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Bennelong
EntityQ817828· pop 11· linked from 101 articles

Also known as Woollarawarre Bennelong, Baneelon

Woollarawarre Bennelong ( 1764 – 3 January 1813) was a senior man of the Eora, an Aboriginal Australian people of the Port Jackson area, at the time of the first British settlement in Australia. Bennelong served as an interlocutor between the Eora and the British, both in the colony of New South Wales and in Great Britain. He was the first Aboriginal Australian to visit Europe and return.

Key facts

Person.name
Bennelong
Person.image
Bennelong.jpg
Person.caption
Portrait (signed "W.W.") thought to depict Bennelong
Person.birth_place
South of the Parramatta River
Person.death_date
3 January 1813 (aged about 48)
Person.death_place
Kissing Point, Colony of New South Wales
Person.spouse
1. Unnamed first wife2. Barangaroo3. Kurubarabulu4. Boorong
Person.children
DilboongThomas Walter Coke

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Languages spoken
English language
Image
Bennelong Bridge.jpg
Show 2 more facts
date of death
1813-01-03
date of birth
1764-01-01
Sources (1)

via Wikidata · CC0

~14 min read

Article

15 sections
Contents
  • Background
  • Capture and life in the British settlement
  • Visit to England
  • Return to New South Wales
  • Spearing of a British soldier
  • Leader of the Kissing Point clan
  • Death
  • Family
  • Legacy
  • Portrayals
  • See also
  • Notes and citations
  • Citations
  • Sources
  • Further reading

Woollarawarre Bennelong ( 1764 – 3 January 1813) was a senior man of the Eora, an Aboriginal Australian people of the Port Jackson area, at the time of the first British settlement in Australia. Bennelong served as an interlocutor between the Eora and the British, both in the colony of New South Wales and in Great Britain. He was the first Aboriginal Australian to visit Europe and return.

In 1789, he was abducted on the authority of Governor Arthur Phillip, who hoped to use Bennelong to establish official dialogue with the Eora people. However, Bennelong escaped after several months. A tenuous relationship subsequently developed between Bennelong and the colonists, with various attacks and reconciliations occurring throughout their ensuing association with each other. Despite this friction, he came to be a significant ambassador of the Eora.

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