He was the first person to be called an "Australian" in the
nation's recorded history. Who was Bungaree? By all accounts
Bungaree was a man of firsts. He was the first person ever
recorded in print as being an Australian. He was the first
person born in Australia to circumnavigate the country, with
Matthew Flinders. And he was the first Aborigine to be granted
land by the colonial powers, at Mosman in 1815. "Bungaree was a
man of many faces," says John Cheeseman, director of the Mosman
Art Gallery. "Some people see him as a hero, as intrepid, as
valiant, as brave and adventurous and other people within
Aboriginal society have seen him as a sell out." But while his
story is significant in Australia's colonial history, it has
never been explored from an Aboriginal perspective, Mr Cheeseman
says. Fifteen contemporary Indigenous artists were invited to
create new works exploring and interpreting the life and story
of the controversial figure, in an exhibition curated by Djon
Mundine. The exhibition - Bungaree: th