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Dancing with Bungaree regards the iconic status of Bungaree (c.1775-1830), an Aboriginal man from Garigal Country, and his achievements as a seafarer, dancer and diplomat.

Sailing with English Captain Matthew Flinders in 1802-03, Bungaree was the first Aboriginal person and first Australian-born person to circumnavigate mainland Australia. Flinders had recruited this ‘brave fellow’ to act as an intermediary with the Indigenous peoples they were expected to meet. Bungaree also sailed with Australian-born Lieutenant Phillip Parker King, exploring the continent’s north-west coast in 1817-18. Dancing was integral to the protocols of Bungaree, Flinders and King’s encounters around Australia.

Dancing with Bungaree complements Bungaree’s Farm, an exhibition commissioned by Mosman Art Gallery and curated by Djon Mundine OAM. It features works from the Lionel Lindsay Gallery and Library Collection, housed at Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery, and a lithographic portrait (c.1826) of Bungaree and his wife Cora Gooseberry loaned from Mosman Art Gallery.

Exhibition on display until 28 March 2024

This exhibition is supported by Haymans Electrical and Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art

Image: Augustus EARLE (England 1793-1838) / Bungaree and his wife Gooseberry c.1826 / lithograph / 47 x 39cm / Mosman Art Collection, purchased 2019