Australian Dictionary of Biography

Bungaree, by Charles Rodius, 1831

National Library of Australia, 8953976

Bungaree (c. 1775–1830), Aboriginal leader, guide, explorer, and cultural mediator, moved from Broken Bay to the growing settlement of Sydney in the 1790s. In 1799 he sailed in the Norfolk for the north, and had a town on Bribie Island named after him. Accompanying Matthew Flinders in the Investigator in 1801–02, he may have been the first Aboriginal person to circumnavigate Australia. In 1817 he sailed to north-western Australia with Phillip Parker King and helped in contacting Aboriginal people there, being quick to perceive their intentions: he was also adept at spearing fish. Both Flinders and King commended his even disposition and brave conduct. In 1804 he escorted Aboriginal people who had come to Sydney from Newcastle back to their home Country, and proved useful in preserving friendly relations.

Various governors and colonels gave Bungaree discarded uniforms and a cocked hat. In this garb he lived and slept. He affected the walk and mannerisms of governors from John Hunter to Sir Thomas Brisbane and perfectly imitated every conspicuous personality in Sydney. He spoke English well and was noted for his acute sense of humour. His adaption to the life of the colonists, talent for entertaining, and high standing with governors and officials established him as the leader of township’s Aboriginal population.

Bungaree had several wives, including Matora and Cora Gooseberry, who became his principal wife and was given the title of queen. In 1815 Governor Lachlan Macquarie set up the fifteen members of Bungaree’s group on a farm at George’s Head with huts, implements, stock, and convict instructors. They were installed with a feast at which the governor decorated Bungaree with a brass plate inscribed ‘Bungaree: Chief of the Broken Bay Tribe’—a completely fictitious title. The group did not take to farming and the venture failed. At the end of his term of office in 1822 Macquarie asked his successor, Brisbane, to protect and look after this group. Brisbane gave them a fishing boat and net. After a long illness, Bungaree died on 24 November 1830 and was buried at Rose Bay. A portrait by Charles Rodius is held at the State Library of New South Wales.

♦♦  This article was revised on 11 July 2025