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Woollarawarre Bennelong
Readers note: This is an excerpt from the Trailblazers: Australia’s 50 Greatest Explorers exhibition, developed in 2015 for the Australian Museum. This content was written as a brief biography on why this person was included in the exhibition.
Woollarawarre Bennelong was the first Aboriginal man to visit Europe and return. He was born on the south shore of the Parramatta River around 1764. In late November 1789, Governor Arthur Phillip had orders from King George III to use “every possible means” to open dialogue with the natives. Since none had ventured into Sydney Cove, he resorted to abduction. Bennelong was about 25 years old when he was taken from Manly Cove and rowed across to Sydney Cove.
At the time, Bennelong was described as strongly made, with a “bold intrepid countenance, which bespoke of defiance and revenge”. Within three months he was communicating well with the Governor, but in May he escaped.
In September he was spotted among a group of Aboriginal people at Manly, and one of them wounded Governor Phillip with a spear. The attack was either a misunderstanding or ‘payback’ for Bennelong’s earlier incarceration. But not long after, he appeared in Sydney Cove asking after the governor’s health. Once assured he wouldn’t be detained, he began spending more time there as did other Indigenous people. As Bennelong learned English, he became a go-between and interpreter for the governor, and Phillip had a small house built for him on what is now Bennelong Point.
In December 1792, Bennelong sailed for England with his young friend Yemmerrawanne and Governor Phillip. They were presented to King George III and visited attractions like the Tower of London and museums, and went to the theatre. After a year, Yemerrawanne died of a chest infection and Bennelong became homesick. It wasn’t until September 1795 that he was back in his beloved country after being away for nearly three years.
He maintained his ‘European’ ways for a while but in time returned to traditional life. This didn’t sit well with some, who wrote harshly of his inability to maintain the ‘civilised’ ways. Instead Bennelong chose to live within his own culture, fighting tribal battles and becoming a respected Elder. He died at Kissing Point on 3 January 1813 and was buried there with his last wife, Boorong. Bennelong was remembered as courageous, intelligent, vain and quick-tempered but was said to be good with children and something of a comedian.
In 2013, to mark the 200th anniversary of the death of Bennelong, the City of Ryde, in conjunction with Keith Vincent Smith, developed a website which explores the life and legacy of Woollarawarre Bennelong.
https://www.ryde.nsw.gov.au/Finding-Bennelong
The Finding Bennelong website poses questions such as:
- Was he a victim of circumstance who was randomly captured, interrogated and used by the English for their own purposes?
- Was he a canny political strategist?
- Can little favourable be said about Bennelong as the Sydney press wrote at the time of his death, or was he well-respected by his own people as a leader, elder and brother
Finding Bennelong is a resource which explores the historical evidence and different perspectives about the life of Bennelong. The resource provides an overview of Bennelong's life through video narrative.
At this website you can explore the aspects of his life under the following themes:
Bennelong the Wangal: Woollarawarre Bennelong was born around 1764 in Wangal country on the southern side of the Parramatta River
Strangers: Governor Arthur Phillip attempted to establish open communications with the Eora people, but the wary Eora avoided the settlement
Abduction: Governor Phillip sent Lieutenant William Bradley with a party of marines to Manly Cove where they succeeded in the traumatic abduction of two men: Colebee, a Cadigal and Bennelong
Settlement: Bennelong re-opened friendly dialogue with the British, but this time it was on his own terms
Travellers: In December 1792 Governor Arthur Phillip returned to England accompanied by Bennelong and Yemmerawanne
Tour: Whilst in London, the Wangal clansmen toured impressive monuments including St Paul's Cathedral and the Tower of London
Tragedy: The stay in England was not a happy one for Bennelong and Yemmerawanne, with both men being afflicted with bouts of illness
Return: Bennelong had been abroad almost three years and learnt much about the alien country and culture of the English
Feud: Upon his return, Bennelong found that much has changed in the world of the Eora
Return to Country: Bennelong's influence amongst the British gradually waned and he withdrew from the settlement to lead the Kissing Point tribe
Obituary: A single damning obituary by the unsympathetic Sydney Gazette
Battle: What was not reported in the local press was the large-scale ritual revenge combat staged in Sydney not longer after Bennelong's death
Tribe: The death of Bennelong did not signal the demise of the Kissing Point tribe
Perspectives on Bennelong: Now, two centuries after his death and burial in 1813, we ask, who really was Woollarawarre Bennelong?
Discovery: the identification of Bennelong's likely grave site in Putney in 2010 sparked media interest across Australia and the world
