Minstrel, given a land grant at Norfolk Plains East in 1813. Murdered 6 Jul 1848 at Pateena (Between Longford and Launceston) by John Jordan (convicted and hanged) and Patrick McDonough (acquitted). John Jordan was the grandson of Mary Butler (2nd Fleet per Lady Juliana) and James Jordan (1791 per Queen). Zimram's property was willed to William Saltmarsh Jnr (son of Mary Butler and William Saltmarsh 1788 Alexander 1st Fleet). Aged 85 at death.