Who is simon wonga

Seven of his original works are housed at the National Gallery of Victoria. Other important collections are also held by museums in Neuchatel, Switzerland; and Berlin and Dresden, Germany. Like his father before him, Barak passed into the Dreaming when the wattles were in full bloom on the 15th August, His family line continues through his nephew Wandoon Robert Wandin , the only surviving son of his sister Annie a.

The daughter of Bebejan and Tooterie, Annie Borate a. She bore several children, with only her eldest son, Robert Wandin Wandoon surviving to adulthood. This was a marked departure for our people as it was usual practice to marry within the Kulin confederacy. The formation of new alliances signalled the extreme threat European settlement posed to our collective survival. Home Explore history Learn skills For teachers Search. He used his knowledge and friends in the European community to support his people when they were treated unfairly: [Wonga] made a contract with a publican in Richmond for the cutting for bark for the first shanty public-house on Anderson's Creek Diggings; the man did not pay him in full [ Additional resources.

Links First Australians, Australian Screen. William Thomas, Australian Dictionary of Biography. Forest secrets, Museum Victoria. Over the next two years, Wonga and the Kulin people made a great success of the venture, but they were ultimately cheated out of the land by neighbouring squatters Hugh Glass and Peter Snodgrass.

Glass, a land speculator, was the richest man in Victoria and Snodgrass a Parliamentarian, so draw your own conclusions. The Kulin were forced onto bleak and inhospitable land near Cathedral Mountain, where people started dying like flies. Wonga had learned his lessons well. The demise of Pound Bend, Woori-Yallock and Acheron had shown him he would get nothing from the parliamentarians.

So he went over their heads. Then Wonga presented a petition for the land at Coranderrk. Coranderrk at the time was the most economically successful Aboriginal mission station in Australia. John Green also ensured it was one of the most autonomous, and Simon contributed to its management until he passed away in While it fell to William Barak to save Coranderrk from closure in the following years, that it existed at all was due to Simon Wonga and his unflagging determination.

Without him, his people may never have regained a place for themselves in the country that was taken from them. Skip to main content. Home Simon Wonga. Simon Wonga A leader with a vision for his people. Inducted: His traditional upbringing was disrupted by the arrival of European settlers Born around Healesville in , Simon was the son of Billibellari, another highly respected ngurungaeta.

Simon officially became ngurungaeta After his father's death in , year-old Simon was chosen to be the next ngurungaeta. Mohican Station In Simon's view, Aboriginal people had no future without access to land of their own. Coranderrk In early , Mohican Station was abandoned. See all inductees. Share this page Twitter , opens a new window Facebook , opens a new window LinkedIn , opens a new window.