Bungaree

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Bungaree (d. 1830) was an Australian Aboriginal man from the Broken Bay area, who became familiar sight in colonial Sydney, dressed in a succession of military and naval uniforms that had been given to him. His distinctive outfits and notoriety with colonial society, he had a gift for humour and mimicry, especially his impressions of past and present governors, led to him becoming the subject of at least 17 portraits.

Bungaree first came to prominence in 1798, when he accompanied Matthew Flinders on a coastal survey as an interpreter, guide and negotiator with local Indigenous groups.

He later accompanied Flinders in his circumnavigate the continent of Australia between 1801 and 1803. Flinders was the cartographer of the first complete map of Australia, filling in the gaps from previous cartographic expeditions,and was the most prominent advocate for naming the continent ‘Australia’. Flinders noted that Bungaree was ‘a worthy and brave fellow’ who, on more than one occasion, saved the expedition.

Bungaree continued his association with exploratory voyages when he accompanied Phillip Parker King in 1817 to north-western Australia.

In 1815, Governor Macquarie ‘crowned’ Bungaree ‘Chief of the Broken Bay Tribe’ and presented him with 15 acres of land on George’s Head. Bungaree spent the rest of his life greeting newcomers to the colony, and eventually sank into a life of begging and alcoholism.