Derrimut was a leader of the Boonwurrung clan of Melbourne. In 1836 he accompanied white settler John Pascoe Fawkner on a trip to Hobart, Tasmania, where he was painted by local artist Benjamin Duterrau. Although he usually dressed in European attire, here Derrimut is depicted naked, except for a possum skin cloak around the waist, and with initiation scars on his chest and arms.

After returning to Melbourne, Derrimut lived with his people at the Mordialloc Reserve. He died at the Melbourne Benevolent Asylum in 1864, aged about 54. His headstone remains at the Melbourne General Cemetery.