Wonga Wurundjeri (abt. 1821 - 1874)

Born about 1821 in Healesville, Victoria, Australia

Died 1874 at about age 53 in Victoria, Australia

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Biography

Wonga Wurundjeri is an Indigenous Australian.

"Simon, called Wonga Wonga in his native tongue, is chief of the Yarra tribe. His age, so far as can be conjectured, may be about 35 or 37; having been a boy at the time of the first settlement of the whites in Port Phillip. He remembers Batman-24 well at the time of his arrival in 1835, and his father was one of Batman's friends"^[1]. This would give his birth as about 1828 to 1830, the article being written in 1865. The Ancestry 'Find A Grave' record gives his birth date as 1829 and registered in Victoria, Australia. However, Wikipedia has that he was born about 1824^[2], but without a source. This seems more realistic as he witnessed the signing of the 'treaty' in relation to John Batman's access to the site for Melbourne on 6 June 1835 and remembers it well. Furthermore the URL 'http://www.dpc.vic.gov.au/index.php/aboriginal-affairs/projects-and-programs/leadership/victorian-aboriginal-honour-roll/victorian-aboriginal-honour-roll-2014-inductees/simon-wonga-1821-1874', which is cited in the Wikipedia article although no longer accessible has the birth year as 1821! The generally well resourced 'William Barak Family Tree'^[3] uses the 1821 date. The b.c.1824 date reappears in a family tree of Billibellary's descendants (Brian Wills-Johnson, 2017) in a Master of Philosophy Thesis. Simon Wonga (b.c.1824-1874) was the first of Billiberry's 8 children with the others given as Mary Anne Wigal (b.c.1826-d.post 1851), Budbeduruck (b.c.1828), Tommy Munnering (b.c.1833), Mintoollook (b.c.1836), Suzannah Bergyunuck (b.7/11/1839-d.15/11/1845) and Robin Kulpendure (d.1859). The early 1820s seem to be the most likely period for his birth, although his age is given as 37 in 1866 when his photograph was taken!

He did not go to school because his father did not want his favourite son to be away from him^[4].

In 1840 he hurt his foot seriously while hunting, and lived with William Thomas, the Assistant Aboriginal Protector for 2 months, gaining useful insights into non-Aboriginal society, and "shared much of his understanding of traditional culture, language and beliefs with Thomas". "Wonga soon befriended Thomas and his son, and even began calling Thomas marminarta, meaning ‘father'"^[5].

After his father died in 1846, Simon Wonga became the new clan leader, Ngurangaeta of the Wurundjeri-willam people, by 1851 (ref.4) and acted as a negotiator with the pastoralists for jobs. Thomas thought highly of him and they spent much time together with Thomas agreeing to try and get some land for the clan, which he did at Acheron Station. After clearing, fencing and planting crops, they were told to move by the Government to the inhospitable Mohican Station, which even the colonists would not move to! However, in 1863 his cousin William Barak-18 invited Simon and his people to join him at Coranderrk^[6].

William Barak and Simon Wonga went together with some of their clan members in May 1863 to the Exhibition Buildings in Melbourne to meet with the Governor and taking gifts for the newly married Prince of Wales: "This is the first meeting like this I have ever seen. I am very glad this night. When I was camping about in every place I never got any meeting like this. Mr. Green spoke to me a long time ago. He told me not to walk about any more. I kept his word. Mr. Green told me plenty of good words from the Bible, and they made me very glad. Mr. Hamilton spoke to me at Woori-Yaloak, and made me to know more. I now know plenty of good words from the Bible. I am very glad. Mr. Green and all the Yarra blacks and me went through the mountain. We had no bread for four or five days. We did all this to let you (Goulburn blacks) know about the good word. Now you have all come to the Yarra, I am glad. You now know plenty. Do not go away any more, else you will lose it again. This is better than drinking. We are all glad this night. This is good" (Illustrated Australian News, 25 August 1865: 13)^[7].

Clearly Simon had become an ardent Christian, often quoting from the Bible, but although he had 3 wives none of his children survived (ref.2). This statement is misleading and an incorrect interpretation of the source reference that has "He is married, but has no children living. His only son died at Goulburn a few years ago. He has two grandsons, Henry and William Nash, of the age of fifteen and nine respectively, who attend school, and make very satisfactory progress. His wife is living, and behaves with great propriety in the camp" (ref.1). As the article was written in 1865 it suggests that a boy was born to his 3rd wife Marie or Maria after 1865. Ref.3 has the boy's name as Simon Wonga jr. Henry would have been born in 1850 and William in 1858.

Simon Wonga was the last surviving member of the Billibellary family until he died in 1874, followed by his 3rd wife, Maria in 1875 (ref.4). This suggests all the children died before 1874 (?). The Find A Grave record has his death year as 1875, with his burial in Coranderrk Aboriginal Cemetery at Healesville, Yarra Ranges Shire, Victoria, Australia. He died at Coranderrk (ref.5).

Sources

1. ↑ https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/63170407
2. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Wonga
3. ↑ https://www.ancestry.co.uk/family-tree/person/tree/25147970/person/1611286891/facts
4. ↑ http://heritage.darebinlibraries.vic.gov.au/article/948
5. ↑ http://ergo.slv.vic.gov.au/explore-history/fight-rights/indigenous-rights/simon-wonga
6. ↑ https://deadlystory.com/page/aboriginal-country-map/Community_Places/Coranderrk_Station
7. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/147125778

• The Australian News for Home Readers (Vic. : 1864 - 1867) Fri 25 Aug 1865, Page 13.
• Ancestry.com. Australia and New Zealand, Find A Grave Index, 1800s-Current [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
• Brian Wills-Johnson, 2017, ‘A most dangerous character’: The remarkable life of Yonki Yonka. The University of Western Australia, School of Humanities, History Discipline Group.